The Scottish Government have issued draft Planning Delivery Advice on Housing and Infrastructure. The consultation period runs until 31 March.
It's Planning Delivery Advice, a new approach. There's a consistent focus on delivery, which is welcome.
There are the usual frustrations. The changes from previous approaches, and the underlying reasons for those changes, are not always made clear. Balances do need to be struck, but referring to those dilutes the overall thrust, which could hold back the culture change required in some areas.
A significant change is the removal of marketability as one of the effectiveness criteria. Giving marketability a lesser role could perpetuate the "bed blocker" sites problem, and undermine the practical value of the minimum 5 year effective housing land supply requirement.
There's acknowledgment of the role of developer contributions to address strategic infrastructure requirements, with a reminder that the usual demonstrable link/ scale and kind policy tests apply.
Contributor
Partner
