Hansard

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 is a rather strange document called the "European Spatial Development Perspective", which is a strange mixture of Eurospeak and planning theology. Although terms such as "balanced polycentrism" are not the talk of sitting rooms in Scotland, the document is important, because it has put issues of space and place back on the policy agenda. It is also important for the practical reason that the Commission is showing a lot of interest in spatial frameworks as a context for resource allocation in Europe post 2006. One must bear that in mind. The committee will be aware of the pathfinders to the Parliament initiative, which set out a business agenda for the Parliament and referred to the need for a high-level vision for infrastructure and land use in Scotland. The minister referred to the review of strategic planning, to which the responses were published in June 2002. The review was essentially about the statutory planning systems, structure plans and local plans. It also gave us the opportunity to propose a national planning framework for Scotland. Only 4 per cent of the respondents were against that proposal. There is a perceived gap in Executive polices over a wide range of policy initiatives, such as "A Smart, Successful Scotland" and social justice action plans. There is a feeling that insufficient attention has been paid to issues relating to space and geography. Spatial planning is not a policy panacea. It is about looking at issues in a different way, although it does not make them less problematic. As the minister said, it is also about Scotland looking forwards and outwards. It is important for us to understand the wider European context. There is no doubt that the economic centre of gravity has moved east since the late 1980s. Our fixed position at the extreme north-west of Europe represents a major challenge to us. Some parts of Europe have considered the implications of that geographical shift. One example is the Øresund fixed link between Copenhagen and Malmö, which was an attempt by the Danes to reposition Copenhagen in the light of the change in economic geography.We have a lot to learn from our continental European and Scandinavian counterparts. That does not mean that we would take the approach of importing policies directly from continental Europe—what one could call the Delia Smith here-is-one-that-I-made-earlier approach. We have to recognise that the geography of Scotland is distinctive and that our institutional framework and the approaches that we take to infrastructure provision are also distinctive.The next slide shows some of our best places and spaces. I want to get across the point that space and place are not abstract concepts; we are talking about the spaces and places in which we work and live or which we visit. As I said, Scotland has some of the best of them. The next slide shows that, although other areas have a lot less going for them, they clearly have potential. I suppose the point that we want to make is that geography affects economic and social outcomes and that places shape us.The next slide shows the impact of Executive policies. There are spatial implications to Executive policies and decisions, even if that was not the primary intention. Let us take ferry services as an example. Our lifeline services to the islands and remote rural Scotland offer major social benefits. We now also have a direct ferry service to Europe from Rosyth. I understand that Irish hauliers are showing an interest in the alternatives to the Hull crossing. Development interest around Rosyth is growing as a result.Members will be familiar with the debate on national parks; one park has already been established and another will be established later this year. There is a key interest in the boundaries, partly because of natural heritage issues, but also because of the anticipated benefits to the local economies, which could raise the level of development in those areas.Another example is affordable housing. If the priority were to be changed from one that supported urban regeneration to one that supported economic development, there would be significant spatial implications and a shift from west to east.The next slide relates to the consultation on strategic planning and shows the issues that we thought the national planning framework would address. The first issue was settlement pattern. Although we have recognised the importance of our cities through the cities review, almost two in five Scots live in small towns, some of which are part of city regions and some of which are not. Some of those places are seen as idyllic, but others, particularly the mining towns of South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire have suffered significant economic change and have experienced a substantial decline in population.The next slide emphasises the fact that most of Scotland is rural. The future of our rural areas is a major issue. In recent times, we have seen significant structural changes in agriculture and fishing. The next slide is an exciting image of a sewer being laid: it is clear to us that infrastructure capacity, including drainage, is a big issue in some parts of Scotland. We are now aware of those problems and of the fact that a distinctive geography is involved. The fact that the population is declining and aging has very real geographical implications. I will say a bit more about population and households later. The next slide concerns economic prospects. The different parts of Scotland have different rates of performance and potential. The average household income in the city of Edinburgh is almost 30 per cent above the United Kingdom average. No doubt there are positive aspects to that in terms of employment, but significant issues also arise in relation to affordable housing, traffic congestion and pressure on the green belt. Important environmental issues are also involved, such as natural heritage designations, flooding and coastal erosion.We also felt that we needed to look at long-term strategic priorities for the transport system. We wanted to consider what Scotland's transport system would look like in 20 years' time. When we consulted on the review of strategic planning, we talked about the areas that we thought were important in terms of national interest and for which a co-ordinated approach was required. One such area was west Edinburgh. As members will see from the map on the slide, most of the population of Scotland lives within a 50-mile radius of that area. The area is remarkably accessible—it is the gateway to the capital. A lot of economic activity takes place there and a lot of planning permissions have been granted. There is a debate around whether Edinburgh airport will grow to two, three or four times its present size. The clear prediction is that the airport will grow substantially. The area is becoming a victim of its own success. Major congestion is a problem, but there are also opportunities because of the railway lines that run through the area. There are tensions with green-belt policy, which is why we work with colleagues from the city council, the enterprise agency and other organisations to prepare a vision.As the minister has said, the draft vision is about making hard choices that will not please everyone. When we consulted on the draft in 2002, we received strong support for our approach. We held a stakeholder seminar last month to reflect on the consultation and we hope to publish the final version shortly.Other areas might benefit from such an approach. For example, much development activity is under way in the Clyde, although we have to take into account major issues such as transport and flooding in that area. Indeed, the Clyde conurbation working group is trying to take stock of those issues. Although hard choices have to be made there, there is also high market and developer interest.Not so much development interest is being shown in the east side of the Clyde conurbation, with its concentration of vacant, derelict and contaminated land, sites of multiple ownership and social inclusion partnerships, as well as—as the evidence now suggests—its drainage constraints. However, the area has significant long-term potential. The construction of the M74 extension and its linking with the M8 through the east end regeneration route will make the area more accessible. As the minister said, we need to take a more systematic approach to planning in that area instead of simply reacting to proposals as they come in.There is also talk of other areas. For example, I know that colleagues in Aberdeen would like us to adopt our approach in that city. However, we must be clear about the national issues in that regard instead of taking decisions on matters that are really up to the local authorities. The approach could also be adopted in rural areas such as the Western Isles, which suffer from substantial rural depopulation and economic deprivation.Changes to areas raise difficult policy issues. Do we want to support prosperity? Are we sustaining rural or urban areas that are in decline? Are we promoting investment to meet future needs? The emphasis rests on the first two questions, because even where we support prosperity—for example, in west Edinburgh—investment in infrastructure tends to lag behind. That is why one academic has coined the term "planning backwards".The minister highlighted the issue of long-term decision making not just on transport but on water and drainage. It is clear that not all issues and trends are susceptible to policy influence and that we cannot build our way out of every problem. Although planning must be flexible and responsive, physical infrastructure provision is just not like that. Planning, design and construction take time. The unavoidable truth is that any decisions to chop trees, remove hedges and lay bricks or concrete are essentially irreversible, which is why they must be careful, coherent and considered.The national planning framework is based on two fundamental principles: information—or, to be more precise, information analysis—and inclusion. For example, as far as population change is concerned, there has been very pronounced growth in the east of Scotland, Stirling and Renfrewshire, whereas there has been major decline in Aberdeen, Dundee, two of the island groups and Inverclyde. There is also a pattern of modest decline in Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Angus and Moray.The key factor is not so much population change as household change, which determines expenditure patterns and service provision. A family of four who live in a house will want one fridge and one washing machine, whereas four single-person households will require four of those appliances. Again, there are pronounced east-west differences in that respect. Although a major increase in the number of households is forecast in Edinburgh and the Lothians—twice as big as the increase that is forecast in the west of Scotland—the reservoir of vacant and derelict land lies in the west of Scotland. That means that we have to make hard decisions about where development will go, particularly on the east side of the country.Employment change is also an interesting factor. Few people appreciate that the biggest increase in employment in Scotland over the past five or six years has been in Glasgow, although we should remember that only one in two of those jobs goes to Glasgow residents. Edinburgh, West Lothian, Perth and Kinross and Angus have also experienced increases.An arc of job losses runs from Ayrshire up to Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, taking in Dundee and Aberdeen. Highland is seen as an area that is experiencing employment decline but, because it is an enormous area, there are local differences. Areas such as the inner Moray firth and parts of Wester Ross and Skye may have seen increases in employment. Any analysis that we do needs to be more sensitive to those local issues.The combination of economic geography and demographic change determines the pattern of social justice in Scotland. As a result, 22 of the 32 social inclusion partnerships lie in the west. The 2001 census will reveal differences between areas. The pattern may have shifted within Glasgow or North Lanarkshire, but the basic east-west split will be broadly the same.I mentioned inclusion. We had bilateral discussions with Executive departments, enterprise and environmental agencies, business organisations and councillors, as well as a session with MSPs. However, we were also keen to have regional seminars. We wanted to know what the take was in different parts of Scotland. Therefore, we went to Stirling, Newtown St Boswells, Inverness, Inverurie and Ayr. I will try to summarise some of the key points that came out of those seminars. I emphasise that the seminars were not just for planners; they were for a wide range of people, including representatives of the enterprise agencies, Scottish Water and Scottish Natural Heritage.In the central belt, the issue that emerged was whether we were supporting growth or addressing need. Clearly, people saw some scope for decentralising economic activity, but there was discussion about the levers. The Scottish Executive has a relocation policy to address some of those issues. The importance of land recycling and compact cities came out clearly once again. Infrastructure deficits, particularly in relation to transport, were also mentioned. For example, an anomaly arises around Perth. It is easy to get to the city from the Forth road bridge, but travelling from Perth to Edinburgh by train is another matter.In southern Scotland, which is really East Lothian, the Borders and the south-west, there was a strong feeling of isolation and a feeling that the area was neglected. Transport issues inevitably came up, not surprisingly given the strong feelings about the Borders railway and the dualling of the A1. There was a concern, which was also reflected in the north-east, that rural problems in the area should not be seen to be the same as rural problems in the Highlands. There is a need to recognise the diversity of Scotland. Access to broadband was seen as an important issue for economic development.In the Highlands and Islands, it was felt that the distinctive settlement and transport pattern had to be recognised. The population is sparse and there are issues about peripherality. There was also talk about enterprises that are based on natural resources and there was an interesting discussion on the approach to renewable energy. One council said that renewable energy could be a threat to its tourism industry, although it conceded that, if supporting investment was forthcoming—for example, investment in manufacturing wind turbines—it was prepared to make that trade-off. Not surprisingly, the trans-shipment terminal in Scapa Flow was mentioned, as were concerns about affordable housing.In the north-east, concern was expressed about Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a city of fewer than 200,000 people, but it is the headquarters for many international companies—we should not forget that its international role is disproportionate to its size. The fact that the north-east has a distinctive pattern of small towns was raised, as was the issue of transport links—inevitably, the western peripheral road was mentioned. There were also issues about connections to the central belt. The journey from Aberdeen to Edinburgh takes two and a half hours by train. The distance is the same as from Edinburgh to Newcastle, but that journey takes only one and a half hours by train. There is a feeling that connectivity issues need to be addressed. Issues were also raised concerning rural depopulation and diversification.We had a session in the south-west in Ayr, taking in Inverclyde, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway. Unemployment was a major issue in that area. The area was seen as one with potential for economic activity, but improved transport links were felt to be vital, even if economic development did not follow from them directly. An important requirement was for a fairly seamless journey from Gourock, Greenock or Ayr to Edinburgh, without the need to change trains. Other issues included the potential of Prestwick's role as an international airport and Hunterston's role as a terminal. Renewable energy was seen as a large and significant resource.What came out of those seminars? A lot of support for the exercise. The people to whom we spoke are looking for a vision to be supported by action. They are looking for the hard choices to be made. There has been a strong welcome for the inclusive approach that we have taken to preparation. There is widespread recognition that the task is difficult and it is clear that there are sensitivities. The all-Scotland focus was welcomed. The key themes that came out related to economic development and regional policy, transport, drainage, affordable housing and energy. I reinforce what the minister said—yes, the framework has to be aspirational, but it also has to be realistic. It should be about delivering long-term, sustainable solutions.An ad hoc ministerial group has been assembled to oversee the production of the document—the group is meeting in two weeks' time. We will of course continue bilateral discussions and there will be a second round of stakeholder consultations in June. We hope to present the national planning framework to Parliament later this year.