Aurora Spotlights – May 2018
This month’s spotlights have been co-written by Lisa Crossan, who recently joined Aurora Planning for a four-week internship. We’re delighted to welcome Lisa to the team, and to have her input in all aspects of Aurora’s work. And so, without further ado, read on below to see what Lisa has picked out as particular highlights this month…
On Holyrood
Planning (Scotland) Bill Update – Stage 1: Leading on from April’s spotlights the lead committee have since published their stage 1 report on the Planning Bill, setting out their recommendations to the Scottish Parliament. Of these, the committee’s recommendation on strategic development plans is one that Aurora particularly welcomes as, while the Planning Bill advocates for strategic development plans to be abolished and an enhanced National Planning Framework to replace them, the committee recommends that they should only be abolished if a more robust mechanism for regional planning is provided. The committee suggests that this mechanism could include enabling local authorities to work together for strategic planning purposes; and that any agreed plan that arises from that work should then form part of the relevant Local Development Plans. Further information on this and the other recommended amendments can be found here. Also look out for our blog on this, coming soon!
On planning applications
The Rise of Private Rented Sector Housing: Following submission of the planning application for 299 private rented sector flats at the Hill of Rubislaw in March this year, it’s interesting to look at what’s happening in terms of the private rented sector market more widely. Private rented sector housing has undergone a rapid period of growth and now forms around 20% of the housing market, with this predicted to grow even further in future. For example, reports indicate that a quarter of UK households will rent privately by 2021 and that, by 2025, the number of households in private rented sector accommodation will have overtaken the number of mortgaged households. The number of mortgaged households will be just under 6 million, while the number of households in private rental accommodation will overtake this at 6 million plus. This is definitely a sector to keep an eye on!
On the Courts
Jordanhill Community Council vs Glasgow City Council: In a case that highlights just how emotional and polarising planning decisions can be for local stakeholders, Jordanhill Community Council (JCC) recently had their attempt to challenge Glasgow City Council’s decision to grant permission in principle for the erection of 412 new homes at the Jordanhill campus site dismissed by the Court of Session. The full decision and reasons are available here. However, it seems that this is not the end of the story, and the residents are taking steps to establish a Community Trust in a bid to create their own community centre, develop a community plan for the area, and to continue to engage in the planning system in this way, that being something that no-one can dismiss. Further information on this can be found here.
The Fracking “Ban”: Another element of the planning system that has been receiving judicial attention recently is of course the Scottish Ministers’ decision to ‘ban’ fracking, using planning powers to instruct local authorities not to grant planning permission for any fracking related activities to achieve this. Putting aside the question of whether or not this does constitute an effective ban for now (the Scottish Ministers having both said that it is and that it isn’t), the key question is whether this decision was a lawful one, judgement on which has been reserved to a future date. A decision to look out for.
On us
With the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) now in force, we have been busy ensuring that we are GDPR compliant. We have been ticking off our checklist to make sure that we have emphasised privacy by design, are accountable and transparent. If you wish to read our updated Privacy Statement, please click the link here.
We have also been preparing for the half-day conference on Community Asset Transfer, and the implications of this for those involved in property, community planning and spatial planning which we are supporting JHPlanning in delivering. This is taking place on the 12th of June in Edinburgh and would be of value to estates/property people, town planners and community planning practitioners. For further information and to sign up, please see here.
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Finally, to find out about how we can assist you in any aspect of the planning process, please visit our website (link) or email us at info@auroraplanning.co.uk.
Thanks for reading!
Lisa and the Aurora Planning Team