Hansard

I am pleased to announce the publication today of the Executive's white paper "modernising the planning system", which follows a series of consultations and policy statements on planning and which will be the final publication on the issue before the introduction of a planning bill later in this parliamentary session. The proposals that are set out in the white paper fulfil the Executive's commitment to reform the planning system

"to strengthen involvement of communities, speed up decisions, reflect local views better, and allow quicker investment decisions."

I believe that we will achieve that and more through the exciting, ambitious and wide-ranging set of reforms that we are unveiling today. The reforms will deliver a planning system that is fit for the 21st century and one that is better, fairer and more balanced.

Most members accept that planning matters. The way in which the planning system balances the various interests of development, the environment and social justice will determine how Scotland looks in the future. Planning is a critical tool for creating the dynamic, forward-looking and confident nation to which we all aspire. The planning system also provides a framework and process for local people to have their say in how their communities evolve, which is an essential part of the challenge that faces the Executive. Too many people who are affected by development feel that the planning system is inaccessible and that their views are often ignored. I am determined to put that right and to ensure that environmental concerns are put at the heart of the planning system.

Too often in the past, planning has been regarded in crude terms as either a bureaucratic and negative process, a brake on growth and a block to investment; or, alternatively, a tool for selfish developers to use to ride roughshod over local people's views. I want to reform the planning system, not tinker with it. I want a system that delivers the right kind of growth, which is smart and sustainable growth; a system for investment in jobs, essential infrastructure and housing, schools and hospitals; a system that regenerates communities; and a system that listens to what local people say about the impact on their lives and environment. However, that cannot happen without a modernised planning system that is reformed from top to bottom. The current system does not meet our ambitions for a prosperous and sustainable Scotland, nor does it command the confidence of the public. That must change and I propose to ensure that it does.

Although development plans have been at the heart of the current system for more than a decade, many of them are out of date. In fact, more than 75 per cent of local plans are more than five years old and more than half are at least 10 years old. That cannot continue. Local authority performance on processing applications also tends to be below published targets. Further, there is anecdotal evidence that far too much time and resource is taken up with small, minor applications, rather than with consideration of the major applications that deliver jobs, homes or public services. Let me be clear: I do not blame local authorities for the ills of the planning system. Many planning authorities do a good job under difficult circumstances and there are many examples throughout Scotland of high-quality, sustainable development that enhances the local environment. Our challenge is to ensure that the system that we introduce builds on the best practice throughout Scotland.

One major problem is that the planning system is too complex and does not have a clear sense of how it should respond to the different demands that are placed on it. Our white paper proposes new procedures for dealing differently with developments depending on whether they are of national, major, local or minor significance. That will ensure that there is a clearer sense of what the planning system is for; that decision making takes place at the appropriate level; and that we can introduce specific measures to consider people's views at each level in the new system and to assess the environmental impacts.

Our proposals to deal effectively with developments of national significance have been comprehensively misrepresented. We propose a sensible measure to ensure that the national planning framework plays a greater role in mapping out the key policies, strategies and developments that Scotland needs. Environmental groups and others have advocated such a proposal. The national planning framework will be drawn up through extensive consultation with stakeholders, subject to a strategic environmental assessment and decided on at the national level by the Executive, with the full involvement of the Parliament. However, giving the national planning framework an enhanced status will not automatically mean that developments will occur in specific locations. Development plans will continue to be the main vehicle for debating the location, design and impact of specific proposals, with—as now—an important role for public examination and extensive environmental impact assessments.

The white paper also makes sensible provision to distinguish between developments of major, local and minor significance. A small proportion of applications each year will be treated as major applications and, for the first time, special procedures will be put in place to ensure that they are processed with the efficiency that their potential impact on local economic opportunities and job creation merits. Many local applications will be devolved to the local level. Planning officers will be able to take decisions on relatively straightforward cases. Appeals against refusals by officers should be decided locally by the elected members, rather than by reporters. That radical and innovative reform will mean that, where decisions have been delegated to planning officers, elected members will rightly have the final say, bar any recourse to the courts. Those reforms, along with our intended examination of the scope for removing many householder applications from the planning system altogether, will rationalise and simplify a system that has become too complex and unwieldy. Our proposals will enable local authorities to allocate resources in a more focused way to the applications that need them most and to other matters such as enforcement.

The bedrock of our reforms will be the revitalisation of development plans. The development plan process is still the best way in which to reflect local people's views and provide opportunities for them to shape and contribute to the vision for their area while proposals are still on the drawing board. Moreover, all development plans will be subject to strategic environmental assessment to ensure that the environmental impact of development is central to the vision of an area. We will require development plans to be updated every five years and responsibilities will be identified for the timing of the plans and implementation of their policies. We will also reduce the complexity of the system by requiring only one tier of development plan for most of Scotland, with strategic development plans only for the four largest city regions.

Plans should be simpler and more accessible with clearly identified commitments to listen to local people, which will ensure that their views are taken into account fairly, fully and properly. When our new system is in place, it will be easier for all applications to be assessed on their fit with the development plan, which will ensure that the system is more predictable and transparent. That will also make the planning system more efficient, as decisions will be taken quickly on the basis of their compatibility with the development plan. We will also increase the use of e-planning, improve the way in which planning agreements are concluded and introduce standard planning application forms.

A planning system that is fit for purpose and more efficient is only half the picture. I strongly believe that our reforms will have failed if we do not make the system fairer, more inclusive and more transparent. I am therefore announcing today a raft of reforms to make the planning system more inclusive and better able to respond to environmental concerns.

As I said, the revitalisation of development plans is the best way in which local people can feed in their views about the way in which their community should develop. For individual development plans, key proposals should be communicated directly to the local people whom the plans potentially affect. That reform will ensure that local people are aware of the plans at the earliest possible stage. Subsequently, during the development plan process, people will be able to make their views on the proposals known and then participate in a transparent and predictable decision-making process. The white paper also proposes that local plan inquiries should be made more accessible for local people, so that they feel better able to participate in that critical stage of the plan adoption process. Finally, to ensure that the measures are fully implemented, the quality of public engagement with development plans will be assessed and reported to ministers. That will enable ministers to ensure that all the procedures are followed properly and that local people have every opportunity to feed their views into the drafting of development plans.

The measures will be greatly assisted by improved communication. The white paper proposes a new planning advice note to share best practice on how planning authorities in Scotland should involve local people in the system. That will be supported by a new information campaign to inform people about changes to the planning system and tell them how they will be more involved.

The white paper sets out measures to guarantee local people more rights in statute to express their views on individual applications. For the first time, there will be statutory obligations on applicants to conduct pre-application discussions where applications significantly depart from the development plan or where an environmental impact assessment is required. The white paper proposes more frequent use of hearings before planning authorities take their decisions so that local people can put across their views directly, and it proposes that planning authorities should be required to give reasons for all their decisions and to notify all individuals who have expressed an interest. I intend to extend the requirement to notify ministers of cases that are significantly contrary to the development plan. The fact that ministers are not satisfied with the level of engagement will be a reason for applications being called in for determination by ministers. That will ensure for the first time that developments will not happen if the views of local people have not been properly listened to.

The white paper sets out reforms to bring new fairness to the planning system by ensuring that ill-founded appeals do not clog up the system and by restricting the grounds for all appeals. Those reforms will address the concern that applicants have an unfettered right of appeal whereas local people have no right of appeal.

The white paper also proposes reforms to enhance the powers that are available to local authorities to enforce planning decisions. Those powers are an essential part of the planning system and ensure that people can have confidence in decisions that are reached fairly, openly and with maximum levels of public participation. I want planning authorities to adopt a more proactive approach to enforcement, to discourage unauthorised development and breaches of planning control, and to deal quickly, efficiently and rigorously with breaches that occur.

Among the measures that I am announcing today to enhance planning enforcement provisions is the proposal that developers should notify local authorities when they are about to start development work so that local authorities can monitor on-going progress more closely. I also propose that local authorities should be able to impose temporary stop notices to allow them to stop development immediately where there has been a breach of planning control. Furthermore, I propose that all local authorities should produce enforcement charters to allow members of the public to know what powers local authorities have and how they intend to use them.

I recognise that enforcement is a matter of great concern to local people. We will therefore keep the effectiveness of the measures under review. I call on all planning authorities to prioritise future resources for enforcement as part of reallocation exercises linked to the implementation of the package of reforms, and I do not rule out even bolder measures in the future if we are unable to make significant headway on enforcing planning decisions in the coming months and years.

In the light of our proposals to ensure more fairness and balance and greater involvement in the new planning system, our white paper does not propose a third-party right of appeal. Our aim is to strengthen the participation of local people from the outset of the process in order to make the system fairer and more balanced; to avoid building new delays and unpredictability into the system, which could add costs to development and act as a deterrent to investment in sustainable growth; and to strengthen rather than undermine local authority decision making. I hope that everyone in the chamber and throughout Scotland will consider the package of reforms as a whole and consider their views on issues such as rights of appeal in the light of the proposals.

In conclusion, the reforms will promote the Executive's top priority of delivering the sustainable growth that Scotland needs. They will bring investment in jobs, housing, schools and hospitals and will regenerate communities. They will devolve decisions and appeals to local authorities wherever that is possible and will ensure that there is a planning system that is based on up-to-date, relevant and accessible development plans that have been drawn up with the full participation of local people and with full assessment of their environmental impacts. The reforms will, for the first time, guarantee local people their right to make their voices heard while proposals are still on the drawing board. The reforms will encourage debate, engagement and dialogue rather than confrontation and frustration and will ensure for the first time that listening to the views of local people is central to the development process. Above all, the package of reforms will deliver a fairer and more balanced system that is fit for purpose in 21st century Scotland and a system that Scotland urgently needs. I commend it to the Parliament.