Election Hub

Planning the Scotland We Need

OUR VISION

Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the need to plan, prepare and provide a routemap for a different Scotland. We need to plan the world we need to:

• tackle the climate emergency and achieve Scotland’s net zero carbon reduction targets
• reduce health inequalities across Scotland
• support a wellbeing economy
• ensure a quality and affordable home for everyone who needs one

In doing this there is a need to agree a new normal and how we achieve this. This needs to embed resilience into how our cities, towns, villages and neighbourhoods function and develop over time. This should embrace risk in a more positive and constructive way.  We believe that to make this change there is a need to undertake the following shifts:

• From short term thinking to long-, medium- and short- term thinking
• From having many overlapping and disjointed strategies to complementarity and integration
• From an opportunistic, reactive approach to development to a planned, proactive approach
• From economic priorities to holistic priorities covering environmental, social and economic issues
• From a competitive investment approach to one of managed investment 
• From a deal-making approach to one based on providing a place vision first
• From short-term, project focussed investment to a planned long term holistic vision

Planning, planners and the planning system are vital if we want these outcomes and so RTPI Scotland is calling on the next Government to commit to the following.

Our Common Future

The Scottish Green Parties manifesto ‘Our Common Future’ sets out key objectives to put Scotland on track with climate targets by embedding transformative action throughout the programme for government, and placing green industries, infrastructure and action at the heart of plans for Scotland’s economic recovery.

Specific points relating to planning include:

• Fund communities to lead plans for their local areas. Local Place Plans highlighted as important to equip communities and councils with the tools and power to investigate their own development needs and plan their futures.
• They will continue to support communities having appeal rights, but until that happens will demand improvements to public engagement at every stage of the local development planning process.
• Introduce planning reform to make it faster and easier to get consent for onshore wind in suitable areas outwith National Parks and National Scenic Areas, including making the climate emergency a material consideration in planning decisions, and a presumption in favour of repowering.
• Update Scottish planning guidance to make it clear that new oil and gas infrastructure, other than that associated with decommissioning, will not receive planning permission.
• Make 15-minute neighbourhoods a key principle in Scotland’s Planning Policy Framework to ensure that everyone in towns and cities is able to get what they need within a 15-minute walk.
• Ensure that short-term holiday lets are regulated and require planning consent for second homes.
• Encourage planning authorities to earmark a wide range of different types and sizes of housing on sites for development.
• Ensure that compensatory planning to plant new trees is enforced when trees are felled for development, and require developments over a certain size to pay towards public forest planting.
• Create a Nature Network for Scotland, connecting habitats across the country to ensure they are robust, coherent and proofed against climate change. The Nature Network will be given statutory weight in national planning documents and government policy, and will include areas for rewilding.
• Ensure green space is protected from unsuitable development and will use the planning system to ensure that all new development results in a positive benefit for wildlife and the natural environment.
• Use the planning system to break the dominance of unhealthy takeaways, including banning the opening of fast food outlets near schools.

Rebuild Scotland

The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties manifesto ‘Rebuild Scotland’ sets out the key objective out of supporting national economic recovery from coronavirus through skills investment, additional investment in the NHS, recruitment of more teachers, investment in broadband and more local policing.

Specific points relating to planning include:

• Connect every single home and business property in Scotland to full fibre broadband by 2027. This will allow for a future-proofed digital network capable of supporting 5G mobile coverage. They will use all levers of government to achieve this ambition, including the tax system, planning rules and skills development.
• They will work to support freeports by reviewing planning regulations, utilising enterprise zones, incentivising diversification and ensuring they benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
• They will bring forward a Communities Bill to introduce fairer funding to councils.
• They will amend planning laws, so that the Scottish Government cannot overturn a local planning decision. This would ensure that major developments require engagement with communities and that national infrastructure needs to deliver clear local benefits to those that will be affected by it.
• To increase footfall in our town centres and turn them into places where people live, thy will relax planning laws to allow for the re-development of long-term unoccupied business properties into good quality housing.
• They will deliver proper town planning and the services that people will use, so that new housing is not a burden on those people who already live in an area. This includes shops, parks, public pathways, roads and schools. They will work with councils to more effectively secure investment in local services from large home developments
• They will ensure local councils have the guidance and powers they need to utilise planning and licensing policy to create healthy environments which promote healthier food options and physical activity

Put Recovery First

The Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto ‘Put Recovery First’ key objective is to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through focusing on focusing on employment, mental health, the NHS, education and the climate crisis.

Specific points relating to planning:

• Change planning regulations so that town centres can adapt to new demands with the support of local communities.
• Change town planning processes to make sure roads have separate spaces for cyclists, walkers and motorists, to keep them all safe.
• They will make changes to the national planning framework to help us be effective in tackling the climate and nature emergencies. The reforms will also help us to make the best recovery from the pandemic.
• They support the appetite for 20-minute neighbourhoods where people can access most of the things they need in daily life within a short distance of their home
• They will make it easier for local planning authorities to make the changes needed to respond to post-pandemic life. We recognise that decisions on repurposing buildings and changing transport networks are best tailored to local need, decided locally, not over-ruled nationally, and require the involvement of local people and businesses in shaping them.

Their intentions for the new national planning framework are to:

• Make sure access to green, open spaces, wildlife corridors and woodland is available to every community.
• Protect green belts and gaps between settlements for the long-term benefit of local communities, the climate and nature.
• Create a Brownfield First policy, under which planning applicants should demonstrate that no brownfield land is available for their proposal before permission can be granted on greenfield sites.
• Set out that the climate emergency and Scotland’s 2045 net zero target are material considerations to be afforded significant weight in planning decisions.
• Make district heating the normal choice for new developments, and support the move away from new gas heating installation.
• Encourage the use of living roofs to boost biodiversity and create a new network of habitats for pollinators, provide new green living spaces, reduce flooding and save energy
• Ensure the ownership of common land, infrastructure and play areas on new housing estates is with local councils, with a thirty year maintenance dowry, to avoid future problems of neglect and unfair charges for homeowners.
• Make sure there are community engagement plans in place at the planning stage of major infrastructure projects to allow local people to have an effective voice.
• Preserve parks and playing fields as important community green space.
• Identify the biggest polluters and work with them to establish transition plans.

Scotland’s Future, Scotland’s Choice

The Scottish National Parties manifesto ‘Scotland’s Future, Scotland’s Choice’ key objective is to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic by moving towards a vision of Scotland that is fairer, healthier, greener, and wealthier.

Specific points relating to planning:

• The SNP will update planning and building regulations and rules so that digital connectivity is treated as an essential utility, like energy and water, and is standard in all new housing developments in the future. They will extend the current 10 year rates relief on new fibre broadband investment for a further 5 years.
• In planning applications which may have regional or national importance, the relevant Economic Development body, whether Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, or South of Scotland Enterprise, shall be required to provide their assessment of the potential economic benefits of the development concerned.
• Apply an enabling approach to planning to help farm diversification, including tourism initiatives such as camping facilities.
• Support communities to become 20 minute neighbourhoods.
• They will also bring forward new legislation to introduce Land Value Capture to make sure changes of land use lead to a proportion of the increase in the price being reinvested in the local community, including social infrastructure and affordable housing.

National Recovery Plan

The Scottish Labours Party manifesto ‘National Recovery Plan’ key objective is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic through focusing on employment, NHS and social care, climate change and communities. 

Specific points relating to planning:

• Scottish Labour would reinstate the ability of public authorities to acquire land at existing use value for social homes. As a result the public sector would capture the uplift in the value of land that results when planning permission is granted, unlocking significant funds for infrastructure and development
• They will use the planning system in urban areas to plan for less car use, making all residential areas low traffic neighbourhoods by reducing speeds and volumes of through traffic while maintaining local access for those who need it
• Planning laws would be used to ensure that all future houses are built to the highest available efficiency standards
• Labour sought to amend the Planning Bill to give individuals and environmental organisations the right to challenge decisions that will severely impact the environment. Scottish Labour will also introduce carbon impact assessments into all policy processes. Planning of new developments and regeneration of existing areas should be around green infrastructure linking communities and habitats, allowing easy access for walking and cycling and incorporating a variety of landscapes including trees, pedestrian and cycle pathways, play areas, food growing spaces as well as flood mitigation measures.
• Labour will ensure high environmental standards are maintained post-Brexit through a Nature Network for Scotland and through the National Planning Framework.
• They will create neighbourhoods where people can access all the services they need within a 20-minute walk.
• Scottish Labour believe the law should be reformed to allow for the acquisition of land for social housing at existing use value and use development gain to finance essential infrastructure.

We have looked at the manifestos of a number of key stakeholder organisations and set out below some of the key points they make that will be of interest to RTPI members.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Scotland

The New Normal – renew, repurpose, regenerate

The RICS Scotland manifesto The New Normal – renew, repurpose, regenerate sets out key objectives of:

• creating low-cost, low-carbon, safe homes across all tenures
• committing to retrofitting, repurposing and renewing high streets to meet the challenges of a post-COVID, sustainably focused Scotland
• embracing modern technologies in construction to create a housing and infrastructure system fit for future needs
• investing in training, devolvement and upskilling to create a world-leading workforce

Specific points relating to planning include:

• Support pre-application services in local authorities through adequate funding.
• Explore S75 flexibility; specifically, payment levels (viability) and possible staged or staggered payments
• Establish a Housing Land Agency that will work, in partnership with local authorities and communities, as a delivery agent to identify and facilitate a regular supply of viable land for the development of a wider range of housing types and tenures; that will acquire land, create master plans and gain relevant consents; and that will carry out enabling site infrastructure works to service land for development.
• Strengthen the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 to oblige local authorities to provide serviced plots for persons seeking land for self-build housing.
• Undertake a full legislative modernisation programme of compulsory purchase and compensation law that embraces and implements the findings of the Scottish Law Commission’s 2016 report, which recognised Scotland’s ‘out of date’ compulsory purchase order system gives rise to considerable difficulties in practice. Compulsory purchase is essential for regeneration, infrastructure and high street renewal.
• Housing Need and Demand Assessments (HNDAs) need to be amended to include single-storey housing, thereby placing greater emphasis on a wider range of housing provision for older people to allow them to move and free up large family housing.
• Review change of use orders and consider options to simplify commercial-to-residential conversions through the planning system, while ensuring quality and safety is not compromised.
• Review the capacity and resources available to the planning system – often cited as some of the major challenges for planning authorities.

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

CREATEBUILDPROTECT

RIAS has launched a digital campaign called CREATEBUILDPROTECT aiming to inspire a wide conversation about Scotland’s architecture and built environment.  This campaign will feature a series of five videos, distributed across RIAS social media channels:

• Week One focuses on “Scotland: Where the built environment benefits people and the planet”, highlighting how the need to repurpose existing buildings and setting out recommendations for government on how to help Scotland to build once for the future.
• Week Two will look at “Scotland: Where architecture is valued and supported”, sharing RIAS’s recommendation that Scotland creates a procurement system that recognises and prioritises quality to delivery improved outcomes.
• Week Three will highlight how Scotland can “lead the way on Circular Economy”, by creating robust targets for the re-use of construction materials, and by building the construction industry into the Circular Economy Bill.
• In Week Four, the campaign will focus on “Scotland: Where we care for what we have”, highlighting opportunities to incentivise refurbishment, repair and maintenance of the existing built environment, through a “fabric first” approach which reduces energy demand in our home and buildings and tackles fuel poverty
• In Week Five, the campaign will look at “Scotland: Where people and place matter”, recommending the creation of collaborative structures to promote and deliver local resourcing and stewardship.

Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland

Homes at the Heart: A manifesto for Scotland’s housing sector 2021-2026

The CIH Scotland manifesto for housing 2021-2026 sets out key asks and recommendations under five key themes:

• Housing supply
• Improving existing homes
• Housing as a profession
• Partnership working
• Housing as a human right

The key asks of interest to planners are:

• Commitment to deliver 53,000 affordable homes over five years, at least 70 percent of which should be for social rent
• Grant levels should reflect the need to build more accessible, energy efficient homes while keeping rents affordable
• National standards to improve the accessibility and adaptability of new homes across all sectors considering space, accessibility and dementia friendly design
• At least a doubling of investment in energy efficiency measures from £119 million to £240 million per year
• Clear communication from Scottish Government on energy efficiency requirements and timescales for homes to reach at least EPC C by 2030 – especially for private housing
• Increase funding for adaptations to at least £11.9 million per year in line with CPI and allow more flexibility to make sure people get the equipment they need.
• Legislation that incorporates housing as a human right in Scots law.

Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum

Our vision for the future: A Manifesto for the Construction Industry of Tomorrow

The Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum is a collective of senior representatives from trade and professional bodies, formed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to share intelligence and advice and engage with government on issues affecting construction during the crisis. It has set out 7 asks of the next Scottish Government, which are:

• Appoint a Chief Construction Adviser
• Develop an effective public sector maintenance and improvement programme
• Help to repair, maintain and improve
• Invest in affordable homes
• Develop the skills arena
• Introduce a cycling network within the infrastructure investment plan
• Encourage conflict avoidance

Scottish Federation of Housing Associations

Housing Scotland: Building Our Social and Economic Recovery

The SFHA have a number of asks of the next Government including:

All political parties to commit to a new Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) for 2021–2026 which will provide 53,000 affordable homes, including 37,100 homes for social rent, requiring an estimated £3.4 billion over five years, to ensure social housing is at the heart of its social justice and child poverty programmes and Scotland’s recovery from Covid-19

• Continue cross-party planning and investment in housing supply beyond parliamentary cycles through the Housing to 2040 vision
• Reform of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963 to facilitate land value capture and the creation of a new body to acquire land and offer plots with planning permission to open up sites that would not otherwise be viable for affordable housing
• A large-scale, multi-year refurbishment programme to bring buildings up to the standards required to meet Scottish Government targets, and support to future-proof the supply chain
• A clearer definition of affordability which is based on household income (rather than market rates) and considers total housing costs, including energy use, maintenance and travel Zero-rate VAT for RSL rental income, in line with local authorities, which would help to keep social housing rents affordable
• A sustainable funding mechanism for green infrastructure development which takes into account the loss of European funding post-Brexit
• A national strategy for innovation with funding to support the growth of off-site construction and modular design to futureproof homes and address the climate emergency
• Projects to test delivery and finance models for community led initiatives such as co-housing, mutual home ownership, cooperatives and collective self-build A commitment to work with the sector to assess the cumulative impact of regulatory, legislative and compliance requirements in social housing in order to understand how this will affect rent levels and affordability

Scottish Civic Trust

Action Plan: Scottish Parliament Election 2021

The Scottish Civic Trust believes that the new Scottish Government must prioritise:

• Planning that genuinely benefits all communities - Ensure that voices from across our communities can influence planning decisions by promoting the Place Principle, by embedding the Place Standard, by providing support and time to allow meaningful participation, and by upgrading Scotland’s online planning portal to facilitate use by non-specialists.
• Safe-guarding Scotland’s built heritage - Achieve VAT parity for maintenance, repair and adaptation of existing buildings and settings, and incentivise investment in the preservation, restoration and re-use, especially of nationally important buildings at risk.
• Homes and environments for well-being and climate change resilience - Enable owners and occupiers of Scotland’s traditional buildings to carry out timely maintenance and to make affordable adaptations by supporting appropriate legislation such as law reform on Tenement Maintenance and by providing targeted advice and investment.
• Education that builds civic pride - Inspire life-long involvement in shaping and protecting our environments and built heritage by strengthening the focus on civic participation in the Curriculum for Excellence (including the Place Standard for Scotland) and also in lifelong learning, making it more relevant to people’s lives and spaces.
• A place for everyone - Support more and greater diversity in the way our Scottish heritage is created and shared and ensure that there is a meaningful and accessible platform for everyone to engage, for example by enabling Historic Environment Scotland to support more digital access projects for people either culturally or physically unable to engage with Scotland’s environments and built heritage assets.

Homes for Scotland

Piecing the Housing Jigsaw Together

The Homes for Scotland manifesto leads on a call for “A shared and unequivocal ambition to achieve and consistently deliver at least 25,000 new homes each year”. Underpinning this includes the following:

• A deliverable housing vision - Focus on practicalities of delivering more homes to meet the wide-ranging requirements of Scotland’s population and address the barriers to this that exist. Increase investment in local authority consenting services to deliver the homes that are required.
• A national delivery agency - Responsibilities to include: - Securing, masterplanning and preparing public sector surplus land ready for development - Providing and managing financial packages of support - Delivering infrastructure - Promoting innovative solutions
• A planning system focused on delivering quality homes and places - NPF4 to provide clear and ambitious all-tenure housing delivery targets of at least 25,000 homes per annum across Scotland. Scotland’s planning performance framework to focus local authorities on delivering the homes that people need.
• Up-front strategic infrastructure delivery - Ensure joined-up approach to delivery ofnational, regional and local infrastructure.  Develop a clear methodology to assess infrastructure need, using 25,000 homes per annum as a baseline. Provide infrastructure finance in conjunction with the Scottish National Investment Bank to deliver essential low-carbon infrastructure.
• Specific measures to support Affordable Housing including retain Scottish Planning Policy broad definition of affordable housing in NPF4 and apply directly to all parts of Scotland.
• Alignment of national & local policy- Align all strands of government to improve efficiency of housing delivery. Promote housing delivery through clear and consistent language in national policies and incentivise local authorities to deliver. Embed housing delivery as golden thread in decision-making across national and local government portfolios/departments.

Scottish Property Federation

Realising the Potential of Real Estate

SPF call on the next Scottish Government to work with the real estate industry to urgently implement a cross-government and industry strategy to adopt a three-pronged approach to support the recovery of the built environment:

• Introduce measures to support new property development and the regeneration of existing buildings to be brought back into effective use
• Deliver key infrastructure to drive new growth and accelerate change in the use and occupation of our built environment.
• Support for adaptation to sustainable energy supply and sustainable buildings in the property sector, to aid the achievement of a net-zero built environment.

Specific ask regarding planning include:

• Ensure zero carbon heat and energy is affordable to all, and incentivise the adaptation of existing buildings to more sustainable sources of heat.
• Set a clear and consistent route map to achieving net-zero carbon for both new and existing buildings.
• Establish a national delivery agency to co-ordinate infrastructure that will provide a platform for sustainable transport, mass transit, active travel, green spaces, drainage, sewage and flooding resilience.
• Deliver regulations that support a flexible and efficient planning system to enable development and investment with effective collaboration between private, public and community stakeholders.
• Planning policy that supports a presumption in favour of sustainable development to stimulate a green recovery from COVID-19.
• Planning, funding and tax support to encourage the adaption and repurposing of heritage buildings to help create great destinations and support the unique character of our towns and cities.
• Use planning and tax incentives to encourage mixed-use developments to support regeneration and help realise the ambition of 20-minute neighbourhoods.
• A national strategy to fund education facilities and well distributed primary and secondary healthcare facilities to enable investment and new development.
• A consistent basis for calculating housing need across all tenures including supported living and student accommodation, followed by allocation of sufficient land supply.

SURF – Scotland’s Regeneration Forum

2021 SURF Manifesto for Community Regeneration

SURF sets out 10 recommendations. Those of most relevance to planners are:

• Take a Wider Approach to Retrofitting: Retrofitting is the most widely effective approach to regeneration. Greater investment should be directed towards refurbishment, rebuilding and retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of older housing and civic buildings, thereby supporting reductions in fuel poverty and carbon emissions, and improvements in health and wellbeing.
• Make More Funding Available for Adaptation: The failure of Scotland’s infrastructure to adapt quickly enough to the impacts of climate change, has a disproportionate impact on poorer people and places. Greater public sector project investment is needed to address this, locally, regionally and nationally.
• Encourage Long-Term Leasing of Community Assets: Persistent problems with capacity, liability and funding around the transfer of land and buildings into community ownership in poorer places could be alleviated by encouraging long-term leasing arrangements, in which public bodies manage asset maintenance and community groups manage usage and activities.
• Increase Development on Brownfield Land: A determined shift from building new developments on edge-of-town greenfield sites, to brownfield ones, would produce wellbeing, climate and urban connectivity benefits. More land remediation investments, would reduce the higher development costs and the complexities of post-industrial infrastructure and contamination legacies present in brownfield sites.
• Prioritise Empty Homes: Create more housing by converting vacant buildings in towns and cities, including retail and office premises and domestic homes, and scaling up the work of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.
• Create a New Regeneration Strategy Centred on Reducing Poverty and Supporting Places: The 2011 National Regeneration Strategy needs to be updated. A new strategy should: take account of the COVID-19 lessons; simplify a complex regeneration policy and practice landscape; articulate a sustainable balance of roles, resources responsibilities; and focus on tackling poverty and facilitating longer-term place based regeneration collaborations for inclusive growth. It should also include formal guidance on how aspirations for more ‘20 minute neighbourhoods’ – communities in which residents can meet most of their essential needs within comfortable walking distance – can be practically implemented in poorer places.
• Provide Targeted Whole-Place Investments in the Most Deprived Places: The Scottish Government’s Place Principle is widely viewed as valuable and helpful, but practice is generally not aligning with expectations. The Scottish Government should directly fund a suite of exemplar large-scale, long-term Place Principle oriented collaborations, in the country’s most deprived places.
• Invest in Transport Infrastructure in Commuter Towns and Rural Areas: Ongoing investment in bus lanes, walking and cycling routes, and park and ride schemes primarily benefit cities. The more varied circumstances and needs of smaller towns and rural regions should not overlooked.

CBI Scotland

A new partnership for prosperity: CBI Scotland’s Holyrood 2021 manifesto

The CBI Scotland manifesto highlights planning and built environment issues including where it says:

• Take a whole system approach to net zero, with all policy levers pointing in the same direction – starting with the planning system and business rates. Achieving a net zero economy by 2045 will require all policy levers pointing in the same direction. That should start with the planning system, which must be reformed to put net zero at its core and ensure it becomes an enabler, rather than a barrier, to investment in low carbon infrastructure.
• Fast track actions in areas where Holyrood has the power in year one of the new parliament - A rapid expansion and acceleration of electric vehicle charging infrastructure should be delivered through fast-track planning and funding.
• Infrastructure investment should sit alongside an increased incentive package to help boost demand for electric vehicles and facilitate the change in behaviour required to meet the target of phasing out new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032.
• A bold ambition is needed to make every home a green one. Retrofitting all homes with a high standard of energy efficiency and laying the foundations for low-carbon heating would make a significant contribution to the net zero target, create jobs and deliver energy savings for households
• The Scottish and UK governments should work together to deliver a digital revolution that sees gigabit-capable digital connectivity rolled-out across all of Scotland by the end of the next parliament. Delivery will require the removal of barriers to the roll-out of gigabit connectivity. Planning restrictions on new digital infrastructure should be eased at pace, ensuring that future telecoms infrastructure, such as 5G, falls under permitted development.
• Set a national target of building 25,000 new homes each year across all tenures and deliver additional resource to local authority planning departments. The need for new housing must be recognised alongside the contribution that housebuilding makes to the Scottish economy. Setting a national target of building 25,000 new homes each year across all tenures would set a strategic direction for decision-makers at a local level, generate a much-needed increase in supply and create wider economic benefits.
• Better resourced local planning authorities will be essential to the delivery of any national housing target. Resources must be allocated to local authorities to facilitate faster, more responsive decision-making.
• Scotland’s Digital Strategy for Planning is a welcome step forward in creating a planning system with technology and data at its heart. Business would welcome a more ambitious target for achieving the whole-system digital transformation of planning than the current five-year commitment.
• The vast majority of Scotland’s infrastructure today will still exist in 2045, making a focus on resilience essential. A strategy should be developed for refurbishing and repurposing – rather than replacing – infrastructure across Scotland. From switching gas boilers for heat pumps to repurposing road and rail networks, the Scottish Government should package up projects and set out a plan for maximising existing infrastructure that business can support and invest in.

Scottish Chambers of Commerce

Rally For Growth

Key points from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce manifesto are:

• Support homes and businesses to transition to low-carbon sources of heat – the main contributor to Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• Ensure the planning system supports the migration to net-zero and recognises the need for continued growth in low carbon power
• Reform planning to enable more efficient upgrading of masts to 5G and multi-operator sharing of sites to support the Shared Rural Network.
• More accessibility for cycling with regards public transport is required. Whilst this has improved in recent years, more provision for the transport storage of cycles is required, with regard to the daily commute in and out of town centres, as well as a clear commuter cycling network.
• High Street Recovery Programme: Roll-out of a long-term recovery programme for Scotland’s High Streets by providing financial incentives and grants to micro and small businesses to support recovery and local communities.
• Fund the future-proofing of Scotland’s cities, by investing in their resilience, growth, regeneration and attractiveness to citizens, businesses, visitors and investors.
• Planning: Urgently speed up planning by pulling national policy levers to streamline the process or increase resources available to local authorities for easier and faster processing.

Scottish Renewables

A Brighter Future

Some of the relevant points from the Scottish Renewables manifesto for planning and planners include:

• To ensure that all decisions are guided by our net-zero targets, the next Scottish Government should introduce a low-carbon assessment to the planning process. A planning system fit for net-zero Scotland’s planning system determines how much renewable energy generation technology can be deployed and is critical to determining whether enough energy can be generated to meet net-zero….Currently planning decisions can take years, with outdated policies requiring renewable energy schemes to prove that they are needed. The climate emergency means that there is no longer any question that we need more renewable energy developments, and a well-resourced planning system which can deliver a proportionate and timely consenting process is key to the delivery of net-zero. Powering Scotland through renewable energy is in our long-term national interest and our planning system needs to provide explicit support for further deployment, and for the repowering of sites nearing the end of their operational consent. This must be considered by the next Scottish Government during the delayed National Planning Framework 4. We recommend that the next Scottish Government introduces a low-carbon assessment into the planning process. Assessments should recognise net-zero as a material consideration, with renewable energy always viewed as sustainable development that supports our national interest. Renewable energy should receive favourable treatment in these assessments including but not limited to fast tracking. This will place our net-zero target at the centre of our planning system and ensure that decisions are taken with the objective of decarbonising our society. Improving our planning and consenting processes can ensure that more companies want to do business in Scotland helping to create the jobs and prosperity our economy needs. We recommend that the next Scottish Government streamlines the processes for consenting for offshore wind deployment making our nation a global exemplar in regulation.
• The next Scottish Government should establish a Net-zero Energy Commission to provide Scotland with a national net-zero pathway establishing how we can collectively achieve our net-zero target.
• The next Scottish Government should establish a Renewable Energy Skills Centre of Excellence to ensure that training and professional development remains relevant to the new innovation and emerging technologies needed to power Scotland’s net-zero journey
• The next Scottish Government should commit to the delivery and expansion of the 46 potential heat networks identified in Scotland’s cities. New-build developments should also reap the benefits of renewable heat. To achieve this the next Scottish Government can work to ensure Scottish Planning Policy and building regulations are revised to establish the use of heat networks in new-build developments, accompanied by the best energy efficiency standards to ensure good insulation and healthier homes.
• Scottish Planning Policy and building regulations should be revised by the next Scottish Government to ensure new-build communities are heated by renewable sources.
• The next Scottish Government should accelerate existing low-carbon transport plans by expanding electric bicycle hire stations, zero emissions zones and by building Scotland’s green hydrogen economy to provide transport fuel.