Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 - National Planning Framework

Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006
National Planning Framework

The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 ("the Act") received Royal Assent on 20 December 2006.  The Act will be brought into effect by regulations to be passed by the Scottish Parliament.  

• The 2006 Act gives the National Planning Framework a statutory status.
• The 2006 Act allows Scottish Ministers to designate national developments.
• The 2006 Act requires the Scottish Ministers to review the National Planning Framework every five years.
• The 2006 Act provides that the Scottish Ministers must lay the National Planning Framework before Parliament.
• Public consultation on the National Planning Framework is required under the 2006 Act in accordance with a participation statement prepared by the Scottish Ministers.

Statutory recognition for the National Planning Framework and national development
The National Planning Framework for Scotland ("NPF") was first published by the Scottish Executive in April 2004 as a non statutory Scotland-wide planning policy.  This Executive guidance sets out the spatial development of Scotland to 2025.  The NPF was introduced as "not [being] intended to be a prescriptive blueprint".  However, the NPF is a material consideration for framing planning policy determining planning applications and appeals.

At present the NPF is a non statutory document.  The Act introduces new mechanisms for adoption of the NPF and elevates it to statutory status for the first time.  The NPF is to set out in broad terms how the Scottish Ministers consider that the development of land could and should occur.  The Act prescribes that the NPF must include both strategy for Scotland's spatial development and a statement of what the Scottish Ministers consider to be priorities for that development.  The statutory provisions allow the Scottish Ministers to identify specific developments and, where appropriate, designate a development or a class of developments as "a national development".  The Act contains no definition of what constitutes a national development.  The Executive stated in the white paper introducing the Bill ('Modernising the Planning System', 2005) that "major transport, water and drainage, energy and waste infrastructure projects, major areas of urban regeneration or expansion and large strategic business or industrial investments" may be deemed to be national developments.

It should be noted, however, that this definition does not include large developments which are currently subject to specific legislation and not governed by the current planning legislative framework, such as power generating stations exceeding a certain capacity or certain road works. 

The formulation of planning policy will have to take any national developments identified in the NPF into account.

Formal requirements and stakeholder consultations
As the NPF is currently a non statutory policy document, there are no legislative processes for its adoption.  The Act introduces a new requirement that the NPF is kept under review.  Within five years of publishing the NPF, the Scottish Ministers will be under a statutory duty to either revise the framework or publish an explanation of why they have decided not to revisit it.

This process will involve the preparation and publication of an account (a participation statement) stating when and with whom consultation on the revised NPF is to take place.  The Act does not identify key stakeholders with whom consultation will be mandatory.  It does anticipate that steps will be taken to involve the public at large in the consultation process and that the process will be a public one.

Once the consultation period ends the revised NPF will be laid before Parliament for a minimum period of 60 days.  Revision of the NPF cannot be completed until the period of parliamentary consultation has expired.  The Scottish Ministers must take any resolution or reports of the Scottish Parliament or parliamentary committee arising from the consultation period into account when finalising revisions to the NPF. 

In the exercise of their functions in preparing and revising the NPF, the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the objective of contributing to sustainable development. 

Provisions of the National Planning Framework set out in the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 will have an impact on any party with an interest in planning policy and law in Scotland. 

The National Planning Framework will set out a strategy for the spatial development for Scotland as a whole and will be a material consideration in the determination of any planning application or appeal. 

People with an interest in planning law should be aware of the changes and be prepared to take advantage of opportunities to engage in the process of the National Planning Framework.

16 January 2007