With February being a short month, it feels like the year is already passing quickly, with lots of change on the way in the world of planning, but also an element of déjà vu in terms of the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic. So, for what’s the same, and what to look forward to, read on…
On Holyrood
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) – continuing our focus on the ongoing consultation on the draft NPF4 from our November 2021 and January 2022 Spotlights, the deadline for responding to this is drawing closer, with this being the 31 March. Given the importance of this with its future status as part of the development plan, we would encourage anyone who as not already responded to the consultation to do so, with full details of how to get involved available here.
Coronavirus Acts – while coronavirus restrictions may be being lifted next month, the impacts of the pandemic are still likely to felt for some time and, as a result, the Scottish Government has laid regulations in the Scottish Parliament to further extend the emergency measures introduced at the start of the pandemic. Notably, assuming the regulations are passed, this will mean that planning, listed building, and conservation area consents that would have expired during the pandemic will be extended to 31 March 2023, and the suspension of the requirement for a physical public consultation event to be held as part of statutory pre-application consultation will now continue until 30 September 2022. As a further consequence of this, new requirements for pre-application consultation which were due to come into force on 1 April this year will not now come into force until 1 October. This will come as a relief to many, but we also hope that this is the last extension that will be required, and that the pandemic will no longer be having the same impact in a few months’ time.
Planning fees regulations – as part of the review and reform of the planning system, planning fees are set to increase from 1 April, rising by between 25% and 50% in most cases. For example, the application fee for a new build house will increase from £401 to £600 per house for the first 10 houses, with the rate dropping to £450 per house for houses 11-49 and to £250 for each house over 50, up to a maximum fee of £150,000. It is hoped that the additional funding this will generate for planning authorities will lead to improvements in planning performance, which will be welcomed.
On local government
Short term lets in Edinburgh – having been following developments with regards to the regulation of short-term holiday lets closely (on which, see our blog We’re all goin’ on a summer holiday), we were interested to see that the City of Edinburgh Council has this week approved Scotland’s first short-term let control area, within which any property being used solely for this purpose will need to apply for planning permission for a change of use to allow this. This reflects the results of a consultation on the proposal in terms of which 88% of the 5,600 people who responded supported the introduction of the scheme, although others have raised concerns about the impact that this will have on the availability of tourist accommodation in the city. It obviously remains to be seen what the impact of the scheme will ultimately be in practice and so it is something that we will continue to keep our eyes on!
Aberdeen beach transformation – in our home city of Aberdeen, plans to transform the beach area are progressing, with new images released this month on how the beach could look, and some aspects of this (such as a new play park and events field, landscaping and public realm works) anticipated to be completed by 2023. The plans also allow for the renovation of the Beach Ballroom, a surf village and a new amphitheatre (amongst other things), as well as the potential development of a new stadium for Aberdeen Football Club in the longer term. A key aspect of the transformation is to improve connectivity between the beach and the city centre to ensure that everyone in the city has access to this resource, something that we would all support. The City Council is due to consider a report at the end of the month to instruct further work on the business cases for various elements of the masterplan, so we look forward to the outcome of that, and to seeing the transformation begin.
On planning applications
Prestwick Spaceport – having submitted a proposal of application notice for the development of a horizontal launch spaceport at Glasgow Prestwick Airport last month (on which, see our January Spotlights), this week took us another step closer to submitting a planning application for this, with the first public consultation event on the proposed plans held at the Airport on 23 February. It was great to see this well attended, with lots of support for the project, and lots of good feedback that we will be taking on board as we progress with the preparation of the application. Details of the second consultation event will be confirmed in due course, following which the intention is to submit a planning application for the proposed spaceport later this year.
On us
Over the past few months, we have been working with the talented team at Form Digital to update our website, and are delighted to now have our new site fully up and running! Check it out here: https://auroraplanning.co.uk/ ?. And many thanks to everyone at Form Digital for their advice and patience with us on this!!
To find out how we can help with any aspect of the planning process, please visit our website or email us at info@auroraplanning.co.uk. Or, if you would like to see our other blogs or sign up for email updates, please click here.
Thanks for reading!
Pippa and Maggie
