The Scottish government will offer 30 bursaries for postgraduate studies in planning in 2025/26
The Scottish government has announced fresh measures to help planning authorities speed up approvals.
The government will launch a new housing planning hub in early 2025 to increase the rate at which planning permission for homes is granted.
To increase the number of planners, the government has said it will triple the number of student bursaries available in 2025/26, from 10 to 30, to encourage more future planners and address staff shortages.
The housing planning hub will tackle the reasons for delays, which include waits on decisions for major developments, lengthy negotiations of section 75 agreements, funding issues, or policy requirements to address issues such as flooding or biodiversity.
It will help facilitate collaboration between officials and local authorities when there is mutual agreement on housing projects.
It is part of the Scottish government’s broader strategy to improve the planning process, and follows on from a planning hub that was announced for hydrogen developments in September.
The costs of running the housing planning hub, including staffing, will be covered by the Scottish government.
>> See also: Ministers seek views on brownfield planning passport to speed up development
>> See also: Plans submitted for 200-home student led scheme in Camden
For the 2025/26 academic year, bursaries for postgraduate studies in planning will be offered at Heriot-Watt, Dundee, and Glasgow Universities. The RTPI will also help students access internships and industry placements to support their professional development.
The Scottish government also said it will increase the number of planners by tripling the number of student bursaries available for postgraduate planning studies to encourage more future planners and address staff shortages.
Speaking in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday, public finance minister, Ivan McKee, said: “Planning has not created the housing emergency, but it can help us to find solutions to the challenges we are facing.
“The Scottish government is focused on working with partner organisations to identify how our planning system can help to provide these solutions.”
McKee added: “This decisive and properly targeted action, based on evidence, will provide more homes and better places for people to live in.”
Research commissioned by the Scottish government in 2022, and carried out by Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Scotland, found that Scotland needs to recruit around 700 new planners over the next 10-15 years.
On average, 29,000 homes have received planning permission in Scotland each year, according to the Competition and Markets Authority’s Housebuilding Market Study. This exceeds the 25,000 homes that industry experts have called for.
No comments yet