Housing applications: Chief Planner letter and Notification Direction – September 2025
Direction setting out the arrangements for notification of planning applications for 10 or more houses on land not allocated in a development plan.
Part of
The Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (10 or more homes on non-allocated land) (Scotland) Direction 2025
I am writing to draw your attention to a new Direction setting out the arrangements for notifying planning applications for 10 or more proposed new homes on land not allocated for housing in the LDP to the Scottish Ministers. The Direction includes notification requirements so that the Scottish Ministers are alerted of any such planning applications within 7 days of validation. Authorities are also to notify the Scottish Ministers of details of the decisions taken on these applications. This will enable evidence-led monitoring of how NPF4 Policy 16 ‘Quality Homes’ is being applied. This requirement applies to both new planning applications and any that are currently being considered.
The Direction comes into force today, 2 September 2025.
Yours sincerely
Fiona Simpson MRTPI
Chief Planner
The Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (10 or more homes on non-allocated land) (Scotland) Direction 2025
The Direction is given under powers conferred on the Scottish Ministers by Regulation 31 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 and all other powers enabling them to do so:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
(1) This Direction may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Notification of
Applications) (10 or more homes on non-allocated land) (Scotland) Direction 2025 and comes into force on 02 September 2025.
(2) In this Direction -
“non-allocated land” means land not allocated for housing in the local development plan (LDP),
"environmental report" means the environmental report prepared in accordance with the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005,
"EIA report", "Schedule 2 development" and "screening opinion" have the same meaning as in the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017, and “validation date” has the same meaning as in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013.
Information to be given to the Scottish Ministers on receipt of an application for 10 or more homes on non-allocated land
2. Where a planning authority receives an application for planning permission in principle or for planning permission for the construction of 10 or more homes on non-allocated land, it must within 7 days of the validation date in respect of the application send to the Scottish Ministers the following information -
(a) a copy of the planning application, accompanying plans and associated documentation (e.g. transport/noise assessment), together with the full address and post-code of the site to be developed; and
(b) a copy of any EIA report accompanying the application or, where an EIA report has not been prepared, a copy of any screening opinion given by the planning authority.
Information to be given to the Scottish Ministers where a planning authority determines an application for 10 or more homes on non-allocated land
3. Where a planning authority determines such an application it must (to the extent that such information has not already been sent to the Scottish Ministers in accordance with paragraph 2) send to the Scottish Ministers the following information -
(a) a copy of the planning application, accompanying plans and associated documentation (e.g. transport/noise assessments), together with the full address and post-code of the site to be developed;
(b) a copy of any EIA report accompanying the application or, where an EIA report has not been prepared -
(i) a copy of any EIA screening opinion given by the planning authority in respect of any Schedule 2 development; and
(ii) a copy of any environmental report that is relevant to the development.
(c) a copy of any appropriate assessment relating to the application, carried out under Part IV of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulation 1994;
(d) copies of all observations submitted by consultees and representations and petitions received;
(e) the planning authority's comments on the consultees' observations and on representations received;
(f) the planning official’s Report of Handling or Committee Report; and
(g) the planning authority's Decision Notice with reasons for granting or refusing planning permission, including a statement as to whether the development is in accordance with the development plan together with an explanation of why the authority has reached that view.
4. Where the planning authority holds the information to be sent to the Scottish Ministers under paragraph 2 or 3 on its website, it may comply with some or all of the requirement to provide this information to the Scottish Ministers by means of an email to the Scottish Government containing a link, or a series of links, to the relevant pages on the authority's website.
Submission of information
5. Submission should be made by email to the following address: housingnotification2025@gov.scot
6. Where it is necessary to send hard copies of some or all of the required documents, they should be addressed to:
The Scottish Government
Planning Decisions
Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Directorate
Area 2-F South
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6Q
