LDP3 Development Plan Scheme
Perth and Kinross Council · 21 October 2024
Back to Economy and Infrastructure Committee — 21 October 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL Economy and Infrastructure Committee 21 OCTOBER 2024 PERTH AND KINROSS LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (LDP3) DEVELOPMENT PLAN SCHEME Report by Strategic Lead – Economy, Development and Planning (Report No. 24/284) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report seeks approval for the updated statutory Development Plan Scheme (DPS) relating to the preparation of the next Perth and Kinross Local Development Plan (LDP3). The last update was approved by the Environment, Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee on 1 November 2023 (report 23/288 refers). It was agreed that an annual progress report be submitted to committee detailing any changes to the Development Plan Scheme. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • agrees the proposed Perth & Kinross Council Development Plan Scheme incorporating the responses to consultation on the draft Participation Statement; • authorises the Strategic Lead - Economy, Development and Planning to submit the Scheme to the Scottish Ministers; and • remits the Place Strategies Manager & Chief Planning Officer (in post from 2 December 2024) to submit an annual progress report to the Economy & Infrastructure Committee detailing any changes to the Development Plan Scheme. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background/Main Issues • Section 5: Proposals • Section 6: Conclusion • Appendices 4. BACKGROUND / MAIN ISSUES 4.1 A Development Plan Scheme is a document setting out a planning authority’s programme for preparing and reviewing their Local Development Plan. Within the Development Plan Scheme a participation statement is required which the
Page 2
Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, Section 20B (4) (c), sets out as ‘an account of when consultation is likely to take place and with whom and of its likely form and of the steps to be taken to involve the public at large in the stages of preparation or review.’ 4.2 The Planning Authority is required to update its Development Plan Scheme every year. The last update was approved by the Environment, Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee on 1 November 2023 (report 23/288 refers). The Development Plan Scheme update for 2024 is attached as Appendix 1. 4.3 The Development Plan Scheme sets out and explains each stage of preparing the next Local Development Plan. The first stage concerns production of the Evidence Report, and the Development Plan Scheme outlines in greater detail how the Planning Service will organise and consult upon the Evidence Report. 5. PROPOSALS 5.1 Legislation requires planning authorities to seek the views of the public at large and have regard to those views in terms of the content of the Participation Statement. A Draft of the Participation Statement 2024 was consulted on from 9th to 27th September 2024. Appendix 2 summarises the responses received and provides the proposed response to them from the Council. 5.2 A summary of the responses received to the consultation are set out below: • Comments on the list of stakeholders and people that require to be engaged with in the preparation of the next Local Development Plan; • Requests to be kept informed of Development Plan progress; • Opportunity to engage with Council at all stages of plan preparation welcomed; and • A range of other issues relating to stages of the LDP such as, comments relating to the content of the topic papers, site suggestions, comments on housing matters and site assessment methodologies 5.3 The majority of comments received relate to matters outwith the content of the Participation Statement and respondents have been advised of the appropriate stage in plan preparation to raise these issues. The responses which were relevant to the Participation Statement focused on the list of stakeholders and people that require to be engaged with in the preparation of the next Local Development Plan. These were mainly requests for groups/representative organisations to be specifically named within the Participation Statement. It is not proposed to make any changes to the Participation Statement in this regard as these groups/representative organisations fall within the broader categories of “Communities of Interest” and “Landowners and Developers” currently included within the Participation Statement. 5.4 The Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2023, Regulation 22 (2), states that if the timetable included in a Development Plan Scheme for a Local Development Plan differs from that identified within its
Page 3
previous Development Plan Scheme, the Local Authority must identify these changes and set out the reasons for them. 5.5 The November 2023 Development Plan Scheme update aimed to have the next Local Development Plan adopted by Q3 2027 (Oct-Dec 2027). It included timescales for the first stage of the process (production of the Evidence Report) which, based on experience of the amount of work involved in compiling all the necessary evidence during the intervening period, did not allow sufficient time for this important stage of plan production. 5.6 Significant progress has been made on the Evidence Report including engagement with communities in the form of the Big Place Conversation and consultation on policy themed topic papers including links to the proposed evidence to be used to inform the Evidence Report. The success of these engagement activities has been born out in the level of responses received necessitating a lengthier period than anticipated for analysis, and inclusion where appropriate, within the Evidence Report. 5.7 While engagement overall has been good there were initial difficulties engaging with Transport Scotland and NHS Tayside, both of which are key infrastructure providers whose input to the Evidence Report is vital. They are complex organisations and identifying who has the data within them has proved challenging. Recent discussions with Transport Scotland have, however, proved fruitful and led to collaborative working to ensure the required level of information expected by Scottish Government on the state of transport infrastructure in the area within the Evidence Report. 5.8 Likewise, the current position with NHS Tayside is also more encouraging in that a meeting with Senior officials has recently taken place. Several key issues were discussed including: the immediate short-term need for NHS Tayside support on the preparation of Evidence Reports in Perth & Kinross, Angus, and Dundee; the short/medium-term need to progress the Draft Protocol for joint- working on the key planning processes (LDP, Development Management, and Contributions); and the medium/longer-term need to discuss, at a corporate level, approaches to infrastructure planning and delivery in conjunction with Planning/Property and Asset Management. Moving forward a follow up meeting is to be held with relevant representatives from each Council, each HSCP and NHS Tayside to progress these issues and most importantly to ensure we have the necessary level of information for the Evidence Report. 5.9 The Evidence Report is required to highlight areas where the authority is aware through discussions, forums or exchanges that stakeholders agree or disagree with the evidence, and the reasons for this. The aim is to have minimal areas of dispute outstanding when submitting to the Scottish Ministers for the Gate Check (assessment and approval to proceed) to minimise delay. Discussions with stakeholders in this regard are currently ongoing. 5.10 In addition, decisions have been issued by the Scottish Government’s Department of Planning & Environmental Appeals (DPEA) in relation to the consideration of Evidence Reports submitted by Fife Council and Moray Council. Fife Council’s was considered insufficient and has been returned for further work and re-submission to Gate Check. Moray Council’s was considered sufficient to
Page 4
allow them to progress preparation of their Proposed Plan, however, the Reporter also highlighted further matters for them to address. It is considered prudent to take the time now to review and learn lessons from these two decisions to improve our Evidence Report before submission, rather than take the risk of having it returned for further work and re-submission. This approach is further supported by the fact that the cost for the Gate Check, circa £12,500 each for Fife and Moray, is to be paid by the Planning Authority. 5.11 Having taken account of these factors, the main change from the Development Plan Scheme 2023 is that the updated Development Plan Scheme 2024 allows approximately 6 additional months to produce the Evidence Report. However, it then aims to recover this time by shortening later stages of plan production. This means that the intended adoption date for the new Local Development Plan remains unchanged at Q3 2027 (Oct-Dec 2027). This is in line with Scottish Government expectations for all local authorities to have a new style Local Development Plan in place by May 2028. 6. CONCLUSION 6.1 The Development Plan Scheme has been drafted to update the Committee on the preparation of the new Perth and Kinross Local Development Plan. It revises the proposed timetable previously proposed in 2023 and sets out a participation statement outlining the key stages of plan preparation and when engagement is planned to take place. Author Name Designation Contact Details Brenda Murray Development Plan Team Leader (Place Strategies) (01738) 475000 EPLCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date David Littlejohn Strategic Lead - Economy, Development & Planning 11 October 2024 APPENDICES Appendix 1 - Perth & Kinross Development Plan Scheme 2024 Appendix 2 - Local Development Plan Scheme Participation Statement Consultation Responses
Page 5
ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement None Corporate Plan None Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment Yes Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal No External No Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This report and the attached appendix have no direct impact on the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan, although ultimately the implementation of the Local Development Plan will. Corporate Plan 1.2 This report and the attached appendix have no direct impact on the Corporate Plan, although ultimately the implementation of the Local Development Plan will particularly in relation to priorities i, iii and iv:- (i) Working in partnership with communities; (ii) Tackling poverty; (iii) Tackling climate change and supporting sustainable places; (iv) Developing a resilient, stronger, and greener local economy; (v) Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential; (vi) Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people; (vii) Supporting and promoting physical and mental wellbeing. 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 None.
Page 6
Workforce 2.2 None. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 None. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.2 The Development Plan Scheme was considered under the Council’s Integrated Appraisal Toolkit. No impacts on equality were identified and so a full Equality Impact Assessment was not required. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 The matters presented in this report were considered under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 and in relation to the Local Development Plan, referred to in the Development Plan Scheme, further action is required. 3.5 Due to the nature of the plan there are likely to be significant environmental effects, as a consequence, an environmental assessment of the Local Development Plan is compulsory under the Act. The local Development Plan is considered to be a ‘qualifying’ plan under the Act so it does not require screening. 3.6 The next stage is to prepare a scoping report as part of the Local Development Plan process. This will determine the scope of the environmental assessment and will be submitted to the Consultation Authorities for comment. Sustainability 3.7 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act:
Page 7
• in the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets; • in the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaptation programmes; and • in a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.8 The Development Plan Scheme was considered under the Council’s Integrated Appraisal Toolkit. The Development Plan Scheme is a vehicle for establishing the LDP process and as such no impacts on sustainability will arise from the Programme itself. Legal and Governance 3.9 None. Risk 3.10 None. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 We have consulted with colleagues in Community Planning & Policy and the Housing and Social Care Partnership in the development of the proposals and they agreed that using the Place Standard tool to engage with communities on a locality basis was appropriate. External 4.2 None. 5. Communication 5.1 None. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 The following background papers were referred to during the preparation of this report: Perth & Kinross Council Local Development Plan 2 Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 The Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2023, Regulation 22