Masterplan Consent Areas: guidance - impact assessments

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

SEA Pre-Screening Document

Responsible Authority:

Scottish Government

Title of the plan:

The Masterplan Consent Area Guidance (January 2025)

What prompted the plan:

(e.g. a legislative, regulatory or administrative provision)

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 sets out an integrated package of proposed improvements to the planning system, including Masterplan Consent Areas (MCAs).

The following regulations cover the main process for making MCA schemes and are due to come into force on 5 December 2024:

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

The guidance is intended to bring together and explain the legislative requirements from the Act and the two sets of regulations, and the associated Fees regulations which allow planning authorities to recoup their costs associated with making or amending MCA schemes or handling applications for discharge of conditions associated with MCAs.

Plan subject:

(e.g. transport)

Town & country planning.

Brief summary of the plan:

(including the area or location to which the plan related)

When both sets of MCA Regulations come into force, they will outline the procedural requirements for preparing a MCA. The non-statutory MCA Guidance is designed to support planning authorities by offering more information to ensure there is a consistent approach when they prepare MCA schemes.

Any further detail in the guidance is based on the broad principles that were outlined within the 2019 Act, and which was subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The Regulations were also pre-screened.

These additions set out in guidance would not be expected to have environmental effects in their own right as they are more administrative in nature, covering the preparation process and assessment process of what has already been outlined in the 2019 Act and the regulations.

Brief summary of the likely environmental consequences:

(including whether it has been determined that the plan is likely to have no or minimum effects, either directly or indirectly)

As the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 which sets the principles of Masterplan Consent Areas was subject to SEA, it is our view the environmental impact of Masterplan Consent Areas has already been determined. The additional level of detail contained in the guidance has therefore no environmental effects beyond those that were already established by the assessment of the 2019 Act.

This non-statutory guidance is designed to offer planning authorities consistency and clarity in the preparation process of an MCA. It is therefore our view that the guidance will not have significant environmental effects in its own right.

Brief summary of how environmental principles have been considered:

(including whether any of the guiding principles, as set out in section 13 of the Continuity Act, are relevant to the plan)

The environmental principles are imbedded within SEA, ensuring relevant plans and programmes that are subject to SEA consider how best to avoid environmental damage and if damage does occur it is addressed. As the 2019 Act was subject to SEA, the environmental principles would have been considered within this assessment.

As the new MCA guidance has no environmental effects in their own right, it is our view the original assessment ensures the principles are imbedded in the proposed guidance.

The guidance will highlight the new legal requirements relating to EIA of individual MCA schemes prepared by planning authorities, which will ensure the effects on the environment of location specific MCA schemes are considered and taken into account.

Contact details:

Adam Henry, Senior Planner,

Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division, Scottish Government

adam.henry@gov.scot

Date of opinion:

08 October 2024

When completed send to: SEA.gateway@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or to

SEA Gateway, Scottish Government, Area 2H (South), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ