Infrastructure Strategy 2027-2037: consultation

Chapter 6 - A Place-Based Approach to Infrastructure Investments

We have an opportunity to reset our approach to infrastructure investment, so that it is more directly driven by the priorities of our places.

A place-based approach requires an understanding the overall assets and needs of a place. There is scope to design and implement a holistic response that builds in shared benefits for local people and communities, the environment and public investment.

The Policy Foundations for Place-Based Working

Scotland’s Place Principle sets the context for place-based working to help overcome organisational and sectoral boundaries and to encourage better collaboration and community involvement. It recognises that “Places are shaped by the way resources, services and assets are directed and used by the people who live in and invest in them.” The Place Principle is supported by the Place-Based Framework^[13], a shared action plan and oversight structure.

The ‘Public Service Reform Strategy’^[14] sets out place-based solutions for enabling systematic change across the public sector including strengthening local, joint decision making and sharing of power and resources.

In addition, Scotland’s long-term spatial plan, ‘National Planning Framework 4’^[15] requires a more holistic, place-based approach to development and infrastructure in line with sustainable principles including local living, infrastructure-first, compact growth and rural revitalisation. This builds on our ‘Regeneration strategy’^[16] which set out a vision of a ‘Scotland where our most disadvantaged communities are supported and where all places are sustainable and promote wellbeing.’

NPF4 embeds many other national strategies and priorities and provides a geographic view of how together they will shape Scotland in the future. It also identifies priorities for different parts of Scotland, differentiating between the needs of urban and rural areas and identifying key long-term investments required to support our transition to net zero.

These priorities can be better linked with decision making on infrastructure investment nationally, so that our interventions are framed by our overarching vision. Building on NPF4, we want this strategy to embed an approach which can better respond to the different challenges and opportunities across Scotland.

Currently, detailed technical assessments by each sector form the basis of infrastructure investment, and it is right that investment is underpinned by rigorous analysis.

However, this sectoral approach has meant we have not fully exploited the potential of a place-based approach. Furthermore, by distributing investment widely so that communities throughout Scotland benefit, we may not have realised efficiencies, economies of scale and maximised impact through better co-ordination and prioritisation.

A place-based approach could go further by aligning sectors so that the benefits for people, places and communities can be maximised. This would also bring some challenges and require change, as the result may be that rather than all parts of Scotland benefiting in the same way and at the same time, investment would be more targeted.

This section sets out two overarching principles that could form the basis of a place-based approach:

1. Aligning infrastructure investment with national spatial priorities

2. Place partnerships and collective working

Aligning infrastructure investment with national spatial priorities

As a first principle to achieve this, we propose implementing a more consistent approach for considering infrastructure investment decisions through the lens of place. This would help with prioritisation and join up sectoral decisions. Place-based criteria could be informed by priorities already set out in NPF4, including spatial principles, national developments, and regional priorities.

The approach would complement, rather than replace, sectoral analysis – for example, with proposed projects being required to set out how they support local ambitions and plans and align with wider investments in their location. An assessment of investments in relation to NPF4’s spatial principles as well as national and regional priorities and national developments, could be required.

Some of our spatial priorities respond to need, while others target investment where it has greatest potential to support economic opportunities. In testing the impact of investment decisions on place, this can help us to make choices, to optimise investment and ensure value for money.

NPF4’s spatial principles provide a basis for prioritisation of place-based investment:

• Conserving and recycling assets: Across all regions but, in particular the central belt, targeting of the reuse of vacant and derelict land and buildings has the potential to unlock both economic opportunities and housing as well as benefitting communities who live close to empty sites. A key example includes the Clyde Gateway, which has shown that long-term commitment to regeneration and public sector-led infrastructure investment provides a strong return for both communities and the economy.
• Rebalanced development: Infrastructure can help to redistribute growth where it will benefit people living in areas with high levels of poverty and disadvantage, in line with the First Minister’s strong focus on tackling child poverty and health priorities. Disadvantage can often be geographically concentrated and there is a strong case for prioritising spend to address challenges and opening up new opportunities for people in areas of greatest need. Close working with communities and linking physical infrastructure with wider efforts on regeneration and service provision could help to maximise these benefits.
• Local Living: Interventions to deliver local living such as action to unlock stalled housing sites. An infrastructure-first approach promotes a more holistic approach to better connect homes with infrastructure, helping to reduce the need to travel and improving quality of life. Aligning funding and financing solutions with this approach, including local facilities, schools, health and social care, access to greenspaces, transport and utilities will benefit people. If we can work more flexibly to meet the needs of different places, this could also support the construction sector to overcome ongoing cost and viability challenges.
• Compact urban growth: City and town centre regeneration are long-standing priorities, supporting our most disadvantaged communities to thrive on their own terms and ensure places are sustainable and promote wellbeing. Investment in their continued evolution will help tackle disadvantage, promote economic growth and employment, support our heritage and cultural identity, and contribute to quality of life. The Town Centre First Principle^[17] puts the health of our town centres at the heart of decision making.

Examples of current place-based priorities in NPF4 national developments include:

• Industrial Green Transition Zones and wider strategic investment sites, which are recognised as national developments where the aim is to support redevelopment and maximise investment opportunities. This includes Grangemouth and Peterhead, as well as the redevelopment of Chapelcross Power Station, Hunterston Strategic Asset, and Aberdeen Harbour.
• Active and sustainable transport solutions, including urban mass /rapid transit networks for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and a national walking, cycling and wheeling network.
• Waterfront redevelopments, including Clyde Mission, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Stranraer. The reuse of these brownfield sites requires investment including enabling infrastructure, and measures to ensure resilience to the future impacts of climate change.
• Central Scotland Green Network and Urban Sustainable Blue and Green Surface Water Management Solutions reflect the national aim of enhancing blue and green infrastructure to support biodiversity and help us adapt to the impacts of climate change and national developments.

Regional priorities are also identified in NPF4, informed by early versions of Regional Spatial Strategies.

For example, the strategy supports the growth of the energy sector and associated supply chain, including in rural, island communities and the energy transition in the north-east. This requires planning and co-ordination of infrastructure and development, to ensure that housing, connectivity, and supporting assets work together to create thriving, resilient communities and ensure there is a strong workforce to support major investments. The following example illustrates one such place-based project.

Example – Green Freeports – Inner Moray Firth

Green freeports are a key opportunity to support economic transformation and build on inclusive growth within communities in Scotland. Freeports are of national importance in terms of their contribution to economic growth, net zero and decarbonising of energy.

Significant energy projects require associated infrastructure and in turn significant investments depend on the availability of grid connections, a labour force, and other accompanying services.

The Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF) encompasses several key locations, including Port of Cromarty Firth; Port of Nigg; Port of Inverness; Highland Deephaven; Ardersier Energy Transition Facility; and Inverness Campus. These sites collectively span approximately 520 hectares, forming the largest green engineering development area in the UK, driving forward green energy, innovation, and skills.

There is a need for supporting infrastructure including housing to be delivered at speed to support freeports. The Highland Council recognises the potential benefits that the preparation and implementation of Masterplan Consent Areas (MCAs) schemes could offer Highland, in particular in support of the development of the ICFGF.

The Scottish Government has offered funding assistance to the Council to bring forward three MCAs to support the delivery of new housing in connection with the ICFGF. The Highland Council is driving forward new housing delivery and will decide which locations to progress through to MCAs by the end of 2025.

The new MCA consenting model enables a place-making, streamlined process as opposed to the traditional allocation / planning application route. Provided this is successful in showing how housing can be delivered swiftly to support industrial growth, we hope other local authorities will use this approach across Scotland.

Place Partnerships and Collective Working

Place-based working can align investment and target action more effectively. Stronger partnership working across sectors and organisations could transform the way we plan and deliver infrastructure. This strategy aims to promote this as a collective endeavour, rather than the responsibility of any single organisation.

To more fully involve regions, local areas and communities in infrastructure investment decisions, we are exploring how we can build new, more place-based collaborative governance structures to provide a more direct line of sight between national, regional, local and community priorities.

Existing organisations and partnerships can be used to better facilitate place-based collaboration between national and local governments and communities. An example could include establishing programme boards or repurposing existing arrangements to facilitate meaningful local engagement and provide collective leadership which directly informs place-based infrastructure investment.

Regional

There is scope to build on existing networks, relationships and governance frameworks at a regional scale to promote place-based approaches.

There are eight Regional Economic Partnerships (REP) in Scotland. These partnerships are collaborations between Local Government, the private sector, education and skills providers, enterprise and skills agencies and the third sector to deliver economic prosperity across Scotland’s regions. City Region and Growth Deals are strategic packages agreed between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and local authority partners. They are designed to align long-term funding behind shared visions for regional economies, leverage additional investment, create new jobs and accelerate inclusive economic growth. As of March 2025, all twelve Growth Deals are in delivery as part of Scottish Government’s £1.9 billion commitment to Regional Economic Development across Scotland.

In addition, Regional Spatial Strategies were introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, though the provisions have not yet been commenced. We will set out statutory guidance to inform their preparation and content in due course and expect it to be informed by both the regional perspectives in NPF4, as well progress to develop a strategy for the Glasgow City Region. These have potential to identify strategic scale infrastructure priorities within a national investment framework provided by the IIP. They could also join up investment in infrastructure so that private and public sector contributions are brought together to deliver at scale.

Many other partnerships have an interest in regional place-based working and infrastructure investment and could form part of a collective approach.

Local

Locally driven place-based working also has an important role to play, with local authorities and wider partners playing a key role.

There are 32 Community Planning Partnerships (CPP) across Scotland, one for each council area. Under the Community Empowerment Act CPPs have the duty to identify socio-economic inequalities that lead to poorer outcomes for residents and agree the actions necessary to tackle them. This is captured in the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP). Another duty is to identify those localities which experience the poorest outcomes and develop a Locality Plan setting out how they will be tackled. The Population Health Framework (PHF) puts a refreshed focus on the role of CPPs to strengthen collective leadership and shared accountability to improve local outcomes and address inequalities.

Local authorities are the statutory housing authority – responsible for assessing the requirements for housing and housing-related services and setting out how this will be delivered through its Local Housing Strategy. Local Housing Strategies are also expected to inform Local Development Plans.

Local Development Plans are being prepared by planning authorities – including all local authority areas and the two national park authorities. Their spatial strategies can form the basis to co-ordinate infrastructure funding and phasing, using an ‘infrastructure-first’ approach, as set out in NPF4. Planning authorities are bringing forward the first versions of new-style plans and a pipeline of deliverable housing land with a high-level indication of associated infrastructure will be identified as part of delivery programmes.

Infrastructure is integral to development planning, where potential impacts on infrastructure and infrastructure needs are understood early in the process as part of the evidence base. This planned approach can ensure that we firstly make best use of existing infrastructure capacity. It can also provide more certainty for the market and promote design and innovation to help deliver sustainable solutions within tight budgets.

At a local scale, a current example of an aligned, place-based approach with shared governance is being developed in Granton, in Edinburgh. In this example, we are bringing together funding streams addressing a viability gap to unlock development, so that a new neighbourhood can be delivered through public and private partnership working. This is still an innovative approach and would require significant change to the way we plan for and invest in infrastructure to become more widely applied.

Example: Granton, Edinburgh

We recently announced a pathfinder project in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council to support regeneration of the Granton area in Northwest Edinburgh. With support from Scottish Futures Trust, we have developed a new outcomes-based Place Accelerator fund. The Scottish Government will provide funding to City of Edinburgh Council when they deliver pre-agreed place-making outcomes such as promoting the use of new green space and active travel routes to improve health and wellbeing within the local community, enhanced school attainment levels and job and apprenticeship opportunities for local people. Together with its Development Partner, the City of Edinburgh Council have plans to deliver almost 850 net zero new homes of different tenures as part of a wider redevelopment of the site. This funding model shows how local and national government can work together to unlock shared priorities and deliver for local people. Provided this is successful, we plan to work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and other local authorities to roll this type of place-making model out across Scotland.

Community

It is not possible for a national infrastructure strategy to fully capture the needs and ambitions of local communities. However, place-based approaches depend on input and data which is locally driven. To further embed ‘place’ in the Infrastructure Strategy, we would welcome views on how to better empower and support communities to play a more active role in decision making.

This could take a number of forms. Local place plans have potential to influence not only local development plans but also wider prioritisation of infrastructure investment. Community Development Trusts and organisations across Scotland and community action plans play an active role in identifying local assets, opportunities and challenges, and this experience could be better deployed to inform strategic decision making. Communities are also actively engaged in regeneration projects across Scotland, including capital investment to support the reuse of land and buildings and local projects to develop jobs and wider economic opportunities.

As well as informing priorities, we are open to views on how best to support infrastructure delivery with early public and community involvement. Best practice from other countries, for example, includes deployment of deliberative techniques, such as citizens’ juries or panels, to engage the public in strategic decisions and major infrastructure projects, from an early stage. This in turn has potential to support major infrastructure consenting in a more collaborative and inclusive way.

Particular areas of Scotland could benefit from this approach. For example, in island areas, alignment should explicitly reference duties in the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, using Island Communities Impact Assessments to surface differential impacts and mitigation early in the investment cycle.

Using these vehicles to co-design pipelines will strengthen place evidence, accelerate decision-making and improve accountability.

The following diagram sets out the relationships between national, regional and local working, which could form the basis of a more collaborative and place-based approach to infrastructure prioritisation and investment.

Scottish Government

• National Planning Framework guides place-based priorities for the Infrastructure Strategy and Pipeline.
• Co-ordinates national infrastructure investment and delivery.
• Informed by regional priorities.

Regional place-based partnerships

• Regional vision for infrastructure investment.
• Aligns sectoral regional strategies and identifies place-based priorities.
• Co-ordinates strategic infrastructure investment and delivery.
• Informed by national and local priorities.

Local collaborations

• Identifies and aligns local place-based priorities.
• Empowers and involves communities in place-based projects.
• Informed by community and regional priorities.

Democratic input, public and community involvement and transparency

Questions

9. Do you support the proposal that infrastructure investment is more directly driven by the priorities of places across Scotland?

10. Are the proposed principles, national spatial priorities and place partnerships, the right ones to guide a place-based approach? Are there other principles we should consider?

11. Do you agree with the Scottish Government’s proposal to empower communities to play a more active role in infrastructure decision making? What mechanisms would best support meaningful community involvement and help to maximise local social benefits?

12. Do you believe the current landscape of local and regional partnerships (e.g. Community Planning Partnerships, Regional Economic Partnerships, Regional Adaptation Partnerships) provides an effective framework for delivering place-based infrastructure investment? Please explain your answer, including any suggestions for improvement of existing structures.