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Plenary, 03 Feb 2000

03 Feb 2000 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Sustainable Development

Tosh, Murray Con South of Scotland Watch on SPTV

I thought at times during Kenny MacAskill's speech that I had strayed into time for reflection or thought for the day. In his generally consensual and constructive mode, he says much with which I agree; we do not intend to vote against either Kenny's amendment or the motion. The tone of self-congratulation in the motion jarred a little, but the principal thrust of our amendment, which, the minister will note, recycles her words substantially, is to strike a note on planning and development.

There was much excitement before the establishment of this Parliament about what it might mean for planning. Planning professionals and organisations had great expectations. I do not suggest that those expectations cannot be fulfilled, but I point out that we have not yet had a debate on planning—we have not had an opportunity to discuss whether and to what extent the Executive intends to change the approach to planning. Planning was mentioned only briefly in the minister's speech today, and I hope that she will soon communicate the general thrust of the decisions that she will make in the current round of planning decisions.

We can all share a belief in the concept of sustainability. As the minister said, that concept was first publicised by the Brundtland report, was built into the Rio declaration in 1992 and has been a recurring theme of international gatherings and agreements since then. Since the early 1990s, our planning guidelines and advice notices have been systematically amended to take into account the essential mission of sustainability.

We do not think that there is any conflict between economic development and sustainability. Sustainability is a measurement by which economic development proposals might be judged, shaped or moulded. We are concerned that, in her approach to new planning policy, the minister should continue to reflect on the need to make land available for essential purposes. One of the successes of planning in the past decade and more has been the extent to which it has been possible to recycle brownfield land. We all share that objective, but there are occasions when recycled, brownfield sites cannot be found—for example for town-centre retailing, house building or economic development. It is important that we continue to have a commitment when necessary to use greenfield sites, taking sustainability as the criterion to select the sites. It is also important that we measure and mitigate the environmental disadvantages and establish controls and conditions that balance development with sustainability.

Even in an economy that is considerably less heated than that of the south-east of the United Kingdom, there is urban cramming in many towns and cities in Scotland and tremendous pressure for development on every available scrap of land. We hear of land exchanging at prices that most of us find unbelievable—I have heard, anecdotally, of a site in Edinburgh selling for £6 million per acre. That is a serious distortion in our economy; it suggests the need for sensible development policies that will make land available for essential needs.

The City of Edinburgh Council's strategy of concentrating its development on brownfield sites but looking at a plan-led approach to releasing greenfield land in the south-east wedge is one that we should commend to all local authorities. When it is necessary to use greenfield or green-belt sites, that should be plan led and have built into it the transport criteria, such as the multi-modal corridors, that the Minister for Transport and the Environment has talked about on other occasions.

Many issues in addition to planning are relevant to this debate. We have had brief opportunities in Parliament to quiz the minister on statements she has made on air quality, waste management, the strategy for investment in water and the treatment of waste materials. We have not yet had a discussion on open-cast coal, quarrying or other minerals issues, but they are very significant for the environment. I hope that we will have the opportunity for a substantial exchange on all those interconnecting issues.

I emphasise that my amendment is lodged not in a disputatious tone, but to show that we accept and champion the principle of sustainability and welcome the ministerial group that the minister has established. I suggest that the Executive might wish to establish some openness by making the minutes or reports of the group's meetings available so that we all know where the debate is going.

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Plenary, 03 Feb 2000

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