This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Planning with people
09/03/2007
New advice on community engagement is published today setting out the ways communities and individuals can get involved in the planning system and influence development decisions in their area.
Following consultation, it advises how the system will be more accessible at different stages of the planning process.
This is the first time that the Executive has issued advice to local authorities and developers on how communities should be properly engaged by them in the planning process.
Deputy Minister for Communities Des McNulty said:
"The new Planning Act marks the most fundamental and comprehensive reform of the planning system in sixty years.
"It heralds the start of a new era where communities will be involved from the start in shaping their futures. This advice note is an excellent practical resource which planning authorities and developers can use to engage local communities from the outset".
"No matter where we live or work, planning decisions affect us all and it's absolutely right that communities are fully involved in the decisions that affect them.
"It's vital that communities are fully engaged in planning for their environment - and this document will show them how."
The Planning Advice Notice supports the measures for more community involvement in the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 including:
- ensuring local people have the opportunity to feed their views into up to date and relevant development plans
- ensuring that Ministers will be able to assess the quality of community engagement in development plan
- giving new guarantees of pre-application consultations for a range of potentially controversial development proposals
- ensuring that planning authorities hold hearings for certain types of development before taking decisions
- ensuring enhanced scrutiny of developments that are not in the development plan