Scottish Planning Policy - finalised amendments: impact assessments – December 2020

Scottish Planning Policy - Finalised Amendments Impact assessments

Summary of finalised policy changes that have been considered for all of the impact assessments below:

• Amendment of the wording of the presumption in favour of development that contributes to sustainable development. We originally proposed removing relevant sections of the Scottish Planning Policy and associated paragraphs. However, having taken into account views and evidence received, we have now decided that the policy can be amended rather than removed. The proposed changes would clarify that there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, rather than in favour of development that contributes to sustainable development. We will also set out that this should be assessed with reference to the principles set out under paragraph 29. This would help to ensure decision-makers understand that we support sustainable development rather than any development which may not be sustainable.
  The proposed changes also amend wording of paragraph 33 of the Scottish Planning Policy to set out how applications that do not accord with the development plan should be considered. The references in paragraph 33 to policies in a development plan being out of date and to the age of the development plan would be removed to confirm the statutory status of the development plan.
• We are amending the policy on housing and maintaining a five year effective housing land supply (paragraph 125). Rather than the changes originally proposed, setting out a full methodology for calculating the land supply in the SPP, we are linking changes with guidance on our preferred methodology for calculating the extent of the land supply. This is based on an average rate of housing delivery over the plan period as a whole, rather than adjusted to factor in housing completions.
• The proposed changes clarify how proposals for housing development which do not accord with the development plan should be assessed where there is a shortfall in the 5 year effective housing land, by linking decisions to the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
• Other changes originally proposed will no longer be taken forward, including references to site programming and revised glossary definitions.