Planning matters

Lichfields’ Use Classes Order Guide summarises, in an easy-to-use chart, all the use classes in Scotland and how it is possible to change from one use to another without having to apply for planning permission. Recent Changes to the Use Class Order in Scotland The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997 groups different types of property and land uses into separate ‘use classes’. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 sets out permitted development rights which allow for certain forms of development to take place without the need to apply for planning permission. Since 2020, the Scottish Government has been carrying out a review of permitted development rights and of the Use Class Order. A three-phased programme is currently being undertaken, with each phase focusing on a different type of development. Below, we have set out the three phases that are currently being undertaken. Phase 1 Phase 1 introduced The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development and Use Classes) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020. This came into force on 1 April 2o21. This order amends the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 to introduce new classes of permitted development rights. Changes were made in relation to introducing new permitted development rights for digital connectivity, agricultural developments, peatland restoration, development in relation to active travel and aquaculture. Phase 2 In February 2023, legislation was laid before the Scottish Parliament to change use classes and extend permitted development rights. This new legislation is called The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development and Use Classes) (Scotland) Miscellaneous Amendment Order 2023. This came into force on 31 March 2023. The new legislation amends the use class order to replace use class 1 (shops) and use class 2 (financial, professional and other services) with class 1A (shops, and financial, professional and other services). The new use class 1A groups the uses previously in use class 1 and 2 of the Use Class Order into one single class. This creates an extension of permitted development rights making it easier to convert between uses without the need for planning permission. In addition, extended permitted development rights were given to electric vehicle charging infrastructure and operational port development. Phase 3 Phase 3 of the review is set to focus on domestic and non-domestic renewable energy equipment. The consultation is expected to be published in spring 2023. Updates on phase 3 will follow during the course of the consultation. Lichfields Guide to the Use Classes Order in Scotland Following the coming into force of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development and Use Classes) (Scotland) Miscellaneous Amendment Order 2023 on 31 March 2023, we have fully revised the Lichfields’ Use Class Order in Scotland Guide. This shows the new use classes and the permitted development rights available for changes of use between each of the various use classes. The Lichfields’ ‘Guide to the Use Classes Order in Scotland’ has been significantly revised to show the change of use permitted development rights that have come into force and to provide a comparison of current use classes and use classes prior to 31 March 2023. Please contact us if you wish to discuss any elements of the guide.  Download guide to Use Classes Order in Scotland

The revised draft NPF4 was approved by the Scottish Parliament on 11 January 2022 and will be adopted and published on 13 February 2023. Once adopted, NPF4 will form the national position for planning policies for decision-making and outline new processes for plan-making at a local level, becoming part of the statutory development plan for each planning authority in Scotland. NPF4 will replace Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and the Strategic Development Plans (SDPs). NPF4 removes the requirement to maintain a 5-year housing land supply and replaces this with an expectation that the LDP delivery programme will establish a deliverable housing land pipeline for the Local Housing Land Requirement.  Phasing is expected to be identified for the short (1-3 years), medium (4-6 years) and long (7-10 years) term. The purpose of the pipeline is to provide a transparent view of the phasing of housing allocations so that interventions, including infrastructure, which enable delivery can be planned.  NPF4 says the pipeline is to represent when land will be brought forward.  We are all hoping this means when it will be delivered rather than when planning permission will be applied for but that isn’t clear.  As Lichfields have explored before, there are significant lead in times for housing sites and it can be some years from an allocation, to an application, to a consent, to the delivery of new homes.  It should not be underestimated how long it takes to deliver new homes from new allocations By way of illustration we have looked at Edinburgh’s housing pipeline based on the allocations in the 2016 LDP.  If we assume 2017-18 is the first year of delivery after the LDP was adopted (November 2016) we are currently at the end of the medium term period. A quick review of the latest Housing Land Audits shows us that there are a number of housing sites allocated in the 2016 LDP that haven’t yet been developed out and some of these sites were even carried forward from previous local plans. Looking at the 2016 allocations: 53 housing sites were identified 28 of these were existing proposals and 25 were new 24 sites identified in 2016 LDP are to be carried forward into the new LDP, 15 of the carried forward sites were existing sites in 2016 So, looking at how Edinburgh’s 2016 LDP allocations have delivered and are programmed to deliver we can see how this breaks down over the short, medium, long and 10 years plus timeframes: 22% of new homes in the short term 18% of new homes in the medium term 36% of new homes in the long term 24% of new homes beyond the 10-year period A very large proportion of sites identified were already in the planning system before the LDP was adopted in November 2016 Short term sites - 99.6% of new homes - first application was made before the LDP was adopted Medium term sites - 84% of new homes - first application was made before the LDP was adopted Long term sites – 73% of new homes - first application was made before the LDP was adopted All this tells us that lead in times are important in terms of the delivery pipeline and that a large proportion of delivery will be dependent on sites that that are in the planning system before the plan is adopted.  For Edinburgh more than 80% of homes delivered / programmed to be delivered in the 10-year period following the adoption of the 2016 LDP were in the planning system before the plan was adopted. We haven’t yet looked to see if this is uniquely an Edinburgh problem, but it is something the industry needs to be alive to when assessing housing allocations and proposed delivery pipelines. If NPF4 is to deliver the housing that Scotland needs, there will have to be a forensic understanding of the housing pipelines based on past experience as well as future ambitions.