Scottish Government

3. Delivery of housing

50. A key aim of The Scottish Government's housing policy to ensure an adequate supply of decent housing at prices people can afford. Up-to-date development plans are the key to ensuring continued opportunities for new house building across Scotland. An appropriate assessment of need and demand, the inclusion of effective sites in local plans and realistic programming of the effective supply should enable the construction of houses to meet targets within predictable timescales. As well as the spatial, site-specific dimension of the development plan, it is important that plans promote the creation of quality developments, mixed communities, opportunity for new housing in rural Scotland and the appropriate provision of affordable housing.

51. Delivery of housing does not rely solely on the allocation of appropriate land in the development plan. A variety of other factors contribute, including consideration of the planning application, negotiation of section 75 agreements, granting of a building warrant, as well as other regimes such as roads construction consent, water and drainage connection, the capacity of the construction industry, and the functioning of the housing market. Each affects the time taken to reach the stage where houses can be built.

The spatial dimension - guiding development to the right places

52. This section of the SPP considers factors relevant to the choice of sites for inclusion as housing land allocations in development plans in order to augment the existing supply. Planning authorities should have regard to the statutory requirement to exercise development planning functions with the objective of contributing to sustainable development, and should take account of Scottish Government and other policies on a range of matters, including the protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment, historic and heritage interests, protection of mineral resources, integration of land use and transport, flood risk and greenbelt policy.

See Annex D which outlines the range of policy and guidance relevant to the selection of sites for new housing as part of the plan making process.

Sustainable settlement strategies

53. It is The Scottish Government's policy that planning authorities must draw up a long-term sustainable settlement strategy as part of the development plan to provide the context for new development. The following key considerations should be taken into account:

• the efficient use of land and existing buildings, energy and infrastructure;
• accessibility by a range of transport options to jobs and services for all sections of the community;
• co-ordination of housing land provision with improvements in infrastructure, including transport and educational investment, and with other major proposals such as business or other economic development; and
• the protection and enhancement of the environment.

54. Planning authorities should justify the strategy proposed, including reference to reasonable alternative strategies. The strategy, site allocations and policy framework will be tested through the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the development plan, as required under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.

55. The selection of appropriate sites to meet the housing requirement should in principle consider the reuse of existing land and buildings before development on greenfield sites, but also take account of the planning authority's balanced consideration of the following factors:

• the potential of the site to meet the aims of the plan and other national and local policy objectives;
• the relative accessibility of sites by a choice of transport options (see paragraphs 68 - 70);
• the likely availability of infrastructure, education and community facilities;
• whether development can be achieved on a particular site within the required timeframe;
• the provision of a variety and choice of sites across the housing market area (the capacity of those sites will determine how many separate sites are required);
• the quality and density of housing that can be achieved on a site, taking account of its location, landscape setting and characteristics; and
• any other relevant matters, including the views of all relevant parties, including the community.

Efficient use of land and buildings

56. The settlement pattern is the product of generations of investment in physical infrastructure, social and cultural facilities and public amenities. Planning authorities should promote the efficient use of land and buildings within existing settlements to make effective use of existing infrastructure and service capacity, and reduce energy consumption, while ensuring the creation of quality residential environments.

Urban capacity studies

57. Planning authorities should make an assessment of the opportunities for further housing development within existing settlements, focussing on previously developed land and conversions of existing buildings, or a review of existing land allocations for uses other than housing, where appropriate. Such assessments, known as urban capacity studies, will be useful in the preparation of a sustainable settlement strategy, and may inform assumptions about the expected output from windfall sites. Such studies are most likely to be needed where a planning authority is pursuing a strategy of directing new housing to brownfield sites and may assist in measuring the extent to which any brownfield targets can be met. Although they are not exclusive to urban areas, they are less likely to be practical for smaller settlements in predominantly rural areas.

58. Planning authorities should, where possible, involve the private sector in the preparation of urban capacity studies and make them as transparent as possible. The results of such studies should be placed in the public domain. Actively involving private sector development interests in site appraisal can help to ensure a realistic assessment of development potential. Sites identified as having potential for residential development may be included within the housing land audit as part of the established supply.

Brownfield land

59. Opportunities for new house building on land which has been previously developed in urban and rural areas will reduce the amount of greenfield land required to meet the overall housing requirement. Redevelopment of brownfield sites for housing should be preferred to development on greenfield sites particularly where it supports the strategy of the development plan. A national target for brownfield residential development is not appropriate because the availability of previously developed sites varies across the country. Where individual planning authorities consider that targets would be helpful in a particular area, they should be realistic and justified.

60. Housing can complement other forms of new development and act as a catalyst for regeneration. There is scope for mixed-use developments, where commercial, retail, leisure or other uses form part of a development alongside housing, preferably including a variety of tenures. Development plan policies should support opportunities for mixed-use proposals on appropriate sites.

61. Redeveloping unpopular or sub-standard accommodation in existing neighbourhoods can support the wider regeneration of such communities, providing improved choice of housing type, tenure and density of development, as well as improvements in the quality of the environment for all residents. Where existing housing stock is replaced, only the net increase in houses should count towards meeting the identified housing land requirement.

Infill sites within existing settlements

62. Infill sites can often make a useful contribution to the supply of housing land. These are undeveloped areas of land, including gardens/grounds of existing houses or backland sites in urban, suburban or village locations. Planning authorities should ensure that infill development respects the scale, form and density of its surroundings and enhances the character and amenity of the community. The individual and cumulative effects of infill must be sustainable in relation to the social and economic infrastructure of a place, and must not lead to over-development.

Expanded and new settlements

63. Where brownfield and infill sites cannot meet the full range of housing requirements, it may be necessary to release greenfield land next to built-up areas. Meeting housing requirements through extensions to existing towns and villages can have a number of advantages. Servicing costs can be reduced and new housing may benefit existing communities by helping to sustain local schools, shops and services.

64. Development plans should specify how the character and setting of an existing settlement is to be protected, guide new development to suitable sites, and, where appropriate, provide for the phased release of land.

65. In some areas, new stand-alone settlements may contribute towards meeting housing requirements as part of a long-term strategy where:

• there are physical, environmental or infrastructural constraints to the further growth of existing settlements, or it forms part of a strategy for promoting rural development and renewal;
• it could assist in reducing development pressure on greenbelt land or areas of attractive countryside;
• it can be readily serviced by public transport;
• it will not have a significant adverse effect on any natural or built heritage interest safeguarded by a national or international designation; and
• it will not result in other significant environmental disbenefits.

66. Where a planning authority considers a new settlement a necessary part of their development strategy, the development plan should specify its scale and location, and set out the framework to guide development.

67. Where expanded and new settlements are part of the solution, they provide an opportunity to effect a step change in the quality and environmental standards of communities. Housing can be developed for a range tenures with decentralised heat and power and high energy efficiency standards, and located so as to make optimum use of public transport and provide opportunities for walking and cycling. Design and build quality should reflect the best architectural and design traditions of Scottish towns and villages.

See PAN 44: Fitting new housing development into the landscape.

Accessible locations

68. To contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, The Scottish Government is committed to the effective integration of land use and transport. Patterns of development should seek to reduce the demand for travel and reliance on the private car, and help to reduce energy consumption generally.

69. In considering the appropriate location of new residential development, preference should be given to locations which can be well-integrated with existing and proposed public transport, walking and cycling networks. Such locations should be developed at higher densities. In central locations, integrating housing with commercial, community and leisure uses in mixed developments can create improved access to jobs and a wide range of services. It should be recognised that people living in rural areas may continue to rely heavily on private forms of transport where there are few alternatives.

70. In seeking to locate new housing where it will be accessible by a range of forms of transport, planning authorities may conclude that the release of certain areas of greenfield land will result in a more sustainable pattern of development than relying on brownfield sites.

Further guidance on the integration of land use and transport is contained in SPP17: Transport and Planning.

Housing policies in development plans

71. In addition to locational guidance and specific land allocations, development plans will provide other policy and supplementary guidance which will be relevant to both planned and speculative housing proposals. Policy on design quality, sustainability, landscaping and energy efficiency may also be relevant to forms of development other than housing. This section of SPP3 focuses on policy areas targeted specifically towards guiding the quality, form and design of housing development which should be addressed.

Creation of quality in housing

72. The Scottish Government's objectives of creating successful places and achieving quality residential environments should form vital threads through the whole process of delivering new housing developments. The planning process has a role to play in ensuring that the design of new housing reflects its locational and broader context, reinforces local and Scottish identity and has connection with the movement and settlement patterns of the wider area. These elements should be considered at each stage of the design process to determine the scope for achieving a high-quality residential or mixed-use development. Development plans should include a policy framework to achieve the creation of successful places which contribute to the identity of that locality.

See Annex D which outlines the range of policy and guidance relating to the achievement of quality design solutions for new housing at different stages of the plan making process.

The Six Qualities of Successful Places: distinctive; safe and pleasant; easy to get to and move around; welcoming; adaptable; and resource efficient. (Designing Places 2001).

73. Energy and resource efficiency should be key elements of new developments. A range of factors influence energy efficiency, including location, siting, orientation, layout, materials and design. Efficient use of resources during construction, in line with SBSA guidance and building regulations, and in the way buildings are used should enable adaptation to the effects of climate change, as well as reducing the impacts of development itself.

Sullivan report on a Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland ( SBSA [should be published by the end of 2007]).

74. Developers and local authorities are encouraged to promote innovative forms of housing development which outperform existing standards wherever possible, particularly in relation to design, materials and construction technologies and energy efficiency. This would have positive effects for building performance, maintenance requirements, quality and attractiveness and the lifespan of buildings.

75. In-built flexibility to adaptability of internal spaces will allow houses to be altered to suit the changing needs of homeowners over time, as well as the diverse requirements of the people who live in the same development.

Open space provision

76. Open space for relaxation, informal recreation and sport is important to the health and well-being of communities, and can play an important role in preventing crime and strengthening community interaction. Developers and planning authorities should consider what type of open space is appropriate to serve particular housing developments and how it can best be located, distributed and laid out having regard to the distribution and function of existing provision. This should be done in the context of an open space audit and strategy, and might involve on-site or off-site provision or a financial contribution to open space or recreational resources in the local area. Long-term maintenance and management of the open space resource will also require to be provided for.

SPP11: Open Space and Physical Activity (November 2007) and PAN 65 Planning and Open Space provide relevant policy and advice.

Mixed communities

77. Drawing on the SHNMA and the LHS, development plans should encourage the creation of mixed communities rather than single tenure developments. The tenure of housing should be indiscernible from its design, quality or appearance.

Affordable housing

78. Where the SHNMA and LHS identifies a shortage of affordable housing, this should be addressed by the development plan as part of the overall housing land requirement. As with market-led housing development, the need for affordable housing should, where possible, be met within the housing market area where it has arisen.

79. Where the planning authority believes that the planning system has a role to play in the provision of affordable housing locally, this should be signalled as soon as possible in the development plan, including an outline of what is expected from prospective developers. This will help ensure that any requirement to provide affordable housing can be factored into the price that a developer will pay for land.

80. Policies in local plans may seek a percentage affordable housing contribution from all new housing developments where this is justified by the SHNMA as part of the local housing strategy. As a benchmark, 25% of the total number of housing units on each site should be affordable housing. Local authorities should prepare detailed Supplementary Planning Guidance on how the affordable housing requirement for their area is expected to be delivered, including indicating where different approaches will be taken for urban and rural areas. In circumstances where it is considered that housing built to meet identified affordability needs should remain available to meet such needs in perpetuity, guidance should set out the measures which will be used to achieve this.

81. Planning authorities should also consider allocating sites specifically for affordable housing to meet requirements identified by the SHNMA and LHS. This approach is most likely to be appropriate for small scale sites within or adjoining existing villages to provide for locally arising needs in perpetuity.

PAN 74 sets out detailed guidance on the provision of affordable housing.

Housing in rural areas

82. The Scottish Government's aim is to promote development that supports the rural economy, promotes rural regeneration, embodies the principles of sustainable development and enhances the rural environment. Rural areas across Scotland face a range of economic and environmental challenges. Many areas close to existing settlements experience pressure for various forms of development, and planning policy should manage these pressures. Planning policy should also be concerned with enabling growing rural communities to expand, as well as sustaining fragile and, in some cases, dispersed communities.

83. There is a steady demand for new houses, sometimes as second homes, in some rural areas. It may be possible to harness these demands in ways which secure economic, social or environmental benefits. The requirement for new housing in rural areas should be considered part of the development of a sustainable settlement strategy, with the majority of new housing continuing to be met within or adjacent to existing settlements.

84. In some rural areas, particularly those categorised in SPP15 as intermediate and remote, new housing outwith existing settlements may have a part to play in economic regeneration and environmental renewal. In rural areas with substantial long-term depopulation, proactive planning measures to help increase the resident population could assist economic and social regeneration. Non-residential buildings in the countryside which are no longer required for their original purpose can offer opportunities for conversion to dwellings. Residential and business conversions are a way of retaining buildings which contribute to local character, and can result in distinctive assets to the local environment. Proposals for the sensitive re-use, conversion or rehabilitation of buildings which can be accessed safely and serviced readily should be viewed sympathetically. Redevelopment should not automatically extend to the replacement of wholly derelict buildings or development of a different scale or character from that which existed previously. Some limited new housing, along with converted or rehabilitated buildings, may be acceptable where it results in a cohesive grouping that is well-related to its landscape setting.

85. All planning authorities must set out the circumstances in which new housing in the countryside outwith settlements may be appropriate in their areas, including redevelopment of brownfield land and opportunities for new houses on greenfield sites where appropriate. SPP15 gives further policy direction on the ways in which this can be achieved. Where there is significant demand for new houses, specific development plan provision could contribute to economic and social opportunities and reduce pressures on the general housing stock without damaging the environment.

Developer contributions

86. Creating a new settlement or major extension will generally require partnership between the public sector, private developers and other interests. Development plans should be clear about the likely scale of developer contributions in relation to sites which may include provision of all or most new infrastructure or road improvements, and in other cases may relate only to open space provision, a contribution to improving an existing school or an affordable housing requirement. Such provisions should be drawn up in consultation with the relevant parties, and the cost of providing the necessary infrastructure should be commensurate with the scale of the development proposed. The Scottish Government will review the operation of developer contributions in Scotland as part of a review of the system of planning agreements (see para 90).

The Development Plan Action Programme

87. Under the 2006 Act, strategic and local development plans are required to be accompanied by an action programme setting out how the authority intends to implement the plan. The action programme must be published alongside the plan to which it relates and is required to be reviewed and updated every two years. The programme should set out a list of actions necessary to deliver each of the plan's policies. It should also address any critical issues of phasing, infrastructure provision, the removal of significant constraints, land acquisition and the preparation of development briefs or other supplementary guidance. The programme must also include details of the person(s) and/or organisation(s) responsible for the actions, and the timescale for carrying out each action. This will include the local authority and other organisations with responsibility for elements of the delivery framework. The inclusion of an action programme within the development plan, and a biennial review of it, along with monitoring of the land supply through the annual housing land audit, will provide early notice of delays in meeting the housing requirements, giving the local authority the opportunity to take necessary steps to ensure the delivery and implementation of the housing land allocations. In these circumstances paragraph 49 indicates that authorities should bring forward additional land within the overall strategy of the plan to maintain an effective five-year land supply.

Development Management

88. The reform of the planning system reinforces the primacy of the development plan. This means that decisions on planning applications should be taken in line with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The importance of this role underlines the need for plans to be prepared and reviewed quickly to ensure they remain up-to-date. Plans must provide a robust framework to guide decision-making. The enhanced engagement of the private sector, consultees and the wider community, which will apply to new style development plans, will assist in the preparation of more robust plans which have wide support. These factors should make the assessment of applications simpler, quicker and more consistent. It follows that decisions to refuse permission for proposals which do not accord with the development plan should be easier to defend at appeal.

89. Further changes proposed by the 2006 Act will improve the speed and efficiency of the development management process and the quality of the decisions taken. A new hierarchy of developments is proposed, under which some applications will require pre-application consultation with the community. Some proposals may benefit from processing agreements between the planning authority and the applicant, which determine the length of time it will take to reach a decision. Increased use of new technology will improve service delivery, as well as the accessibility of information to more people. Developers and the public should have confidence in the decisions taken through the planning system, and the decision making process should be transparent and stand up to scrutiny.

Planning agreements

90. Under section 75 of the 1997 Act planning authorities have the power to enter into an agreement with those who have an interest in the land for the purpose of restricting or regulating its use. Agreements can be used to overcome obstacles to the granting of planning permission, but planning authorities should not use an applicant's need for planning permission to obtain a benefit which is unrelated in nature, scale or kind to the proposed development. The time taken to negotiate complex planning agreements can delay the building of new houses. The Scottish Government believes it is right in principle that the public should benefit from the uplift in value of land due to the grant of planning permission, while ensuring that the planning system and developer contributions facilitate sustainable economic growth. The Scottish Government is committed to undertaking a review of the framework governing such agreements.

SODD Circular 12/1996 Town & Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 Planning Agreements.