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Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

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Question reference: S5W-30363

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how the declaration of a climate emergency and the need to achieve net-zero targets (a) is currently, and (b) will in future be taken into account by the planning system, and whether this will be a material consideration in applications made in (i) advance of, and (ii) after the National planning Framework 4 comes into force.

Scottish Planning Policy and National Planning Framework 3 were published in 2014. Given when it was published, the current policy does not expressly refer to the Global Climate Emergency, but does aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and includes a vision for Scotland to be a low carbon place.

Since then, the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 sets out six outcomes to which a future National Planning Framework (NPF) should work towards, one of which is meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. We are developing proposals for radical change to our national planning policies and spatial strategy to support a transition to net zero by 2045 and economic recovery, as well as adaptation to the long term impacts of climate change.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Planner and I published a letter on 29 May (available from the Scottish Government’s website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/chief-planner-letters/ ) which set out that the draft NPF4 is anticipated to be laid before the Parliament in autumn 2021. That draft will set out the proposed approach, for discussion and public consultation.

In the meantime we will update stakeholders by publishing a NPF4 Position Statement this autumn. This will highlight potential policy changes and reflect on what planning can do to help societal and economic recovery as well as addressing the climate emergency.

In all cases, it is for decision-makers to identify relevant material planning considerations on a case-by-case basis, and what weight to attach to each material consideration in determining the application.