The Scottish Government has announced that it will be expanding its consultation on the Scottish Planning Policy strategy paper. This follows an initial summer 2013 consultation on the draft policy, which asked respondents to comment on potential changes to legislation affecting nationally significant land use matters.SPP imagery

A new stage of the consultation, announced this week, will explore concerns about the relationship between economic considerations and social & environmental issues. The Scottish Government is considering introducing a new policy element on ‘Sustainability and Planning’, which would potentially introduce “a presumption in favour of sustainable development”.

SURF’s response to the initial consultation is available here. A Scottish Government summary analysis report of all responses has also been published.

Responses to this new stage of the consultation process will be accepted until 16 December 2013. The consultation paper and related information is available on the Scottish Government website by clicking here. The anticipated publication date of the related Bill is June 2014.