Planning circular 1/2025: notification to Ministers of Masterplan Consent Area Schemes

Introduction – notification of MCA schemes

1. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced new provisions for Masterplan Consent Areas (MCA) - a new form of consent. MCAs allow planning authorities to take a more proactive lead in planning and consenting future development in their areas, by frontloading scrutiny and aligning consents. The legislative framework for MCAs, included within The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended (“the Act”) and The Town and Country Planning (Masterplan Consent Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 came fully into force on 5 December 2024.

2. Planning authorities can prepare MCA schemes to shape new development and facilitate investment in their areas. They are best placed to make decisions about matters which affect their places and communities. There will be no need for the vast majority of MCA Schemes to be notified for scrutiny by Scottish Ministers, allowing schemes to be made without unnecessary delay.

3. However, to provide appropriate checks and balance, the Scottish Ministers have powers to require certain MCA proposals to be notified to them and to intervene where they consider an important issue would merit doing so. Paragraph 12(1) and (3) of Schedule 5A of the Act allows Scottish Ministers to issue a general notification direction, with triggers for MCA schemes to be notified to them.

4. The Town and Country Planning (Masterplan Consent Area Schemes) (Scotland) Direction 2025 (“the 2025 MCA Direction”) included within this Circular sets out the circumstances where planning authorities proposing to make a MCA scheme for a specified type of development must notify Scottish Ministers before they can make the scheme. It ensures a consistent level of scrutiny whether developments are being handled through a MCA scheme or as a planning application, and provides an appropriate level of national scrutiny in circumstances where Ministers should rightly be involved. This Circular explains the notification categories/triggers. The 2025 MCA Direction comes into effect on 12 May 2025.

5. Ministers can also issue individual, specific directions to a particular authority at any time. Such directions will only be issued where it appears there may be an important issue at stake, requiring monitoring or consideration as to whether it may be necessary for Ministers to call it in. On occasions where Ministers issue a case specific direction, this will be done as early as possible to ensure certainty for all concerned.