Scotland 2045 - fourth National Planning Framework - draft housing land requirement: explanatory report

Policy Background

18. The policy position that informs the approach to the MATHLR is outlined below.

Housing to 2040

19. Housing to 2040^[9] outlines how the Scottish Government will take housing policy forward over the long term. Given the alignment of the planning and housing systems, that help to deliver the right mix of homes in the right locations, the statutory requirement for Scottish Ministers to have regard to any national strategy and action plan for housing prepared by Scottish Ministers (Housing to 2040) in preparing NPF, is important. Part 1 of Housing to 2040 - More homes at the heart of great places - establishes that the Scottish Government will make changes so that the housing system works well to deliver affordable and good quality homes for everyone.

20. Housing to 2040, through Action 5, seeks to shift the planning system to be more directive about the quality of places, including where new development should happen and how those developments can deliver more for new and existing communities, including for 20 minute neighbourhoods. Key actions are to:

• Implement new planning policies to discourage development in unsustainable locations and actively encourage new homes where they are close to local services, supported by sustainable transport connections, and designed with green infrastructure, health and wellbeing in mind.

• Discourage greenfield development and instead promote reuse of vacant and derelict land.

• Adopt an infrastructure-first approach to neighbourhood planning to improve access to services and reduce overall car mileage.

• Support the development of quality homes that meet people's needs.

• Tackle the question of housing land requirements up front, so that planning can focus more on quality and delivery.

21. Housing to 2040 sets an ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes over ten years to 2031/32, with at least 70% of these for social rent. It also looks to accelerate funding from 2027/28 to bring more existing homes into this programme, as well as building new ones. More recently A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22^[10], commits to the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in remote, rural and island communities.

A Scotland for the Future: Opportunities and Challenges of Scotland's Changing Population

22. A Scotland for the Future: Opportunities and Challenges of Scotland's Changing Population^[11] is a national population strategy for Scotland. The Scottish Government's aim is to make communities across Scotland attractive places to live, work, bring up families and to move to; so that Scotland's population profile provides a platform for sustainable and inclusive economic growth and wellbeing.

23. A key strand of the Strategy is balance: ensuring that the population is more balanced and distributed across Scotland. Without intervention, 14 local authority areas are expected to experience a decrease in population, with most of those being located in the west and south-west of the country. This creates skill shortages, threatens community sustainability and puts pressure on public services. For those areas that are dealing with an increase in the population, this brings its own challenges in providing the infrastructure and services (including housing) to support this. The Strategy promotes NPF4 as a means to support sustainable rural settlements and gives a clear steer on the homes that will be required to meet the long-term needs of a changing population.

National Planning Framework 4 - Position Statement

24. Scotland's Fourth National Planning Framework Position Statement^[12] established that the vision for housing will align with Housing to 2040 and identified key considerations for housing land allocation, taking into account the statutory outcomes to meet the housing needs of people living in Scotland, including increasing the population of rural areas.

25. The Position Statement, in considering a Plan for Resilient Communities, looked to promote active planning of, and support for, the delivery of good quality homes. It placed an emphasis on homes, and their provision, at the heart of a spatial strategy that puts people first.

26. Identifying the housing land required in each local authority area was indicated as the preferred approach. This would allow the formation of a common approach to housing land requirements for LDPs, aligned with LHSs and wider strategic investment priorities.

27. Actively supporting delivery and maintaining a steady pipeline of land for homes was signalled. Taking a longer-term perspective on land for homes to promote deliverability and viability, and steer development to appropriate locations was also promoted. The release of land, in line with the development plan, would be triggered when the need for additional capacity was clearly demonstrated.

Draft National Planning Framework 4

28. Draft NPF4 refocuses planning policy for housing on supporting delivery of high quality, sustainable homes that meet the needs of people throughout their lives.
It looks to the outcomes we want to achieve on climate change, inclusive growth, health and well-being, and infrastructure first, as well as meeting the statutory requirement on housing land.

29. Quality Homes policy in Draft NPF4 expects that LDPs should identify a housing target for the area it covers in the form of a housing land requirement. Representing how much land is required, is should, at least, meet the 10 year MATHLR which is set out in an annex of Draft NPF4 (and set out in Annex D of this document).

30. The policy establishes that LDPs should set out a deliverable housing land pipeline, representing when land will be bought forward. It indicates that the pipeline should comprise short, medium and long term sites, which can be supported by infrastructure requirements. The Delivery Programme and Housing Land Audit should be used to manage the development pipeline.

31. The policy also expects LDPs to allocate land in sustainable locations that create quality places for people to live. The locations of where new homes are allocated should be consistent with the principles of 20 minute neighbourhoods and the infrastructure first approach.

32. Policy in NPF4 will, once finalised and published, be used to determine planning applications. It supports high quality homes of different types that improve affordability and choice. It also looks to proposals to provide information on how they benefit communities.