Scottish Government biodiversity duty report 2021-2023

8. Planning And Architecture

8.1 Introductory information

The Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division (PARD) operates Scotland's planning system and are responsible for the development and implementation of national policy on planning, architecture and place. The Division is made up of five teams: Planning Transformation, Development Management and Casework, Regeneration, Architecture and Place and Design Innovation, Digital Planning, and Chief Planner Support.

The planning system has a critical role in contributing towards accelerating efforts to increase nature recovery in Scotland.

8.2 Actions to protect and enhance biodiversity

Planning

Planning authorities and all public bodies have a duty to further the conservation of biodiversity under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. The Scottish Government also expects public bodies to apply the Principles for Sustainable Land Use, as set out in the Scotland’s Third Land Use Strategy 2021-2026, when taking significant decisions affecting the use of land.

Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), published and adopted on 13 February 2023, is a long term plan looking to 2045. NPF4 guides spatial development, sets out national planning policies and designates national developments. It is part of the statutory development plan so influences planning decisions across Scotland. As a statement of national policy, NPF4 will also directly inform decisions under other consenting regimes.

Securing positive effects for biodiversity is one of six statutory outcomes for our National Planning Framework introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. Improving biodiversity is a cross-cutting theme which runs throughout NPF4.

NPF4 rebalances the planning system so that climate change and nature recovery are the primary guiding principles for all plans and decisions. NPF4 strategy and policies support development that helps to secure positive effects for biodiversity.

NPF4 must be read and applied as a whole. The nature crisis, together with the global climate emergency, underpin the spatial strategy as a whole. The action areas include proposals which protect and enhance the natural environment. Policy 1 gives significant weight to the nature crisis to ensure that it is recognised as a priority in all plans and decisions. Policy 4 protects and enhances natural heritage, and this is further supported by Policy 5 on soils and Policy 6 on forests, woodland and trees. Policy 20 also promotes the expansion and connectivity of blue and green infrastructure, whilst Policy 10 recognises the particular sensitivities of coastal areas.

Protection of the natural features of brownfield land is also highlighted in Policy 9, and protection of the green belt in Policy 8 will ensure that biodiversity in these locations is conserved and accessible to communities, bringing nature into the design and layout of our cities, towns, streets and spaces in Policy 14.

Most significantly, Policy 3 plays a critical role in ensuring that development will secure positive effects for biodiversity. It rebalances the planning system in favour of conserving, restoring and enhancing biodiversity and promotes investment in nature-based solutions, benefiting people and nature. The policy ensures that LDPs protect, conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity and promote nature recovery and nature restoration. Proposals will be required to contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity, including by restoring degraded habitats and building and strengthening nature networks. Adverse impacts, including cumulative impacts, of development proposals on the natural environment will be minimised through careful planning and design, taking into account the need to reverse biodiversity loss. Development proposals for national, major or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development will only be supported where it can be demonstrated that the proposal will conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity, including nature networks, so they are in a demonstrably better state than without intervention. Proposals for local development will include appropriate measures to conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity.

The Planning Scotland Act 2019 also established new statutory duties on planning authorities to prepare Open Space Strategies and Forestry and Woodland Strategies. The 2019 Act states that an open space strategy is to set out a strategic framework of the planning authority’s policies and proposals as to the development, maintenance and use of green infrastructure in their district; including open spaces and green networks. The 2019 Act also sets out that an open space strategy must contain an audit of existing open space provision, an assessment of current and future requirements and any other matter which the planning authority considers appropriate.

The draft Open Space Strategy Regulations were consulted on between December 2021 and the end of March 2022. The Analysis of Responses made to the consultation was published in November 2022. The consultation responses will be used to inform the finalisation of the regulations and Scottish Government intends to bring into force the final Open Space Strategies Regulations in the course of 2024.

Local Development Planning

Local Development Planning Guidance was published in May 2023, which sets out Scottish Ministers’ expectations for implementing the system of Local Development Plans (LDP) so that they deliver new style, place-based, people centred and delivery focused plans. The guidance sets out that LDP should encourage, promote and facilitate development that addresses the global climate emergency and nature crisis, reflecting the significant weight that this carries within NPF4.

Planning for Places

We committed in Programme for Government 2020-2021 to work with local government to take forward our ambitions for 20 minute neighbourhoods – places where people can have their daily needs met locally, within a reasonable distance of their home, utilising sustainable and active transport modes – enabling people to live better, healthier lives and support our net-zero ambitions. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) has Local Living as one of the overarching spatial strategies and a policy on Local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods, embedding the approach in the planning of our places as part of the statutory development plan.

20 minute neighbourhoods, which are more readily achievable in urban places, are one approach to achieving local living. They are place based approaches and are fundamentally about including all people within communities in all aspects of shaping their places. We are working across government to support place based approaches that will help to deliver local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods. The approach has been embedded in a range of policy drivers and initiatives, including Housing to 2040, Community Wealth Building, Climate Action Towns, the Retail Strategy, the Infrastructure Investment Plan, Investment for Active Travel, the National Transport Strategy, and the Work Local Programme. This helps ensure decisions impacting on places and communities reflect the 20-minute neighbourhood concept and contribute towards our National Outcomes.

Local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods are a key part of the built environment response to the climate and nature crisis. Nature-based elements such as street trees, swales and raingardens can provide attractive and sustainable solutions to mitigate issues such as air quality, urban heat, and flooding. This can help to cut emissions, improve air quality, and provide opportunity to repurpose land to create greenspace which is good for our wellbeing as well as being good for nature and biodiversity. The integration of blue, green infrastructure in our new and existing places will help communities to better manage the effects of climate change and extreme weather on communities, assist with nature restoration and biodiversity enhancement.

Draft planning guidance on Local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods was the subject of a public consultation over summer 2023, the results of which will be taken into account and the publication of the final guidance is imminent.

Local living requires input from a broad range of stakeholders and a cross sector commitment to collaborative working.

Housing

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s long-term strategy for housing, developed following extensive engagement with the housing sector, wider stakeholders and the public, which sets out a vision for what we want Scotland’s homes and communities to look like by the end of 2040. It is a vision where homes are affordable for everyone, where standards are the same across all tenures, where homes have easy access to green space and essential services, and where homelessness, child poverty and fuel poverty have been eradicated. We are working with local authorities, housing providers, landlords and the construction and house building sectors to deliver this vision.

Communities’ health, wellbeing and resilience, their sense of identity and the sustainability of the environment and the planet, are influenced by the quality of housing and the quality of place. Projects delivered by councils and Registered Social Landlords with grant-funding through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme should therefore be well-designed and delivered with reference to the following:

• The Scottish Government’s planning, design and placemaking policies included in National Planning Framework 4 and architecture policies, namely Creating Places and Designing Streets policy statements;
• Water-resilient places – surface water management and blue-green infrastructure: policy framework, and Nature Scot’s report on maximising the benefits of green infrastructure in social housing; and,
• The Place Standard tool, which is designed to support holistic conversations on, and considerations of, quality of place and the relationship to quality of life.

More generally, we want to ensure that new-build housing contributes to Scotland’s commitment to climate change targets. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are already used in the majority of new homes built in Scotland, and we will continue to support greater use of MMC where it can help to deliver high-quality and energy-efficient affordable homes.

8.3 Mainstreaming biodiversity

NPF4’s Delivery Programme made a commitment to develop guidance to support the delivery and implementation of NPF4 Policy 3: Biodiversity. In order to do this a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) was established which includes Scottish Government officials, the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), Improvement Service, and Heads of Planning Scotland. Draft planning guidance was published on 30 November 2023 setting out the Scottish Ministers’ expectations for implementing NPF4 policies which support the cross-cutting NPF4 outcome ‘improving biodiversity’. The guidance has been written and designed to be a ‘living document’. It is our intention that it will be updated as practice beds-in across Planning Authorities.

Publication of this guidance is part of wider ongoing work to support delivery of NPF4 policy 3 (Biodiversity). Since adoption of NPF4, NatureScot has published Developing with Nature Guidance to support NPF4 Policy 3c.

Resourcing of the planning system is a key priority. A stakeholder workshop was held in November 2023 to explore solutions to improve the capacity and capability of the system – including in terms of both people and finance. The outputs of this will inform a consultation which we expect to launch in 2024. A letter was also issued to planning schools in Scotland to underline the importance of the profession in supporting the delivery of our national priorities of equality, opportunity and community.

We are committed to continuing to work on training and skills in partnership with stakeholders, including by supporting implementation of Future Planners research that the Scottish Government commissioned in 2022. As part of this we are working with key stakeholders to develop a skills strategy to help ensure we have planners with the expertise to deliver National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).

8.4 Nature-based solutions, climate change and biodiversity

The planning system has a key role to play in facilitating the creation of nature networks, helping to build and strengthen networks and the connections between them. The NPF4 glossary defines Nature Networks as; “A joined-up system of places important for wild plants and animals, on land and in water. It allows plants, animals, seeds, nutrients and water to move from place to place and enables the natural world to adapt to change, providing plants and animals with places to live, feed and breed. Effectively functioning nature networks will connect existing nature rich areas through habitat corridors, habitat ‘stepping stones’, or habitat restoration areas.

Scotland’s Nature Networks will enable opportunities for achieving ecological connectivity that meet local priorities for biodiversity and nature; whilst building and strengthening an evolving regional and national connectivity. Opportunities for implementation may be identified through, e.g. Local Development Plans and/or Local Biodiversity Action Plans and/or other existing or new mechanisms such as those developed under the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Delivery Plan, to achieve connectivity within and across urban, peri-urban and rural landscapes.” Nature networks link areas which are currently important for biodiversity in urban, peri-urban and rural settings to allow nature the space to adapt to Scotland’s changing climate. Different local areas will have differing ecological needs and priorities according to the landscapes they need to manage.

NPF4 National Development 7: Central Scotland Green Network is one of Europe’s largest and most ambitious green infrastructure projects. It focuses on those areas where greening and development can be mutually supportive, helping to improve equity of access to quality green and blue space, and supporting communities where improving wellbeing and resilience is most needed, including to help people adapt to future climate risks.

NPF4 is a significant step forward to delivering climate adaptation, containing specific policies on climate mitigation and adaptation which encourage, promote and facilitate development that minimises emissions and adapts to the current and future impacts of climate change. NPF4 policies, including on nature, biodiversity, flood risk and water management further strengthen resilience requirements.

NPF4 supports the protection and management of our important natural assets in a sustainable, regenerative way so they can continue to provide essential benefits and services including through the use of nature-based solutions. For instance the flood risk and water management Policy 22 supports wider use of natural flood risk management approaches and opportunities for blue-green infrastructure that can help reduce flooding and improve the water environment.

The NPF4 is also supported by a Delivery Programme which includes a commitment to prepare Planning and Climate Change guidance. This work is underway, informed by an Expert Advisory Group. The guidance will support implementation of NPF4 policy 2 (climate mitigation and adaptation). It will aid the integration of climate considerations into development proposals, helping to avoid maladaptation, whilst supporting emissions reduction and increased resilience to climate risks.

8.5 Public engagement and workforce development

8.5.1 Public engagement

In the summer of 2023 the Scottish Government together with the Improvement Service hosted a biodiversity information sharing event to share practice amongst public sector planners. Over 250 Local Authority planners attended the event where presentations were given including on NPF4 Policy 3: Biodiversity, the delivery and growth of nature networks and the commitment to protect at least 30% of our land and sea for nature by 2030 (‘30 by 30’).

8.5.2 Workforce development

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires those preparing qualifying plans, programmes and strategies to undertake an assessment of the likely significant effects of the plan, both positive and negative, on the environment. SEA can significantly benefit the preparation of policy development supporting better understanding of environmental context and helping to identify steps to avoid, mitigate or reduce significant adverse effects, and enhance positive effects, including for biodiversity.

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Gateway team supports the continuing evolution of SEA practice including through workshops, discussions and training events both within and out-with the Scottish Government.

8.6 Research and monitoring

8.6.1 Research activities

The Scottish Government published independent research undertaken by SRUC into ‘Approaches to Measuring Biodiversity in Scotland’ in September 2023. We welcome publication of this research, the findings and recommendations of which set out pragmatic next steps to ensure a consistent and cross-government approach to measuring biodiversity at site level. With regards to the planning sector specifically, NatureScot will shortly commence work to develop an adapted biodiversity metric suitable for use in supporting delivery of NPF4 Policy 3b, engaging closely with all relevant stakeholders.

8.6.2 Monitoring

The NPF4 Delivery Programme sets out the approach for implementing NPF4 and includes key actions to be taken. The current Delivery Programme (version 2) was published in September 2023.

At the national level, monitoring is initially focused on how national planning policies are influencing decision making, particularly looking at new and developing national policies. Biodiversity is one of the key indicator policies identified in the Delivery Programme which has introduced significant change and represents one of the strategic aims of NPF4 as a whole.

We have been listening to stakeholders to gather intelligence about implementation and experiences from a range of networks and sources. In response to those discussions we have had further engagement with Heads of Planning Scotland on implementing the policies in NPF4 relevant to rural homes and flooding and water management, and have co-hosted a training event on biodiversity. We will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders to progress an effective monitoring programme that allows us to assess progress on desired outputs and outcomes and take action where required.

We are exploring how all three elements of NPF4 can be taken into account: the spatial strategy; National Developments; and national planning policy. Given the breadth of issues addressed by NPF4 and the multidisciplinary nature of delivery, it will be important to ensure that the activity required at both a national and local level is proportionate and effective. There is an opportunity for monitoring to be linked to future changes to planning authority performance reporting and we are working with the National Planning Improvement Champion to identify opportunities for linkages with future changes to reporting.