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

Islands Communities Impact Assessment

Scottish Ministers are aware of the duty to consult island communities before making a material change to any policy, strategy or service which, in the Scottish Ministers' opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities.

The Scottish Planning Policy applies to planning across Scotland as a whole. We do not envisage that the changes we are making will have significant, or different effects on island communities for the following reasons:

• The amendments will be time-limited. The amendments will only be applicable between their adoption and the National Planning Framework 4 being adopted by summer 2022.
• The amendments do not preclude the application of professional planning judgement in each case. The Scottish Planning Policy is a non-statutory policy, but a significant material consideration. The amendments will not directly lead to planning permission being granted or refused, as that is a matter for decision-makers in each case, taking into account the statutory development plan and other material considerations as appropriate.
• The impact on numbers of homes delivered is unknown but could reasonably be expected to be neutral. Some respondents to the consultation were of the view that the changes we originally proposed may reduce the number of homes granted planning permission. It is not possible to accurately predict the number of homes that may, or may not, gain planning permission in the absence of the policy amendments. Only developments which are not in accordance with the statutory development plan and which may not be considered to be sustainable without the use of a "tilted balance" are likely be affected. Based on the approach taken by Reporters to date, we do not expect that unsustainable developments will have benefited from the presumption prior to the Gladman decision being issued, to any significant extent We accept that the number of homes gaining planning permission on 'exception sites' may reduce as a result of some of the amendments. However, the SPP should be read and applied as a whole. The further amendments now proposed will mean that exceptional housing sites can still be brought forward, and gain consent, where they are considered to be sustainable development.
• The overarching presumption will be retained, albeit reworded. As a result, and based on our evaluation of its role to date which shows that it has been a relevant but not a determinative consideration in non-housing cases, we expect that it can still be applied broadly to applications for wider types of development. As a result the effect of the changes on other sectors, including those relevant to Island communities, is expected to be limited.

We have taken into account responses to the consultation to inform this view. Some of these views include wider comments about the policy, including the importance of supporting rural housing, that will help to inform our fuller review of the relevant policies in National Planning Framework 4. We are also aware that housebuilding in an island context is not subject to the same level of debate about the presumption as other, more urban, parts of Scotland.

The finalised changes are not specifically targeted at island communities, and we remain of the view that the changes will not have significant, or different effects on island communities to that on other communities.

Planning and Architecture Division, 14 December 2020