Scotland 2045 - fourth National Planning Framework - draft: consultation

How to use this document

This is a consultation draft document and comments are invited from all stakeholders. Further details about how to get involved along with additional supporting materials, including an Integrated Impact Assessment, can be found at Transforming Planning.

Once approved by the Scottish Parliament and adopted by the Scottish Ministers (expected during 2022), this plan will become part of the statutory development plan and will directly influence planning decisions.

The amended Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 directs that the National Planning Framework must contribute to a series of six outcomes: improving the health and wellbeing of our people; increasing the population of rural areas; meeting housing needs; improving equality and eliminating discrimination; meeting targets for emissions of greenhouse gases; and securing positive effects for biodiversity. A draft statement of the outcomes and how this draft has contributed to them is set out in Annex A.

Part 1 – sets out an overarching spatial strategy for Scotland in the future. This includes priorities, spatial principles and action areas. This should be used to guide the preparation of regional spatial strategies, local development plans and local place plans. The strategy will also be relevant to wider policies and strategies relating to land use.

Part 2 – sets out proposed national developments that support the spatial strategy.

Part 3 – sets out policies for the development and use of land which are to be applied in the preparation of local development plans; local place plans; masterplans and briefs; and for determining the range of planning consents. This part should be taken as a whole, and all relevant policies should be applied to each application.

Part 4 – provides an outline of how we will deliver this strategy. This will be developed into a standalone, live delivery programme once NPF4 has been approved and adopted.