Why we should put forward views; National Planning Framework - Scotland

This is how a  Scottish Government web page describes the National Planning Framework;

The National Planning Framework (NPF) is a strategy for the long-term development of Scotland's towns, cities and countryside. The NPF is about shaping Scotland's future and is concerned with how Scotland develops over the next 20 years and how to make that possible. The NPF identifies key strategic infrastructure needs to ensure that each part of the country can develop to its full potential.

A copy of the Second National Planning Framework, NPF2, can be found here




As a newly formed group, APT made one of its first major tasks to raise awareness of the consultation on NPF2 - very few people locally had been aware of the  consultation on the first NPF - by sending an 'APT Alert', an 'Urgent Action Bulletin', to every Community Council across the Highland Council area.  


Here are snippets of what was included in the APT 'Urgent Action Bulletin' in 2008 (A copy of the 'NPF2 Discussion Draft' can be found here):

...The proposals included for the Highlands and Islands in the draft NPF2 will have significant implications with regard to the Local Planning Process.

The National Planning Framework will provide a strong context for development plans and planning decisions.

The second NPF sets out the Scottish Government’s strategic development priorities.  There will be close links to the Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan and the investment programmes of public agencies and infrastructure providers.  It is a key element in modernising the planning system.

The Planning etc (Scotland)Act 2006 places the second National Planning Framework (NPF2) on a statutory footing.  There is a commitment to review the document every 4 years.

The publication of the discussion draft is part of the process of engagement and debate on Scotland’s long-term ‘Spatial Development’ to 2030.  It sets a national context for development plans.

APT also indicated in the bulletin that concerns re 'awareness of' and 'consultation on' the NPF2 had arisen locally:

There is concern about:

·         The level of community awareness in some areas regarding the existence of the National Planning Framework;

·         The level of community awareness about the significance of the draft NPF2 with regard to the local planning process.

·         The potential lack of widespread public awareness that the Local Authority are seeking to influence the draft NPF2.

·         The level of community consultation locally on the NPF proposals to date.

Well, I still have concerns, as you will find from the content of future blog posts on the subject of NPF3.

Scottish Government - proposed planning reforms assessed

Oh dear, I seem to have missed this rather interesting piece which appeared in early June 2012:

...In an attempt to boost economic growth, the Scottish government has recently published a series of proposed planning reforms for consultation. Colin Marrs assesses them.  Here

'Housing & an Ageing Population'

Interesting item on page 04 of Feb 2012 issue of Scottish Planner

It ends:

...local planning authorities are going to have to pay greater heed to the needs of this element of the population than they appear to have done certainly in policy terms in the past.

NPF3 to decide where windfarms to go? Update 1

According to an item in 'Planning; Energy and Environment Weekly - Monday 09 July 2012':

'Planners can help the Scottish government meet its renewable energy targets if they get the right support, according to a report published by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Scotland.'  The report can be found here.

The Item continues:

'The Scottish government aims to generate 30 per cent of all the country’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, as well as reduce energy consumption by 12 per cent.

In its report, RTPI Scotland describes the targets as "challenging" but says the Scottish government should provide planning authorities with "guidance, training and resources to help them cope with the additional responsibilities and workload brought about by the targets".

The report also says that the planned National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) provides an opportunity for the Scottish government to outline in spatial terms where the most suitable areas for land and marine renewable developments should be.

These locations should be, the report argues, "based on maximising generation whilst minimising impact", and integrated with plans for transport and distribution infrastructure.'

I have had a quick gander at the briefing report and here are a few extracts:

...This paper identifies the need for a clear, consolidated outline of Scotland’s

progress towards meeting the targets. It also puts the case that an opportunity

still exists in National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) to support renewables

development by clearly articulating the areas best placed for them based on

maximising generation whilst minimising impact. The paper also outlines the

ongoing need to keep Planning Authorities up to date, given constantly

changing technologies and the requirement to promote a ‘diverse range’ of

them to help meet the targets.

...National Planning Framework 2 (NPF2) did not provide a broad spatial

scheme outlining renewable resources and desired developments across

Scotland. If it had, Planning Authorities would have had a national perspective

on their Authority’s role in meeting renewables targets, and could havetargeted their 

resources and designed their development management processes to support speedy 

processing of planning applications.

...Recommendation 1

Use NPF3 to provide national spatial guidance (land use and marine) on

the appropriate distribution and energy mix of renewable developments

across Scotland, publishing updates on progress made towards

meeting the targets and providing guidance on criteria for Local

Authorities and Key Agencies to use when responding to renewables

applications.

I recommend a read of the report, it is quite accessible and compared to many free from too much jargon.  

One thing that is not clear to me is whether or not a 'need for such developments' would be established through NPF3.

(I have just tried to contact Craig McLaren **(on list of speakers at the page reached by clicking on his name), National Director of RTPI Scotland, since, according to the briefing paper, he is the point of contact for further discussion.  I hope to be able to chat with him in the not too distant future and will update the post as soon as further info becomes available.)


** Podcast where Mr McLaren discusses a number of things including renewables, sustainable economic development, charrettes...

Stakes and Society

“The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had some one pulled up the stakes or filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!” 


— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality**, 1754


**According to 'Wikipedia' Rousseau argues moral inequality is endemic to a civil society and relates to, and causes, differences in power and wealth. 


I am not exactly sure what is meant by the term 'Civil Society' and it seems that I am not alone - as is related in this item by 'Michael Edwards'


More Rousseau quotes here

1,000 people attend events across Inner Moray Firth

According to the latest post on the Planning Authority's Development Plan blog re the consultation on the Inner Moray Firth LDP Main Issues Report:


...35 events have been hosted by the Planning and Development Service over the past three months to ask people where they think their community should develop over the next 20 years.


More than 1,000 people have attended these events and given their views in person. 


Is that correct?  Did everyone get a chance to speak and therefore to have their views recorded?


And the population of the Inner Moray Firth?  Well in 2009 it was 144,375 so going by those 3 year old figures that means 0.7% of the population of the IMF attended the meetings.


How does this compare with consultations of old.  Well I read that the outgoing Inverness Local Plan drew 800 individual responses on 2000 issues.  I assume that this was 800 written and I do not have a figure for the numbers that attended the Inverness Local plan meetings in 2001.  (Elected Members were advised, during 3 meetings in April 2002, of these responses, with the ILP deposit draft with modifications being published in April 2003).


So how many will respond in writing by this Friday's (06 July 2012) deadline for written submissions?  

Is anyone else having trouble accessing the Highland Council web site?

Problems anyone?

Be Prepared; NPF3 is on its way

According to the Scottish Government web site - Link here for a little more detail:

The National Planning Framework (NPF) is a strategy for the long-term development of Scotland's towns, cities and countryside. The NPF is about shaping Scotland's future and is concerned with how Scotland develops over the next 20 years and how to make that possible. The NPF identifies key strategic infrastructure needs to ensure that each part of the country can develop to its full potential.

Planning legislation requires Scottish Ministers to revise the NPF within 5 years of publication. Scottish Ministers have confirmed that work on the preparation of NPF3 will commence in autumn 2012, focusing strongly on economic recovery and the transition to a low carbon economy.

According to a transcript of the 'Local Government and Regeneration Committee 30 May 2012' - link here - the Assistant Chief Planner to the Scottish Government, Graeme Purves stated:

(The Convener:...We need to move on to the national planning framework 2. Perhaps somebody from the Government can set the scene.)

...Thank you, convener. I can do that. The national planning framework is a key document that sets out the Scottish Government’s aspirations for the long-term development of Scotland, including clear priorities for the improvement of national infrastructure. Since the second national planning framework was published in 2009, we have reported annually in June to your predecessor committee, the Local Government and Communities Committee. About a month ago, we contacted the clerks to remind them that June was fast approaching and it was drawn to my attention that this round-table meeting had already been arranged and that it might be the most efficient use of time and resources if we dealt with the national planning framework here today.

We attached a one-page note to the letter that John McNairney sent to the committee on 18 May, which sets out where we are. In his statement to Parliament on 28 March, the Minister for Local Government and Planning announced that we will start work on the revision of the national planning framework in the autumn. That will start with the publication of the statutory participation statement.

We believe that much of the spatial strategy that is set out in NPF2 remains relevant. However, the revision process provides an opportunity to revisit key elements of the strategy, including the suite of 14 infrastructure projects that were identified as national developments in NPF2.

We envisage that NPF3 will take forward the spatial aspects of the Government’s economic strategy, and will reflect in particular its strategic priorities of infrastructure, development and place, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. We envisage that the strategy that is set out in NPF3 will place a strong emphasis on supporting economic recovery and sustainable economic growth.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring effective stakeholder engagement in drawing up NPF3, and where new national developments are proposed, we will seek early engagement with communities, which could be effective.

The dialogue continues and indeed the transcript of the meeting as a whole is very interesting given that it was a round table discussion on planning issues 

It is very important that we take an interest in this Third National Planning Framework, NPF3.  NPF2 had a great deal of impact on issues locally which I will remind us all of in later posts - after the deadline for responses to the MIR for the IMFLDP has passed.

Community Councils in Highland

From an HC press release 27062012

The Highland Council has the highest number of community councils in Scotland.  Following the Aviemore elections on 16 August, 153 of the 156 Community Councils in the Highlands will be operational. 

Councillor Dave Fallows, Chairman of the Finance Housing and Resources Committee, said: “Community councils play an important role in providing a voice at a community level to public agencies.  The response to recent elections has been outstanding and I am delighted that we have almost a full complement of community councils across the Highlands.”

Following a third round of Community Council elections in the Highlands, three new councils are guaranteed to be formed.


Caithness West and Uig, Skye, can operate from 3 July as they received more nominations than half their maximum membership. There were 6 nominations in Caithness West and 5 in Uig.


Aviemore and Vicinity Community Council will have an election on 16 August as the election drew 14 nominations for 6 vacancies.


The following Community Councils failed to form: -

• Caol (9)
• Inverness Central (8)
• Laggan Community Association (8)

A place like yours? Fascinating ward details

Here is but a small sample of the types of ward based information that can be  found on  the Highland Council Web pages:

...Culloden and Ardersier is a mixed rural and urban Ward with an overall population density above the Highland average. The proportion of people in the 16 to 49 age group is the one of highest in Highland and the proportion in the 0 to 15 group is above the Highland average but declining at the third highest rate in Highland. The population fell by 0.8% between 2005 and 2010, and is showing the characteristics of an urban area built and populated over a relatively short period of time where population turnover and new house building is not enough to "refresh" an ageing population.


Total Population

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Total Population	11,079	221,630	5,222,100
Source: NRS 2010 mid-year estimates

Number of households

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of households	4,505	89,528	2,192,246
Source: Census 2001

...The densely populated town of Nairn has a sparsely populated rural hinterland but the overall population density is above the Highland average. The age profile is slightly older than the Highland average with relatively high proportions of people in each of the over 65 age groups. The population grew by 3.2% between 2005 and 2010 with a large proportion of inward migrants coming from the rest of Highland and Scotland.

Age Structure

Age	Ward (%)	Highland (%)	Scotland (%)	Ward (No.)	Highland (No.)	Scotland (No.)
0-15	17.3	17.6	17.5	1,987	39,071	911,794
16-49	31.0	33.3	38.5	3,557	73,848	2,011,178
50-64	30.1	30.2	27.2	3,448	67,033	1,419,636
65-74	11.4	10.4	9.1	1,308	22,948	473,857
75-84	7.4	6.2	5.7	851	13,708	299,031
85+	2.8	2.3	2.0	318	5,022	106,604
Source: NRS 2010 mid-year estimates

House Prices

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of private house sales in 2010	168	2,739	61,092
Average house price	£193,013	£165,833	£170,604
Median (midpoint) house price	£175,500	£147,000	£137,000
Source: Communities Scotland/Registers of Scotland 2010

...Inverness South is mainly a rural Ward but it contains the main Inverness expansion areas of Westhill, Inshes & Milton of Leys and Slackbuie, giving it the second highest population and a population density slightly above the Highland average. The Ward has a higher proportion of people in the under 50 age groups than the Highland average, the highest proportion of children and the lowest proportion in the age groups over 64. The population grew by 50.9% between 2005 and 2010, by far the highest growth rate in Highland, with the highest increases in Highland across all of the age groups except 65 to 74.

Housing Land Audit

	Ward	Highland
Number of new homes* that potentially will be built between 2010-2014 :	738	11,312
* identified in the Local Plan or with planning permission Source: Highland Council

Further information about the Housing Land Audit is available on the Housing Land Audit webpage.

Qualifications

Percentage of 16-74 year olds* whose highest qualification is:	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Group 1	26.2	26.1	24.7
Group 2	18.0	15.3	15.7
Group 3	7.9	6.4	7.0
Group 4	25.8	19.6	19.5
No qualifications	22.1	32.6	33.2
* total 16-74 year olds	4,681	152,675	3,731,079
Group 1: 'O' Grade, Standard Grade, Intermediate I or 2, City & Guilds Craft, SVQ level 1 or 2 or equivalent Group 2: Higher Grade, CSYS, ONC, OND, City & Guilds Advanced Craft, RSA Advanced Diploma, SVQ level 3 or equivalent Group 3: HND, HNC RSA Higher Diploma, SVQ level 4 or 5 or equivalent Group 4: First degree, Higher degree, Professional qualification Source: Census 2001

More details here, here and here

Make sure you note the errors

The deadline is fast approaching for those who wish to submit to the Main Issues Report for the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan.  

The Main Issues Report is available to view using the links below:

• Main Issues Report (Spring 2012) (pdf, 12.8mb)

The Council's web page also notes that:

A number of amendments are required to correct factual errors and inconsistencies within the plan*.  These are outlined in the document below and should be read in conjunction with the Main Issues Report

•  Main Issues Report Amendments (pdf, 29kb)

I also suggest that those who are wishing to put in comments regarding the City of Inverness have the city map open from a separate link

Site Options Map: Inverness City (pdf, 2.4MB)

All links and details re the IMF LDP can be found on THC's web page here

*my highlight

Enormous potential in wind - as long as 'savvy' developers engage openly with communities

A couple of thought provoking items from the pages of the 'Invicta' web site

'Wind energy: the great debate'

'The answer is blowing in the (onshore) wind'

Wind came to mind today after I noticed this article in the P and J after my usual trawl through blogs, papers and  web sites  this morning 

'Windfarms scramble feared over target list'


I searched through google with key words from the article to see if I could find any further information or detail.

'A Bold Programme'

From a Press Release on THC web site


...The Highland Council’s Leadership today (Thursday) launched a “bold and ambitious” programme of priorities for action over the next five years.


...Council Leader Drew Hendry said:  “We have set out a bold programme, which is ambitious but deliverable.


...The Council would work with the Scottish Government, Housing Associations and the private sector to help to deliver 5,000 new homes by 2017.  This would include at least 600 council homes and other affordable homes. 


...The Council would work with all governments to deliver infrastructure projects to support employment and connect Highland communities. Working with the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and partners, the Council would strongly support the upgrade of the Berriedale Braes, the A9 within Highland, the A 82 within Highland and the A 96 between Inverness and Aberdeen.

...The Council would develop options for a long-term solution which provided a secure and effective transport link between Lochcarron and the Lochalsh area.  In  consultation with partners and the local community, the Council would pursue the options for securing external funding.  It would work with partners to support the delivery of  the Inverness West-Link road and the associated amenity and leisure improvements as well as the Inverness Airport Rail Link

Deadlines approaching if you wish to make any comments

From Scottish Government e Newsletter Consultations ending this week Consultation on Registerable Marine Activities and on Marine Licence Applications Requiring Pre-Application Consultation Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 20/06/2012 This consultation seeks to determine which currently licensable activities would be suitable for registration instead. At the other end of the scale it also asks which marine licence applications should be subject to pre-application consultation. Miscellaneous Amendments to the Planning System 2012 Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 22/06/2012 This consultation follows on from that in 2010/2011 on the same area and will include detailed legislative proposals for change. the issues covered include pre-application consultation requirements, neighbour notification and the advertising of planning applications and council interest cases. Consultation on the General Permitted Development Amendment Order 2012 Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 22/06/2012 Following form previous consultation in 2011, we are now consulting on draft legislation to amend aspects of the general permitted development order Fees for Planning Applications 2012 Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 22/06/2012 This consultation will seek views on draft regulations that set out a new fee structure and level for planning applications in Scotland. Development Delivery Consultation 2012 Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 22/06/2012 the purpose of this consultation is to garner views on the efficacy of current processes in delivering development; and to invite views on proposals that could assist the delivery of development and infrastructure. Development Plan Examinations Start date 28/03/2012 - End date 22/06/2012 The Scottish Government is committed to a plan-led system. Some stakeholders have expressed concerns about their experience of the revised examination process for development plans. This consultation seeks views on how that examination process is operating and on a range of possible options to improve the process. The Flood Risk Management Act 2009: The Designation of New Responsible Authorities - A Consultation Start date 19/03/2012 - End date 21/06/2012 A consultation on proposals to designate additional public bodies and office holders as 'responsible authorities' under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. View all current consultations online

2012 Reith Lectures

The Human Hive

1/4 Niall Ferguson argues that institutions determine the success or failure of nations.

FIRST BROADCAST: 19 Jun 2012

The Darwinian Economy

2/4 Exploring the importance of man-made institutions in driving change around the world.

FIRST BROADCAST: 26 Jun 2012

The Landscape of the Law

3/4 Exploring the importance of man-made institutions in driving change around the world.

FIRST BROADCAST: 03 Jul 2012

Civil and Uncivil Societies

4/4 Exploring the importance of man-made institutions in driving change around the world.

FIRST BROADCAST: 10 Jul 2012