NPF4 - happy third birthday

Happy birthday to NPF4 - 3 years old on 13 February. Some policies continue to attract a lot of attention, but what's the wider position?

We’re still talking about NPF4 “bedding-in”. Three years might seem a long bedding-in period, but there are many new approaches in NPF4. After 3 years we have decisions – from the courts, from reporters on appeals and from the Scottish Ministers on section 36 applications – interpreting and applying those approaches.

The key messages from those decisions are:

• It’s not just about NPF4: the “development plan” also includes the local development plan (“LDP”); also, the Act says that LDPs adopted after NPF4 was published take priority if there is an inconsistency

• Material considerations can still justify departures from NPF4

• According to the courts, the interpretation of NPF4 is a legal issue, but it’s not always straightforward to interpret the NPF4 policies

• The courts have also said that the development plan must be interpreted as a whole. NPF4 also states that it should be read as a whole. That means a project can still accord with NPF4 as a whole, even if it is contrary to one/ some of the policies. This involves deciding whether certain policies should be given more weight than others, which can be difficult to assess.

• NPF4 has been described as a living document. However, there are statutory procedures which must be followed to revise it. Other approaches, such as the Chief Planner’s letters, can only provide clarifications.

• Conditions implementing NPF4 policies can only be imposed where the legal and policy tests for use of a condition are satisfied. Conditions proposed by planning authorities have been rejected, as failing the necessity test, because the condition was not addressing an issue which would otherwise have justified a refusal of permission.

What's in store after the birthday celebrations? The fourth delivery programme gives an indication.