Cleaner Air for Scotland 2: delivery plan

Priority 3: Placemaking

We support place based approaches to tackle air pollution, create better, more sustainable places and contribute to better, healthier lives and higher amenity and improved conditions for work, life and play.

Our strategic approach includes:

• Placemaking Working Group Report
  http://www.scottishairquality.scot/assets/documents/Placemaking-Working-Group-Report.pdf
• National Planning Framework 4 (in preparation)
  https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-fourth-national-planning-framework-position-statement/
• The Place Standard tool
  https://www.placestandard.scot/
• Place Principle
  https://www.gov.scot/publications/place-principle-introduction/
• The EU Research and Innovation policy agenda on Nature-Based Solutions
  https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs
  https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/environment/nature-based-solutions_en
• Connecting Nature
  https://connectingnature.eu/
• Digital Strategy for planning
  https://www.gov.scot/publications/transforming-places-together-scotlands-digital-strategy-planning/
• Open Space Strategies
  Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Integrated Tools for Air Pollution Assessment
  ITAPA | JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation

Outcomes:

3. We promote and support the place principle with place-based approaches, delivering air quality improvements as a direct co-benefit of sustainable places.

Actions:

Our key short term actions (to 2022)

• The Scottish Government will ensure that National Planning Framework 4 has regard to CAFS 2 in its preparation, in accordance with the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.
• The Scottish Government with support from SEPA will promote the aim of the UK Integration Tools for Air Pollution Assessment (ITAPA) project in developing an online air pollution risk assessment tool for air pollution effects on ecosystems.

Our key medium term actions (to 2024)

• The Scottish Government will undertake a review of nature based, green and blue interventions which can benefit air quality, using the outcomes to develop a database of potential solutions for both regeneration and new developments.
• The Scottish Government with support from SEPA will implement the National Modelling Framework (NMF) regional air quality model to assess the effects of land-use development on local air quality.
• Local authorities with support from Scottish Government will assess how effectively air quality is embedded in plans, policies, City Deals and other initiatives, and more generally in cross departmental working, identifying and addressing evidence, skills, awareness and operational gaps.

Our key long term actions (to 2026)

• The Scottish Government will work with local authorities who wish to develop a targeted approach where appropriate for utilising the Place Standard tool with an air quality focus.
• The Scottish Government will continue to promote the use and role of the Place Standard tool(s) in place-based approaches, enabling delivery of air quality improvement as a co-benefit of delivering high quality, sustainable places that support health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities.