Meeting of the Parliament 29 May 2018
I will do my best.
When the bill was introduced, we heard Government representatives describe objections as a delay to be avoided. However, many people lose amenity and experience disruptions but receive no compensation from the developer. They have no option but to object.
That is a particularly pertinent point when there are projects that do not follow local development plans. People may have purchased property on the understanding that the local plan would be followed. It seems unreasonable that a plan that has been negotiated and consulted on can easily be overturned by the council without there having to be any justification to an alternative authority. We saw an example of that with the new football stadium in Aberdeen—a decision that attracted its fair share of controversy. It is right to take time to engage with stakeholders. As others have stated, at stage 2 we hope to work out the best approach for the appeal process as a result of the evidence that has been given.
Availability of information on planning applications has vastly improved thanks to the internet, but notification to those affected is made only to immediate neighbours. That assumes that the effect of development is limited to those sharing a boundary with the property. Although people in the city usually cannot see past their own street, in rural areas visibility is greater and a project can completely change someone’s surrounding landscape without any notification being required.
When infrastructure construction cuts through properties, compulsory purchase orders are initiated and the occupant receives statutory compensation as a minimum—and often receives more. Adjoining properties that miss the construction by even as little as 10cm receive no such compensation, although their loss of amenity can be equal to, if not worse than, that of those who are losing their land, and may include visual, noise and air pollution.
The current system aside, there are some issues in the bill that need fixing. One is the introduction of local place plans. That element of the bill allows communities to come up with their own plans, which planning authorities must consider as part of the process. In principle, I welcome the idea of communities having a conditional list for future planning in the area. However, the bill does not place any obligation on authorities to follow those plans—only that they should “have regard” to them. That, unfortunately, creates a situation in which people spend long hours and significant sums of money preparing plans for their own communities, but when push comes to shove they are ignored.
Another area of contention is the infrastructure levy. The bill would give Scottish ministers the power to impose a levy on developers totalling an estimated £750 million over 10 years. That works out at a maximum of £75 million per year, which is insufficient to deliver the estimated £7.5 billion that is needed for housing. I wondered why such a small fraction was incentive enough for the Government to introduce the levy, until I saw the fine print. The Scottish Government can, if it wants, require local authorities to hand over their levy money to be redistributed among local authorities as the Government pleases. It is all starting to make sense: another day, another attempt to centralise power in St Andrew’s house.
I expected more from the bill. We were promised a major shake-up of how planning is conducted, but the many emails that we have all received from constituents and stakeholders show us that the change is far from major. It is clear that there are issues with the bill as it stands, and those will require a significant amount of work as it progresses through Parliament. Those problems can be overcome and a suitable bill can be agreed—one that not only provides us with a planning system that is both efficient and fit for purpose but puts local opinion at the forefront of decision making. I will be supporting the bill at this stage and look forward to considering future improvements to it in due course, although I say to the minister that it would be much better to tear this one up and start again.
16:23