Committee
Transport and the Environment Committee, 04 Mar 2003
04 Mar 2003 · S1 · Transport and the Environment Committee
Item of business
Planning
I am encouraged by what Jim Mackinnon has just said, because he is talking about putting the horse before the cart, rather than the other way round. However, I disagree with the use of the term "problem" for what is happening in Edinburgh—I see that not as a problem but as a tremendous opportunity. I hope that the Executive's approach will be driven by a view that explicitly acknowledges that all cities and city regions in Scotland—but Edinburgh and Glasgow in particular—are the key engines of economic growth. When those economies are healthy, by and large, the rest of the Scottish economy is healthy; when they are not healthy, by and large, neither is the rest of the Scottish economy. I do not share what I think is the Liberal Democrat view that is being expressed, which is that Edinburgh is choking on its own success—far from it; Edinburgh is a very successful economy. The question is how we link that success into surrounding economies. For example, we have a burgeoning economy in Edinburgh and a tremendously buoyant labour market, with lots of job opportunities. The real challenge is not to move those jobs to other parts of Scotland but to ensure that the populations of Fife, the Borders and West Lothian have, as Jim Mackinnon said, appropriate transport links that allow them not only to share in that economic development but to remain part of their own local community, earn a living and export their income back to their community. Growth in house prices should not force them to compete with Edinburgh home owners. That economic development should be shared more widely. The challenge is then how we do that for each of the city regions of Scotland and ensure that Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow get a fair kick at the ball in order to compete with Edinburgh and complement what Edinburgh is doing. That takes us into broader issues, such as the economic and academic specialisations in the development of biotechnology, for example, that are clustered round the key academic institutions. How do we ensure that appropriate support is given to developing such clusters, as opposed to the support that is given to our light industrial economy and the areas where it might be developed? It would be a nonsense to say that we need to share the benefits or successes of aquaculture in our fish farming communities by ensuring that some aquaculture and fish farming takes place in the Firth of Forth. Other communities would benefit far more from support in those industries. Equally, I am not sure that we should simply decentralise throughout Scotland other sectors of the economy. We need to think about where we are strong and build around that to ensure that nobody misses out.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
I move the meeting back into public for agenda item 8, which is a planning briefing. I welcome back to the committee the Deputy Minister for Social Justice, ...
The Deputy Minister for Social Justice (Des McNulty):
Lab
As a former member of the Transport and the Environment Committee, I know that there was a perception that the committee might not have had enough time to pa...
The Convener:
Lab
It would be best to hear Jim Mackinnon's presentation first.
Jim Mackinnon (Scottish Executive Development Department):
I will talk members through the book of slides that we have circulated. What is driving us towards a national planning framework for Scotland? First, there i...
The Convener:
Lab
I thank Des McNulty and Jim Mackinnon for their contributions. We move to a question-and-answer session. I am sure that members want to ask a wide range of q...
Bruce Crawford:
SNP
I need to go at about quarter-past 12, so it is useful that I can ask my questions first. I thank the minister for coming along with Jim Mackinnon to speak t...
Des McNulty:
Lab
I made it four areas. I will begin with renewables. As the UK energy strategy was published only last week, we will need to look at it in some detail to iden...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
I will ask an extremely broad-brush question. Diagrams such as the map make me very nervous. Is the underlying philosophy that we target our thoughts and eff...
The Convener:
Lab
The map that Nora referred to is the one that is centred on Edinburgh.
Des McNulty:
Lab
The issue is not just about the further-flung parts of Scotland. Some of the other maps that Jim Mackinnon produced show that there are issues to do with pro...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
I would just like to get a handle on whether the basic philosophy is one of embracing the fact that, given modern technology and good infrastructure, busines...
Jim Mackinnon:
We talked about the national planning framework identifying other areas where that approach might be appropriate, and about the benefits of new technology in...
Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab):
Lab
I am encouraged by what Jim Mackinnon has just said, because he is talking about putting the horse before the cart, rather than the other way round. However,...
Des McNulty:
Lab
I would broadly agree with the thrust of Angus MacKay's comments. Our economic strategy is defined by "A Smart, Successful Scotland", but it makes no sense t...
The Convener:
Lab
I will give you the chance to come back in later, Nora. However, all the committee members want to ask questions, and we have to deal with some questions on ...
Maureen Macmillan:
Lab
I will be brief. I was interested in the proactive-reactive balance. You talked about how there was a great range of economies in the Highlands. There is no ...
Des McNulty:
Lab
I will take the last point first. One of the objectives of the process of revisiting the planning system is to reduce the circumstances in which information ...
Maureen Macmillan:
Lab
Transport is involved, too.
Jim Mackinnon:
I will pick up on a couple of those points. Maureen Macmillan asked what would happen if we get things wrong. The minister made the point that we are not tal...
John Scott:
Con
I want to raise three points. The first is a general point about marine planning. "Towards A National Planning Framework" makes no mention of that. The time ...
Jim Mackinnon:
The Ayr and Prestwick green belt was originally designated as an airport safeguarding zone for Prestwick, which covered a very small area. It is only in the ...
Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
My question is on a theme arising from what a number of people have said. We are discussing "Towards a National Planning Framework". How will you move from t...
The Convener:
Lab
That was not an attempt to get any slogans in, was it?
Fiona McLeod:
SNP
No. I tried to get Clydebank in.
Des McNulty:
Lab
I am sympathetic to what Fiona McLeod suggests, whatever her use of language. We must move from a developer-led planning system to one that recognises the ac...
The Convener:
Lab
I have some questions that concern not a local interest, but a petition that the committee has been considering. We thought that today would be a good opport...
Des McNulty:
Lab
As at least two of those questions are of a technical nature, it might be appropriate to refer those directly to Jim Mackinnon. If it seems reasonable to the...
Jim Mackinnon:
There is no statutory requirement to consult the public on environmental impact statements, but our advice note gives a strong hint that public consultation ...
Des McNulty:
Lab
One particular issue that arises out of this and other cases relates to local authority boundaries and to the consultation of people living in adjacent local...
The Convener:
Lab
I think that both John Scott and Fiona McLeod wish to speak—or is it just Fiona?