Annex B - Partial Equalities Impact Assessment
What is the Purpose of the Proposed Policy (or Changes Made to the Policy)?
The General Permitted Development (Scotland) Order 1992 (as amended) sets out the developments which are considered to be 'Permitted Development'. That means that development falling within the categories and thresholds defined within the Order do not have to gain planning permission before being implemented. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (section 71) requires that provision is made within the permitted development rights to include microgeneration equipment (which is technology that produces heat or electricity, usually from renewable sources of energy but does not exceed an output of 50 kilowatts for electricity and 45 kilowatts (thermal) for heat).
Who is Affected by the Policy or Who is Intended to Benefit from the Proposed Policy and How?
The changes will benefit owners and occupiers of non-domestic properties who will no longer have to incur the financial and time costs of planning permission before installing certain types of microgeneration equipment, or structures to house that equipment.
The changes will affect neighbours (domestic or non-domestic) adjacent to non-domestic land uses by removing their right to be notified of and object to such proposals, which commonly require a planning application.
How have you, or will you, put the policy into practice, and who is or will be delivering it?
The approach will be put into practice through amendments to the existing permitted development legislation which is operated by planning authorities for the main part and partly by the Scottish Government's Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals most commonly in the case of enforcement appeals. The changes will also be implemented by property owners and planning consultants who may decide whether the proposed development can be regarded as permitted development without consulting with the relevant planning authority.
Planning Authorities can take action against development within their area which does not have the required planning permission.
How does the policy fit into our wider or related policy initiatives?
The changes will contribute to the achievement of greenhouse gas emissions targets and the Scottish Government's drive towards making Scotland a leader in renewable energy technologies.
What do we already know about the diverse needs and/ore experiences of the target audience?
The target audience is anyone with an interest in microgeneration equipment being sited on non-domestic properties.
Age
Research 'Planning and Community Involvement in Scotland' ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19666/40356) suggests that those who respond to planning applications are generally middle aged or elderly. However, the proposed permitted development rights are designed to avoid or minimise significant adverse impacts. However, we are not aware of other information which would suggest that there is a correlation between age and those seeking to install microgeneration equipment on non-domestic properties.
Disability
The desire to install microgeneration equipment does not appear to be predicated on any factor or degree of disability and we are not aware of any evidence to the contrary. The planning process for microgeneration equipment is the same for all.
Gender
Research ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19666/40356) suggests that women are more likely to be involved in the planning process than men and significantly more likely to oppose planning applications. However, we are not aware that seeking to install microgeneration equipment on non-domestic properties is affected by the gender of the property owner.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
We are not aware of evidence which suggests that LGBT issues are a factor in encouraging or discouraging the installation of microgeneration equipment.
Race
Research ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19666/40356) suggests that White Caucasians dominate responses to planning applications with a minority of responses from members of other ethnic communities. That was considered to be broadly equivalent to the population mix in Scotland as a whole. We are not aware of any evidence which suggests race has an impact on the propensity to want to install or object to the installation of microgeneration equipment on non-domestic properties.
Religion & Belief
We are not aware of any evidence that religion or belief has an impact on the desire to install or object to the installation of microgeneration equipment on non-domestic properties.
Is further information needed to help us understand the diverse needs and/or experience of our target audience?
Whilst we are not aware of evidence to suggest that certain sections of Scotland's society may or may not benefit or experience hardship from the proposed order, there is scope to improve on this position if there is indeed evidence to suggest either outcome is a possibility. We would welcome your views as to what further evidence there might be to identify the benefits and costs of the proposed changes to certain sections of our society.