National Planning Framework 4: delivery programme V4

B. Monitoring and actions from 2024 to 2025

Spatial strategy

Local development plans

Local development plans (LDPs) have a key role in delivering NPF4’s policies and priorities. It is important that LDPs are prepared in a timely manner and we have set a target of May 2028 (within 5 years of the Development Planning Regulations coming into force) for all authorities to adopt their new-style plan.

Annex A shows the current progress of plan preparation across Scotland. Half of Scotland’s planning authorities are still gathering evidence and yet to submit for gate check (Annex B). We share stakeholders’ concerns about potential slippage in LDP timescales. So in April 2025 we put in place a requirement for authorities to provide 6-monthly updates on their timescales and action being taken to accelerate timescales, ensuring progress can be monitored. The first updates, provided at the end of September, show that a further four authorities are now not expecting to make the May 2028 target. This brings the total to 13 authorities (38%) expecting to adopt after the target (Annex C).

In this year’s Programme for Government we committed to offer support to all authorities through the National Planning Hub to assist in LDP preparation. We have provided local authorities with additional professional capacity and expertise through the Hub for their work on LDPs.

An increasing number of Evidence Reports are not passing the gate check (latest figures show a 37% overall success rate to date, see Annex D). Particular challenges have been around taking an infrastructure first approach and establishing an indicative Local Housing Land Requirement (iLHLR). The iLHLR is expected to be clearly explained and exceed the Minimum All Tenure Land Requirement (MATHLR) set in NPF4. Annex E shows the iLHLRs within Evidence Reports and the difference from the MATHLR; there is a total 7% increase above MATHLR by those that have passed their gate check.

Given the critical nature of housing and infrastructure, and the complexities involved, the focus on these matters was somewhat anticipated; it is important to work through as part of the new emphasis on proportionate but robust evidence to support delivery. The Chief Planner, National Planning Improvement Champion (NPIC), the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) and Heads of Planning Scotland recently held a summit to consider collective action to speed up the process and give greater confidence to authorities’ planning teams that they can provide proportionate sufficient information whilst not undermining the objectives of the gate check. We have also been working with the National Planning Improvement Champion to launch a LDP support package to help authorities to come together to discuss issues and share good practice and to allow good progress to be made on LDPs.

Authorities will submit a second timetabling update in March 2026. The first Proposed Plans are expected to be published in Spring 2026. Whilst plan preparation is the responsibility of planning authorities, we intend to take further action to support them to accelerate timescales and reduce delays in the coming weeks, as a priority.

Local Place Plans

We will be monitoring and evaluating the extent to which local place plans (LPPs) are informing local development plans and planning decisions. Ministers are required to report on LPPs soon after July 2026 and we will embark on the review in the second half of the year. The report will include: numbers of LPPs submitted and registered, details of support given to communities to prepare LPPs, and an assessment of how they have been influencing local development plans and decisions on planning applications, their overall effectiveness and whether further support should be provided to community bodies.

National Developments

We have been working with Scottish Futures Trust and with lead partners to establish progress and identify where government can support next steps for each National Development. We are actively connecting lead partners to share learning from successful projects and using existing groups such as the Planning Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group (PIPAG) to promote best practice and link with the Infrastructure Investment Plan. Further information on PIPAG is provided below under Productive Places.

Through the Planning Hub, we are facilitating the planning and consenting processes for hydrogen and other renewable energy infrastructure. We have been taking action to strengthen capacity in the planning system, to help ensure planning authorities and agencies have the necessary resources and support to deliver National Developments. Further information on the activities of the Planning Hub is set out below under Productive Places.

Given the housing emergency, in 2025/26 we are prioritising support for National Developments that enable more new homes, including at Clyde Mission and Edinburgh Waterfront. We will also promote Masterplan Consent Areas to unlock residential development in key locations, as appropriate.

Work is in progress to more effectively track national developments, including development of a digital map. The table below gives an update on each of the National Developments within the Infrastructure Lifecycle Model as set out by the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. The Commission identifies five key stages, starting with prioritising the right infrastructure, second planning and structuring, third construction and renewal, fourth maintaining and operating that infrastructure, and finally decommissioning and completing evaluation.

National development

1. Energy Innovation Development on the Islands

Recent activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 2 – Planning & Structuring

Orkney Islands Council will consider the Scapa Deep Water Quay planning application by the end of 2025. The Orkney Logistics Base application is currently live.

National development

2. Pumped Hydro Storage

Recent activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 2: Planning & Structuring

The Cruachan Expansion Project is on hold due to rising costs. The developer Drax is engaging with stakeholders to secure policy support and exploring site enhancements.

National development

3. Strategic Renewable Electricity Generation and Transmission Infrastructure

Recent activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: All Stages

The Scottish Government and National Energy System Operator (NESO) are developing a strategic spatial energy plan. A reformed pricing delivery plan has been under preparation.

National development

4. Circular Economy Materials Management Facilities

Recent activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: N/A

NPF4 Policy supports energy-from-waste proposals only in limited circumstances. No new planning applications have been submitted since 2023.

National development

5. Urban Sustainable, Blue and Green Surface Water Management Solutions:

• Glasgow
• Edinburgh

Recent activity

Glasgow: Lifecycle Delivery Model: All Stages

Ongoing delivery via Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership and other programmes; feasibility study for city centre conduit underway; policy on flood risk net gain in development.

Edinburgh: Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation, Stage 2: Planning & Structuring & Stage 3: Construction & Renewal

Strategic flood risk assessment completed; demonstrator projects underway.

National development

6. Urban Mass/Rapid Transit Networks:

Edinburgh and South East Scotland;

Clyde Metro;

Aberdeen Metro

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation

Edinburgh: Funding awarded for Strategic Business Case development.

Clyde Metro: Preliminary options appraisal and engagement planning underway.

Aberdeen: Outline Business Case work began in September 2025.

National development

7. Central Scotland Green

Network

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: All Stages

The programme is 15 years into the 40 year delivery horizon. There have been significant policy developments around nature & biodiversity, climate, and place. This is being reflected into the programme approach to take advantage of relevant opportunities.

Over the next period Green Action Trust will strengthen the partnership, set new priorities to 2030 reflecting SG and partner priorities and will pilot and adopt new approaches in areas such as climate and nature finance, delivering at a landscape scale and supporting public sector reform.

National development

8. National Walking, Cycling and Wheeling Network

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 4: Operation & Management

£17.5m funding awarded for 2025/26 to support 62 active projects. Recent awards include drainage improvements in Edinburgh and safety upgrades in Carnoustie.

National development

9. Edinburgh Waterfront

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 2: Planning & Structuring

Phase 1 planning permission was granted in November 2024. Designs are near completion, and SG funding secured to close the viability gap.

National development

10. Dundee Waterfront

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 3 Construction & Renewal

Dundee City Council is continuing to engage with stakeholders; proactively promoting the development and investment in the remaining Waterfront Development Sites; and reviewing the masterplan to ensure flexibility.

National development

11. Stranraer Gateway

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stages vary:

Castle Kennedy Site - Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation - opportunities.

Marina Expansion - Stage 2: Planning & Structuring.

Water Sports Hub, George Hotel - Stage 3: Construction & Renewal.

Regeneration projects progressing, including marina expansion and water sports hub development.

National development

12. Digital Fibre Network (current)

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stages vary:

Project Gigabit - Stage 2: Planning & Structuring– further procurements to follow.

R100 programme, Shared Rural Network and Project Gigabit - Stage 3: Construction & Renewal – two regional contracts awarded in addition to nationwide Type C framework; build in progress.

Scottish 4G Infill Programme - Stage 5: Decommissioning & Evaluation

Project Gigabit procurement continues, with two regional contracts awarded and build underway. The Scottish 4G Infill Programme is in its final evaluation stage.

National development

13. Clyde Mission

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation

• A dedicated programme manager was recruited in August 2025 to lead on delivery of the project implementation framework for the Heat Decarbonisation Fund (HDF) scheme that has been developed and consulted on with the SG.
• A multidisciplinary consultancy has been procured to help create a strategic masterplan for Clyde Mission which will energise partners to sustain long term commitments.

National development

14. Aberdeen Harbour

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stages 1 & 4 North Harbour - Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation South Harbour - Stage 4: Operation & Management

Aberdeen South Harbour port facilities completed and fully operational

Planning approvals for Energy Transition Zone and related works were confirmed in November 2025.

National development

15. Industrial Green Transition Zones

Recent Activity

Acorn project for carbon capture and storage – Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1 Strategy & Prioritisation

Acorn secured £200m UK Government funding (subject to business case). Scottish Government is supporting CO₂ transport infrastructure critical for cluster deployment.

Greenports – Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 2: Planning & Structuring, and Stage 3: Construction & Renewal

Positive steps towards full delivery: Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport Full Business Case is now approved, and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed – that means seed capital funding (from UKG) can start to flow this financial year. Forth Green Freeport’s MoU is expected to be signed in the coming weeks/months.

National development

16. Hunterston Strategic Asset

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation and Stage 2: Planning and Structuring

A development framework for Hunterston Parc has been approved, guiding future proposals for port, industry, and marine uses.

Several planning applications have been submitted and determined concerning the site in the last 12 months.

National development

17. Chapelcross Power Station Redevelopment

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is working with CX Power as strategic developer. Work on design and Outline Business Case will follow.

South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE) has an adjacent development of 6.46Ha with site servicing and is actively engaging with business for early occupation of smaller plots whilst the larger site is developed.

National development

18. High Speed Rail

Recent Activity

Lifecycle Delivery Model: Stage 1: Strategy & Prioritisation

No movement on this National Development from last year.

National planning policy

We welcome feedback including experience with applying the policy and we will continue to support authorities with their implementation. We continue to engage with Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) to discuss emerging policy issues, enable collaboration and promote consistency in application. Specific actions we or partners have taken to monitor and support implementation of policies include^[1]:

Policy 1/Policy 2: Climate mitigation and adaptation –

Guidance: In June 2025 we published new planning guidance supporting application of policy 2 - climate mitigation and adaptation. On climate mitigation this sets out a proportionate approach to dealing with whole life carbon through the planning process, drawing on recent research and international best practice. On adapting to climate impacts (adaptation) the guidance sets out a process to support development planning to take current and future climate risks into account and enable places to adapt. The guidance also covers advice to applicants on how to integrate adaptation measures into development proposals – through siting, by design from the outset, or by designing in future adaptability. We supported an information and learning event on the guidance hosted by the Improvement Service in August.

Support for Evidence Reports: Taking current and future climate risks into account in LDPs requires geospatial data and evidence. ClimateXChange has produced a 4-page briefing note on Geospatial climate data for evidence reports, developed with planning officers and offering practical guidance. This briefing note signposts to relevant data which can be used in Evidence Reports.

Research: Following the publication of ClimateXChange’s Using future climate scenarios to support today’s decision making (February 2025), a new project to make more relevant data on climate extremes available is underway.

• Policy 3: Biodiversity – In June 2025 NatureScot published guidance on the use of existing biodiversity metrics in the Scottish planning system.

Updated Scottish Government Biodiversity Guidance has been recently published. Work is progressing on a Scottish metric, building on the DEFRA approach and informed by current practice, led by NatureScot.

• Policy 4: Natural places – A Chief Planner letter in July 2025 set out a statement of policy that listed Ramsar sites in Scotland should be treated as if they are European sites for the purposes of land use change decisions. The updated policy position is a material consideration in the determination of relevant planning and consenting applications in relation to development which impacts on Ramsar sites and should be considered and read alongside NPF4.
• Policy 5: Soils – The Peatland Expert Advisory Group, which includes voices from government, public bodies, industry, research and eNGOs, was established in 2023 to provide advice on managing the development of windfarms on peat in Scotland. We will continue the work started by the group to ensure that any future developments are informed by the latest science and best practice. In August 2025 ClimateXChange published research into Investigating the reuse of excavated peat on wind farm development sites.
• Policy 6: Forestry, woodland and trees – A Forestry and Woodland Strategy Technical Note to replace a section of the ‘Right Tree Right Place’ guidance will be published early in 2026.
• Policy 9: Brownfield, vacant and derelict land and buildings – We have made £7.6m Vacant and Derelict Land funding available to relevant local authorities for 2025/26 to tackle long term challenges. The Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme provides capital to tackle persistent vacant and derelict land, supporting place-based approaches to delivering regeneration and sustainable inclusive growth.
• Policy 10: Coastal development – On behalf of Scottish Government, Verture hosted a series of coastal change webinars held over the course of the last year. Reference to this information, including the support that is offered by SEPA and the Dynamic Coasts team, is encouraged to help local authorities in their adaptation efforts and consideration of the impacts to new and existing development of climate change.
• Policy 11: Energy – We have facilitated a discussion with industry stakeholders and local authorities on maximising net socio-economic benefit as required by Policy 11c) and how this differs to voluntary community benefits. Scottish Government planning and consenting guidance for developers wishing to construct hydrogen projects in Scotland is expected to be published in early 2026.

Our Investing in planning consultation in 2024 invited views on altering the current threshold of 50MW which determines the requirement for consent from Scottish Ministers for electricity generating stations. A consultation on potential for increasing the threshold for applications to be considered by local authorities was published in December 2025.

We anticipate that the implementation of grid connection reform will prioritise projects ready to deliver clean energy, and as a result may change the number of projects in the pipeline.

The Scottish Government has commissioned independent consultants Ironside Farrar to produce planning guidance to support planning authorities considering applications for battery energy storage systems (BESS). We expect to publish the guidance this winter.

• Policy 13: Sustainable transport – PAN 75 has been withdrawn as it is superseded by guidance contained elsewhere. We have supported Transport Scotland’s preparation of revised Development Planning Transport Appraisal Guidance (DPTAG), published in October 2025 and the draft National Islands Plan which features commitments concerning island transport and connectivity. We have convened discussions with stakeholders to discuss the issue of roads bonds which can cause delays or stalling of housing sites and light touch guidance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is underway.

During 2026 we will continue to work with partners to consider an update to relevant sections of the SCOTS Development Guidance. Work towards a revised target for car use reduction is continuing with collaboration between Transport Scotland, COSLA and Regional Transport Partnerships. A draft target has been set to reduce emissions from cars in the first carbon budget (2026-2030) by at least 16% from today’s levels (2023).

• Policy 14: Design quality and place – We have worked with specialist expertise to support planning practitioners in taking a gender sensitive approach and delivered a programme of events to advance discussion within the sector.
• Policy 15: Local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods Delivery is being supported through the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP), helping local government and key agencies accelerate ambitions for place, town centre revitalisation, 20 minute neighbourhoods, community led regeneration and community wealth-building.

In 2025/26 a direct PBIP allocation is being provided to Scotland’s 32 local authorities. This is in addition to the £100m PBIP funding that local authorities received between 2021/22 and 2024/25 which contributed to funding over 530 capital projects.

• Policy 16 : Quality homes – We want to accelerate delivery of high quality homes in the right locations, to provide choice and meet diverse needs.

The Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) was published in September 2025, building on the significant progress made to date and reflecting our determination to go further and faster in our commitment to tackling the housing emergency. It contains four planning actions to accelerate investment in new housing delivery and work has progressed on all four actions:

i. On 2 September 2025 we issued a Chief Planner letter and Notification Direction for housing applications which allows us to monitor implementation of Policy 16, by tracking planning applications for 10 or more proposed new homes on land not allocated for housing. This will enable ministerial intervention where required, whilst we will maintain the general principle that decisions should be made at local level. It will also provide evidence as to whether any further policy action is needed.

ii. On 1 October 2025 the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Minister for Public Finance wrote to planning authorities stressing the need for proportionality in the planning system in relation to Small to Medium Enterprise housebuilders.

iii. A Customer Service Sprint is underway to strengthen planning service quality, led by the National Planning Improvement Champion with support from the National Hub. This responds to issues raised with the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Housing at the Homes for Scotland Board in late July. A webinar for public sector planners and a place promotion and housing delivery event have taken place. Progress is being made and the NPIC plans to publish a report containing suggested actions.

iv. We will be consulting in early 2026 on potential measures to accelerate build out of housing sites, with a view to increasing the volume of delivery. This delivers on our commitment in the Programme for Government, providing an initial discussion paper on options, and there will be further consultation if specific proposals are to be taken forward. We know that the options we are opening for discussion will not be without some complexity and we are keen to receive evidence and feedback on potential for impact, as well as any possible unintended consequences.

These four areas of work add to the 23 actions in the Planning and Housing Emergency Delivery Plan (PHEDP), published in November 2024, which are all either ongoing or have been delivered. An update on progress with all 23 actions is provided in this planning and housing update blog published in October 2025.

The Programme for Government 2025 to 2026 committed to a range of actions to strengthen delivery in planning, including work on stalled housing sites. This focuses on removing barriers, building consensus and demonstrating progress so sites are development ready. This work has been led by a short life working group (SLWG) made up of representatives from Heads of Planning Scotland, Homes for Scotland, Scottish Property Federation and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. The SLWG initially identified 114 sites where progress towards development had stalled and then targeted its action on a subset of these sites, equivalent to delivery of around 11,000 homes. The emphasis of the work is on seeing momentum towards delivery of individual developments, with site specific brokerage offered to seven planning authorities. This work has highlighted many challenges, some of which have been longstanding and not all attributable to the planning system.

In the Programme for Government 2025 to 2026 we have also committed to supporting planning authorities to allocate a pipeline of land for new homes and implement consistent monitoring of its delivery. We are working with Homes for Scotland and planning authorities to promote a collaborative approach to establishing the deliverability of housing land. We are actively monitoring progress of LDPs (see Spatial Strategy section above) and reviewing housing figures coming forward in LDPs under preparation. Of the Evidence Reports submitted to gate check so far, most include an indicative Local Housing Land Requirement that goes beyond the minimum expected in the National Planning Framework.

• Policy 17: Rural homes – The Ministerial and Chief Planner letter issued in April 2025 highlighted that Policy 17 and Policy 29 (rural development) are intended to be supportive, encouraging sustainable development in rural areas. The letter reminded stakeholders that NPF4 and the wider development plan should be read and applied as a whole, to encourage, promote and facilitate delivery of appropriate new homes. There have also been discussions with planning authorities to share experience and promote consistency in application of policy, as part of PHEDP action 1. Other PHEDP actions have also been supporting delivery of rural homes including work with SME housebuilders to better understand the challenges they face with the planning system and identify actions to support them. For more information see the planning and housing update blog.
• Policy 22: Flood risk and water management – As part of PHEDP action 1, a short life working group (SLWG) on flooding was set up in November 2024. The result of this joint working is set out in the Policy 22 (flood risk and water management) – Chief Planner letter – October 2025, highlighting new and updated information on the application of Policy 22, including new advice^[2] published by SEPA and clarification of processes, roles and responsibilities.

PARD is part of the Implementation Governance Group set up to support delivery of Scotland’s Flood Resilience Strategy. This seeks to create flood resilient places involving people and communities, ensuring land management and placemaking decisions follow good practice and that flood resilience is blended into our places at all scales. In the coming year we will continue to monitor policy implementation and use of the new guidance. We will also consider the request from the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee to assess the need for further guidance on flood risk and water management.

• Policy 24: Digital infrastructure – We have worked closely with the Digital Directorate to provide support for UK Government in identification of potential AI growth zones where applicable to Scotland.
• Policy 27: City, town, local and commercial centres – We continue to support

place-based community-led regeneration in our most disadvantaged communities. Our capital and resource investment assists delivery of regeneration ambitions, including town centre revitalisation, addressing the blight of vacant and derelict land, and supporting community ownership. We also provide funding to Scotland’s Towns Partnership as a key partner in supporting stakeholders with engagement, implementation and development of town centre strategies. They also lead delivery of the Scotland’s Loves Local initiative and support for Business Improvement Districts.

The national Town Centre Forum has taken place bi-annually, co-chaired by the Minister with responsibility for Regeneration and the COSLA Spokesperson for Economy and Environment. Recent discussions have looked at progressing ambitions for town centre living, exploring opportunities, barriers and challenges. This has led to collaboration with developers, local authorities and investors to consider potential models to support sites. We are taking stock of the Forum, to explore further opportunities, outlined in the Town Centre Action Plan.

Stakeholders have commented on the importance of planning capacity to help expedite the process for unlocking development, pointing to potential benefit from National Planning Hub support.

• Policy 33: Minerals – A new Coal Extraction: Notification Direction came into force June 2025, requiring relevant planning applications to be notified to Scottish Ministers within 7 days of validation and restricting authorities from granting planning permission for coal extraction without first notifying Scottish Ministers. The latest aggregate mineral data survey for Scotland has been gathered and included in the Aggregate minerals survey for Great Britain, 2023 - GOV.UK.
• Supporting advice – We have withdrawn outdated Planning Advice Notes and other planning guidance and provided a short overview for each NPF Policy highlighting relevant guidance and advice issued since NPF4 adoption.

Other priorities for 2024-25 identified in Delivery Programme v3

Productive places – enabling investment by improving planning system and performance

The National Planning Hub was established on 1 April 2025 to directly support planning authorities by surging capacity and expertise into pressing delivery challenges. The Chief Planner wrote to planning authorities in May 2025 to invite them to submit their asks for Housing, Renewable Energy and delivery of Local Development Plans which are priority themes. The first Phase, delivering initial funding and support ran from June to September. The Improvement Service set up a team in August and is taking forward a programme of work which supports investment in the skills and experience of planners. The second phase is now funded and well underway.

We have launched a Scottish Government Graduate Programme to help address the pipeline of future planners, with 17 successful candidates onboarded in August 2025 on a 23-month contract to work across consenting teams while undertaking a post graduate planning degree at either Dundee, Glasgow or Heriot-Watt University.

We secured cross sector buy-in to trial a Planning Skills Commitment Plan from March to June which set out opportunities for pooling learning and development. We are now working with stakeholders to establish how we can work in partnership with them, through the Partners in Planning network. The Planning Hub is also providing considerable support for learning and sharing of experience, as well as skills development.

Increased fees came into force in December 2024, followed by a Phase 2 increase in June 2025 to reflect annual inflation and introduce fees for appeals.

We also delivered new Fee Calculators for Planning (December 2024) and later for Building Standards and Planning Appeals, in time to meet legislative changes. The new technology developed for each calculator allows greater flexibility to make future changes and updates aligned to application fees increases. The new shared Pay Solution developed to improve the experience of paying for applications and to make handling more efficient was introduced in spring 2025 and has now been rolled out to two planning authorities as an initial trial. It offers improved functionality for both customers and planning authorities, including additional payment options and enhanced refund and reconciliation processes. Further roll out will take place during 2026.

We are supporting the National Planning Improvement Champion (NPIC), based in the Improvement Service, to continue to roll out the National Improvement Framework and 31 out of 34 authorities have now completed the process of preparing action plans. The National Planning Improvement Annual Report 2025 was published in December 2025. A national planning customer service survey has been undertaken and we have been supporting the NPIC to take forward action on issues raised. The NPIC has identified several good practice case studies and shared these through the Improvement Service website. Work with planning authorities to secure improvement in response to issues identified in the Performance Frameworks continues.

Further work with the NPIC has been identifying process and practice challenges being experienced in housing delivery, including for SMEs, and identifying priority improvement actions in synergy with our stalled sites programme (see Policy 16 above).

We held four meetings of a short life working group on proportionality to identify key issues for improvement and priorities for streamlining. To conclude this work a blog article on championing proportionality of planning assessments was published in April 2025 setting out the key principles and best practice.

We introduced inspirational recruitment days to inspire people to progress a career in planning and held five over the course of the year.

The new regulations for Masterplan Consent Areas (MCAs) came into force in December 2024 and we also introduced discretionary charging to help planning authorities prepare MCA schemes. Masterplan Consent Areas: guidance was published in January 2025 and discussions have taken place with the early adopters to enable authorities to share ideas and identify what support from Scottish Government would be beneficial. Grants have now issued to Highland, Glasgow and East Renfrewshire Councils and work is progressing at pace.

New regulations for the amendment of the National Planning Framework came into force in December 2024.

The Planning Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group (PIPAG) meets quarterly and in February 2025 published its first annual report which includes case studies on each place review/learning event and the findings of the short life working group considering funding and finance. Specific progress has been made on targeting public and private investment to achieve place based transformational change; guiding alignment of a place based spatial approach; and promoting good practice in infrastructure delivery. The Group is acting as a sounding board for the development of the forthcoming Infrastructure Investment Strategy.

We stopped work on the Infrastructure Levy due to concerns expressed about the complexity and uncertainty it might introduce. We wrote to stakeholders to inform them and published an overview of responses to the Discussion Paper. Following consultation, we have published revised guidance on planning obligations and good neighbour agreements to support the delivery of infrastructure and housing.

We have developed a robust compulsory purchase reform package through engagement with a practitioner advisory group and wider stakeholders. Our Compulsory Purchase Reform consultation on proposed reforms to legislation ran from September to December 2025. The consultation paper also included separate questions concerning Compulsory Sale Orders and Compulsory Lease Orders.

We provided grant funding to Planning Aid Scotland to prepare a routemap for implementing mandatory elected member training which was completed in March 2025. We are now working with PAS and the Improvement Service to develop a training package to be ready for the 2027 local government election. An update on elected member training was issued in this November 2025 blog.

Sustainable places – tackling net zero and the nature crisis by streamlining consenting – Delivery of policies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 22

The Section 3F annual report published in March 2025 identified that NPF4 provides a holistic planning approach to reducing emissions from new developments and notes the introduction of the New Build Heat Standard in 2024. The report concluded that on balance the requirement to include policies within development plans under Section 3F is no longer necessary given that technologies are now well embedded in new development and the latest policy and regulatory position goes beyond what Section 3F can achieve. The Climate Change (Local Development Plan) (Repeals) (Scotland) Order 2025 was approved by the Scottish Parliament on 01 October 2025 and came into force on 01 November 2025, removing the requirement for local development plans to include policy related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use or operation of new buildings.

Liveable places – responding to the housing emergency by working with partners – Delivery of policies 16 and 17

In early 2026 we will be consulting on mechanisms to accelerate build out of sites with planning permission for housing.

We have consulted on potential changes to permitted development rights to support more housing and proposals for Compulsory Purchase reform.

As set out above under Productive Places, we have supported capacity, skills and resourcing in the planning system through several key programmes of work including the Planning Hub, our SG graduate programme training future planners, and increases to fees.

In January 2025 we published updated guidance on the preparation of Housing Land Audits (HLAs) to support consistency. This replaces the HLA parts of Planning Advice Note 2/2010.

We circulated a paper which collates existing sources of planning and housing information and sets out potential sources of existing need to assist in preparing LDPs.

As set out above we are working with SMEs to better support them to deliver new homes.

On 26 November 2024 we convened a session with stakeholders to consider how the NPF4 policy expectation regarding statements of community benefit from new homes is being implemented in practice, and we published a blog on 23 December 2024 outlining some of the key discussion points and conclusions.