Planning Principles "Turn Common Sense On It's Head"
The Scottish Greens have urged Ministers to rethink key planning documents to put sustainable development as the key principle when making planning decisions.
In an amendment to today’s planning debate at Holyrood, the Greens point to a legal requirement under the 2006 Planning Act to make sustainable development the objective when drawing up the National Planning Framework, which lays out key national projects for the decades ahead. (1)
Patrick Harvie, Green MSP said:
“Scotland’s key planning policies should be an exciting glimpse at a clean and modern future, but Ministers must be prepared to ditch dirty energy and reconsider the idea of everlasting growth. Many of the plans in the National Planning Framework are welcome but a number of the proposals on energy and transport are completely at odds with creating a more sustainable country.
“Planning law should put sustainable development at the heart of the planning system, not just on paper but in the decisions made every week that affect all sorts of communities. The attempt to allow claims around economic growth to trump sustainable development in planning decisions turns common sense on its head. Whether it’s transport or energy, we should only be investing in projects that get us a step further towards a fairer, sustainable and low-carbon economy.”
*Section 3D of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2006 states that in preparing the National Planning Framework, Ministers must have the objective of contributing to sustainable development