Scotland planning news, April 2019

The Scottish Planning Minister Kevin Stewart has warned that, following amendments made at Stage 2, the Planning (Scotland) Bill is burdened by significant associated costs that “threaten the very aims of the legislation”.

His comments came following the publication of the Financial Memorandum for the Bill, which shows that the proposed new duties introduced at Stage 2 could increase costs for planning authorities by up to £75m.

The Planning Minister confirmed that the Scottish Government is currently considering how to remove some unnecessary burdens at Stage 3 of the parliamentary process. He said:

“Many MSPs have indicated their willingness to work constructively to rescue this Bill, and I am grateful to those who have already engaged with me. Returning this Bill to a shape that allows it to support inclusive growth will require co-operation. My aim remains as it always was – a Bill that supports the ability of the planning system to create quality places with the housing, infrastructure and investment that people need. I hope that others support that aim.”

On 13 March, the Chancellor of Exchequer delivered his Spring Statement, which included few details on new funding allocations and policy proposals in light of the already announced full Spending Review that will take place in Summer 2019.

Of interest to Scotland was the announcement of new funding to support the Borderlands growth deal, which is expected to focus on energy projects, transport connections, rural productivity and tourism investment across the region.

Specifically, the UK Government has pledged £65m of new funding for the Scottish areas interested by the Deal (i.e. Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway). Another £102m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund was recently announced for the Carlisle Southern Link Road, bringing the total UK Government’s investment in the Borderlands area to more than £360m.

In separate announcements, the Scottish Government has published the heads of terms agreement for the Ayrshire Growth Deal, providing details on the areas that the Growth Deal will cover. Among these, the Growth Deal will provide investments in Aerospace and Space; Economic Infrastructure; Tourism; Energy, Circular Economy and Environment; and others.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, has announced new funding streams and allocations to support communities and local areas.

A £50m Town Centre Fund has been set up to support councils in ensuring their high streets flexibly adapt to the changing and evolving retail patterns, and further diversify their offer. Shares of the Fund have been assigned to individual local authorities which will then decide how to specifically allocate their funds against the themes of the Town Centre Action Plan.

The Town Centre Fund, which has been established in partnership with COSLA, will support investments in town centres such as the re-purposing of empty buildings for housing or social/community enterprises.

Later in March, the Scottish Government and COSLA announced the allocations of more than £20m of funding to support local regeneration activities. Specifically, 18 projects have been awarded funding from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) which will support the creation of 600 jobs, as well as the redevelopment of 17 buildings and the creation of more than 6,400sqm of business space.

Rise in new homes completions and starts

The Scottish Chief Statistician has published the latest Quarterly Housing Statistics for Scotland, showing a general increase in new homes completions and starts.

In the year ending September 2018, 18,750 new homes were completed, showing a 4% increase over the previous year figure (18,115 new homes in the year ending September 2017). Over the same period, new residential starts increased by 2% to 19,900 new home starts.

The bigger increases in completions and starts arose from Housing Associations and Local Authorities activities. Specifically, housing associations completions in the year ending September 2018 totalled 3,412, highlighting a 35% increase over the previous year. Local Authority starts over the same period increase by 62%, bringing the total for the year ending September 2018 to 1,783.