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Ms Anne-Michelle Slater, Lecturer
Ms Slater joined the Law School in August 2002, following six years as a law lecturer, based in the former Land Economy Department, University of Aberdeen. She previously held local government positions in London, East Anglia and Scotland. Ms Slater’s primary teaching and research interest is planning law. In 2000 she was elected Council member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) (2000-2002) and is currently a member of the Scottish Executive Committee of the RTPI; chair of the Communications sub-committee and a member of the RTPI planning bill task group. Ms Slater is on the editorial board of Scottish Planning and Environmental Law and a contributor to Green’s Scottish Planning Factbook. Her current research includes an examination of legal controls over the “Evening Economy” and is funded by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Ms Slater has published research in Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Journal of Planning and Environmental Law and Scottish Law and Practice Quarterly. (www.abdn.ac.uk/law) |
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Sustainable Development Strategy and Policy Development
Sustainable Development and Land Use Planning in Scotland
The land use planning system in Scotland is undergoing its most significant modernisation in over sixty years. The Scottish Government consider that the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 is a landmark piece of legislation and this is currently in the process of implementation. It is, however, only part of a wider package of modernisation set out in the White Paper, Modernising the Planning System. This was developed following an extensive programme of consultations and stakeholder engagements on all aspects of the planning system dating from 1999. Sustainable development, as a concept integral to the land use planning process, has its self developed over this period. It is now widely regarded as a vehicle by which sustainable development can be delivered. This is evidenced by the four aims that the Scottish Government intends to implement in its reform to the planning system. These are:-
- Efficient: up to date development plans to be at the heart of an efficient system that provides certainty for users and local people
- Inclusive: local people to be more involved in the decisions that shape the development of their communities
- Fit for Purpose: with a clear sense of priorities, and to address different issues in different ways
- Sustainable: development to contribute to economic growth that is sustainable. Planning will deliver sustainable development ensuring development is in the right place, and of the right quality.
This paper will examine the process of change in the planning system in Scotland and consider whether it will effectively implement sustainable development. It will commence with a consideration of the definition of sustainable development in a Scottish land use planning context. This will include an examination of the debates in the Scottish parliament, when the Scottish planning bill was being discussed, as well as a consideration, as to the interpretation of the concept by the current regime. The paper will move onto discuss the measures within the legislation designed to achieve sustainable development. In this section it will particularly examine the National Planning Framework and the reforms to the development plan system. The next stage of the paper will be a discussion of research into the current use of the concept of sustainability, as criteria for making land use planning decisions. This will be based on all available information from Scottish planning authorities. Finally, the experience of sustainability criteria, in forward planning and development control, in England will be considered. This has been used for a number of years and has resulted in a range of problems, as well as some notable successes in the implementation of sustainable development. The four elements of the paper will enable an appropriate analysis of the concept of sustainable development in the context of land use planning in Scotland. It should allow initial conclusions to be drawn about its effectiveness; highlight areas of weakness and suggest good practice advice.
Anne-Michelle Slater, Lecturer
School of Law
University of Aberdeen
Scottish Executive, Modernising the Planning System, 2005
Scottish Office, Development Department Land use Planning Under a Scottish Parliament, 1999
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environemnt/planning/modernising/progress last viewed 6th June 2008 |
