Planning in Edinburgh: Giving a Sporting Chance Hamish Bell & Andrew Trigger

When is planning permission needed? Not everything that is built requires planning permission.  Is it Development?  Examples:  Buildings, structures, synthetic pitches, floodlighting/CCTV, storage areas

Decision Making  Section 25 of 1997 Planning Act (Scotland) “Where, in making any determination under the planning Acts, regard is to be had to the development plan, the determination shall be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.”

Planning considerations  Use  Design – form, appearance, materials, massing, scale, density  Amenity – privacy, overshadowing, noise, open space  Sustainability, climate change, flooding  Landscape and biodiversity  Historic context  Parking, access  Developer contributions  Likelihood of success at appeal

Non-planning considerations  Loss of value  Land ownership  Loss of private view  Structural issues such as subsidence or damage to buildings

Submitting Applications  Can be made online  Application form (D1)  Drawings to scale (4 copies)  Supporting info – relevant to sports clubs  Assessments: landscaping, access/parking, lighting, noise, flooding/drainage, biodiversity, trees, design, overshadowing/daylight

Neighbour Notification  Requirement transferred to the Planning Authority  Land which is conterminous with or within 20m of the boundary of the land for which the development is proposed

Modernising Planning  Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006  New hierarchy of planning applications  New pre-application consultation with communities - community engagement is key part of the change  Procedural changes such as Council doing neighbour notification came in on 3 August 2009  New statutory scheme of delegation for local developments  Local Review Body

Hierarchy of Planning Applications  National Developments - defined by Scottish Government under National Planning Framework 2 e.g. new Forth crossing  Major Developments - Dependent on scale of proposal e.g. 50 houses/2hectares (or more)  Local Developments - All developments other than national or major developments – most sports club developments will fall in this category.

Schemes of Delegation  A scheme of delegation is where the Council gives permission for officers to take decisions on its behalf.  2 schemes of delegation in Planning  Scheme of delegation under 1973 Local Government Act – major applications, listed building consent, other consents and enforcement  New statutory scheme of delegation for local developments and planning permission only – doesn’t apply to national or major developments.  Both schemes require more than 6 objections before a Committee decision is required  Councillors can also request Committee consideration within 21 days of the registration of the application

Local Review Body  Applies to local developments only  Review by committee of the council – City of Edinburgh Planning Local Review Body  Completely new level of decision making  Reviews on refusals, conditions or non- determination within 2 months  Major applications, listed building consent, and other application types continue to be appealed to Scottish Ministers

Questions?