Special Development Orders (SDOs) legislation: EIR Review
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Original reguest (202400399229)
You asked for information relating to the legislation pertaining to the revocation of Special Development Orders (SDOs), such as the SDO at Ardeer in Stevenson.
Response
Further to my letter of 27 March, I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) for communications, including emails, letters and memos between Scottish Government officials, departments, and any external organisations or consultants regarding the Revocation of Special Development Orders (SDO).
I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed with modifications.
In reviewing the searches which were carried out, an additional note of an internal meeting between Scottish Government planning officials and property officials has been identified and is now included Annex B. However, exceptions apply to some of the information requested. The relevant exceptions and reasons are set out in Annex A.
In your request for a review you specifically requested notes of meetings between Scottish Government and North Ayrshire Council regarding the Ardeer SDO. I have reviewed the searches which were undertaken to identify information which fell within the scope of your request. I am satisfied that no notes of meetings with North Ayrshire Council regarding the development and inclusion of the provisions in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 relating to compensation payable where development orders are revoked, are held. This is a formal notice under 10(4)(a) of the EIRs that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
It may be helpful if I explain that some discussions may have taken place with North Ayrshire Council, however, a note of these may not have been taken. It should also be noted that the provisions included within the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 will apply to all development orders and although Ardeer will be affected, the development of legislation would require to take account of how it would be applied across all development orders. North Ayrshire Council would not be the only planning authority to be involved in the preparation of the legislation.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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