Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2025
Perhaps the planning system is for the Scottish Government rather than for any of the parties that Daniel Johnson mentioned.
I will comment on section 46(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and the ministerial statement that was made in 2023. Ministers can call in applications when they consider that important issues are at stake that should be determined by them. Interestingly, in this case, the Minister for Public Finance stated:
“I have decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal”—
the Flamingo Land appeal—
“as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park”.
However, previously, the minister said that there were some “technical planning issues” and that there should be an “objective planning judgment”. The Scottish Government has to address the point that those are two contradictory statements. If the situation has changed since the initial statement was made, what has changed that has made the issue of national importance? I do not doubt that the issue is of national importance, as a lot of members have said, but that point needs to be picked up.
We need to remember that reporters are appointed by the Scottish Government—a reporter has looked at the issue—and that a Scottish Government minister, who was appointed by the First Minister, will now have to take the decision. Given the duplicity of that situation, there is a danger that people outside the Parliament will wonder whether a fair and transparent decision will be made.
In closing, I ask the minister a pragmatic question not about this individual proposal but about generic decisions that are taken by ministers when applications are called in: what test do ministers apply?