1. Climate Change and Renewables
Placements Presentation
Allen Hughes
National and Territorial Planning
Scottish Government

2. Structure Branch responsibilities and targets Climate change targets
Onshore wind, offshore wind and heat and NPF3 and SPP
Consenting and permitted development

3. Branch Responsibilities
Climate change and planning
Renewables (mitigation)
Waste
Minerals

4. Branch Duties
Ministerial: briefings, speeches, correspondence, parliamentary questions, ministerial support
Government: SG work groups, ensuring planning interests are covered in work of other Directorates
Territorial: comments to territorials on MIRs, SDPs, LDPs and SG, supporting territorials on visits
Research – commissioning & steering research
External Work e.g. SNH steering groups, good practice events, liaison Scottish Renewables, presentations / panel members at conferences, talks to placements
Legislation / NPF / SPP / Circular – Drafting & reporting
Online Advice – Drafting and regular update

5. Climate Change Climate Change (S) Act 2009 - Mitigation
Targets : 42% GHG emissions reduction in Scotland by 2020, 80% by 2050
Public body duty
Actions
S72 (3F) - GHG policies in dev plans
SPACE – (Spatial Planning Assessment of Climate Emissions)
Carbon calculator for wind farms

6. Renewables
Electricity, Heat and Community and Locally Owned Renewables Targets
2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland
Draft Electricity Generation Policy Statement 2010
Draft Outline Heat Vision, RH – EE – DH Action Plans, emerging Heat Generation Policy statement (end of year)

7. Onshore Wind Dominates work of branch Wind farm spatial frameworks
Perceived ‘disconnect’ national and local
DM ’technical challenges’
Wind farm visualisation
Community benefits, noise, tourism

8. NPF3 MIR & Draft SPP – Onshore Wind
Reflects need for grid reinforcements
Supports further deployment, but balances with commitments on protecting nationally important ‘landscapes’ & residential amenity
Wind farms in NPs and NSAs not supported
Consults on SNH ‘core areas of wild land’ maps and community separation of 2.5km within spatial planning
NPF3 question on energy storage

9. Supporting Offshore Renewables: NRIP (National Renewables Infrastructure Plan)
Key action in RAP (2009): to provide leadership and an investment plan for offshore wind, wave and tidal sectors
About securing manufacturing, installation, operation & maintenance operations for the offshore renewables industry within Scotland
N-RIP Stage 1 report (Feb2010) spatial framework of 11 first phase port & harbour sites, creating clusters of economic activity
N-RIP Stage 2 report (July 2010) investment required for 11 sites
N-RIP Stage 3 implementation
N-RIF (Nov 2010) £70M
Ongoing advisory group meetings with stakeholders
Encourage PAs to be geared up in development plans and DM to support as proposals arise, streamlining consenting.

10. NPF3 MIR – Offshore Renewables
Support for delivery of NRIP
Prioritises onshore infrastructure for offshore (particularly Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters, Forth, Tay and Moray Firths)
Aberdeen Harbour Expansion national developments
Electricity grid reinforcements
Relationship with marine planning

11. Planning and Heat Expert Commission on District Heating,
Heat mapping projects Highland, Fife and P&K, funds available for rollout to all LAs
Deep geothermal study and workshop
Possible synergies with heat recovery, e.g. AEA fossil fuel plant study
Planning and Heat online advice

12. NPF3 MIR & Draft SPP – Planning & Heat
Establishes energy hierarchy (efficiency, recovery, generation)
LDPs to use heat mapping to co-locate heat supply and demand .
LDPs to support heat networks. Where not viable, individual property solutions
Expectations on deep geothermal

13. Energy applications : Route
Consenting Route:-
Electricity – Planning < 50MW, S36 Consents if >50MW
Planning - All heat only applications
National / Major / Local :-
Major if capacity of electricity generating station exceeds 20MW
No threshold for heat only applications in hierarchy (but may be other trigger)
designated in
National
the NPF
Devts
with size / area thresholds
in the Hierarchy Regs
Major Developments
Defined in Classes
Defined in the Hierarchy Regs
neither national nor major
as all development which is
Local Developments
Background
The hierarchy is at the heart of the proposals for planning reform. The intention is that it will encourage a more proportionate approach to processing planning applications, focusing resources on proposals that involve greater economic benefits or environmental impact. This approach concentrates on making the system more fit for purpose and efficient.
National, Major and Local Developments
The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced the hierarchy for planning in primary legislation, defining the three categories to which all developments will be allocated. – ‘national’, ‘major’ and ‘local’ developments. As mentioned previously, national developments are designated through the National Planning Framework - mainly large infrastructure projects. The Hierarchy of Development Regulations describe and assign classes of development to the categories of major and local developments.
Types of Major Developments
In the regulations there are nine classes of major developments covering a spectrum of developments, types of applications which are to be considered as “major” include developments of 50 or more dwellings, certain waste, water, transport and energy infrastructure projects and mixed use / retail development above 5,000square meters or 2 hectares.
Local Developments are all other developments which aren’t national or major. I will refer to minor developments later under work ongoing on permitted development rights.
Implications
But what are the implications of these designations? National and Major developments will require additional consultation with communities to be carried out by the applicant in advance of a formal application for planning permission. The applications will also be required to be accompanied by a statement setting out the design principles and how access for disabled people has been considered – a design and access statement.
National developments and major developments which are significantly contrary to the local development plan will be subject to further scrutiny through a pre-determination hearing by a committee of the council followed by referral to full council for ratification.
In terms of local developments, the expectation is that there will be is as at present a high degree of delegation to officers. And that decisions on local matters are taken locally.
Further information on these issues are contained in following slides.

14. …Subject to limitations and restrictions
PD for Renewables?
Solar photo voltaic & solar thermal panels
Flues for biomass heating system
Flues for combined heat and power system
Ground and water source heat pumps
Free-standing wind turbines and air source heat pumps
Ground and water source heat pump pipes
Solar photo voltaic and solar thermal panels
Biomass boilers and furnaces
Anaerobic digestion systems
…Subject to limitations and restrictions