Masterplan Consent Areas: guidance - impact assessments

Fairer Scotland Duty (FSD) Assessment

Assessment not required declaration

Policy title: Masterplan Consent Area Guidance (January 2025)

Policy team/lead:

Directorate: Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Directorate

Division: Transforming Planning

Team: Development Planning & Housing

Policy lead responsible for taking the decision: Adam Henry, Senior Planner

Rationale for decision:

We consider that a FSD assessment is not necessary. A FSD assessment was undertaken to support the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, which laid out the details of NPF4 and changes to the planning system, including introducing MCAs as a new upfront consenting mechanism. A further FSD assessment was undertaken to support the following regulations covering the main process for making MCA schemes:

• The Town and Country Planning (Masterplan Consent Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2024
• The Masterplan Consent Area Scheme (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024

The FSD found MCAs have the potential to unlock significant areas for housing development and also support wider objectives including business development and town centre renewal. MCAs will allow planning authorities to plan; front-loading consideration of design, infrastructure and environmental matters at an earlier stage in the planning process and so placing authorities in a position of leading the planning of high quality places, rather than reacting to applications put before them.

MCAs can support the delivery of LDP spatial strategies and particular local priorities, by providing upfront consent for development that has been subject to community consultation and so supporting investment in those planned developments.

We do not believe that a further FSD assessment is required for the guidance. The guidance is intended to bring together and explain the legislative requirements from the 2019 Act and the two sets of MCA regulations. Any further detail in the guidance is based on the broad principles that were outlined within the 2019 Act and the regulations.

I confirm that the decision to not carry out a Fairer Scotland assessment has been authorised by:

Dr Fiona Simpson, Chief Planner

Date authorisation given: 04/12/2024