Scottish government acts on planning disruption

The Scottish government has acted to extend planning permissions in a bid to help Scottish housebuilders forced to delay construction because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government, led by first minister Nicola Sturgeon (pictured), yesterday laid down legislation automatically extending the life of any planning permission due to expire in the next six months by a year.

The provision forms parts of the Scottish government’s legislative response to the coronavirus pandemic, and comes in schedule 7 of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill published earlier this week.

The move follows lobbying from the development industry, as revealed by Housing Today, for the UK government to make the same provision for the English planning system, and is likely to increase pressure on it to do so.

Explanatory notes to the Scottish bill make clear that the legislation is intended to have the effect “that if a planning permission would under the normal rules […] lapse during the “emergency period” then the period within which development is to be commenced is extended.”

The “emergency period”, as defined by the bill, is the six months from the date at which the bill comes in to force.

The Home Builders’ Federation today confirmed it is in discussions with the UK government about making a similar move in the English planning system.

The move in Scotland comes as the English government has published draft regulations designed to enact emergency powers brought in Westminster last week allowing local authorities to take planning decisions via planning committees convened remotely.

The draft regulations make clear that planning committees can be convened via video conferencing if councillors are able to listen to the meeting and be heard, and if possible be seen on a screen, and members of the public are able to listen to the meeting, and if possible be seen.

Previously, the law required that councillors physically attend planning committees in order to make planning decisions, something made all but impossible by the social distancing measures introduced to combat the coronavirus.

This had led to concerns the virus would result in unnecessary planning gridlock.