Modernising Planning

The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 is bringing about changes in planning that have not been seen for over a generation.  The new legislation is designed to make planning fit for purpose and to ensure that communities have more say in the development of their area.

Changes introduced on 6 April 2009 mean that pre-application consultation with communities is now required for national and major developments, under a new development hierarchy.

Further changes came in on 3 August 2009. These are summarised below. 

• new application types to replace outline and reserved matters applications. Revised applications forms are available if you intend to submit for planning permission on or after 3 august
• the Council will be carrying out neighbour notification instead of the applicant
• new requirements for design and access statements
• new requirements for notices to tell us when development starts and finishes
• changes to the duration of planning permission - this will now only last for 3 years

A new statutory scheme of delegation for local developments and changes to the former scheme of delegation are now in place. Please visit our Scheme of Delegation page for more details. These schemes allows planning officers to take decisions on planning applications provided certain criteria are met. A new appeals/review process started on 21 August. Local developments decided under the new statutory scheme of delegation are now open to review by the Council's Local Review Body rather than appeal to the Scottish Government. Decision notices are accompanied by a decision pack which explains this further.

Information leaflets

A series of leaflets is available covering the main changes. The March, May and July editions can be downloaded below.

Modernising Planning Information Leaflet 1 (1 MB)

Modernising Planning Information Leaflet 2 (119 kB)

Modernising Planning Information Leaflet 3 (219 kB)