The National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was approved by the Scottish Parliament on 11 January 2023. It is expected that it will be adopted on 13 February 2023 at 9am.
Once adopted, NPF4 will become part of the Council’s development plan and – unless material considerations indicate otherwise – decisions on planning applications will need to be made in accordance with both:
When NPF4 is adopted, the section of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 that sets out what happens when there is ‘any incompatibility’ between parts of a development plan will also come into force.
This is likely to mean that some Local Development Plan policies will no longer be used to the same extent.
A report to Planning Committee (PDF) on 18 January 2023 explains this in more detail and provides a list containing:
NPF4 policies
Local Development Plan policies which are compatible with NPF4
Local Development Plan policies which are not compatible with NPF4 and will not be used to the same extent
The proposed Plan was presented to Councillors at Planning Committee to decide on whether to submit the plan to Scottish Ministers for examination.
Councillors from across the political groups voted unanimously in favour of submitting the plan and congratulated planning officers and all those who contributed to the plan by concluding the session with a rare committee occurrence of a round of applause.
Councillors gave praise to the quality of the plan and commended the scale of the work that had been undertaken to produce such an ambitious document. Councillors recognised the capability of the plan to usher in a sustainable and modern future for Edinburgh, with comments of support from across the board over the need to progress the plan and see it adopted.
Planning officers have now officially submitted their request for examination to the Scottish Ministers and the submission package includes:
The Proposed City Plan 2030
Representations to the plan
Schedule 4 Reports (the Council’s response to the representations)
Supporting documents submitted with representations
Supporting documents to the proposed plan (appendices, maps etc.)
A Scottish Government reporter will then begin the process of reviewing the plan and schedule 4 reports and evaluating the responses from the Council. This process is expected to take close to a year.
City Plan 2030 has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage, and we’re looking forward to bringing the plan to adoption.
City Plan is ambitious. It aims to ensure that the planning of housing, employment and services addresses the need for net-zero development, resilience to climate change, quality places and green spaces; to deliver community infrastructure and job opportunities where people live and to embed a 20-minute neighbourhood principle at the heart of all places in Edinburgh. City Plan 2030 will help to transform Edinburgh into a truly modern, vibrant, and sustainable place that is befitting of a capital city.
In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means if that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.
Edinburgh was the first council in Scotland to apply for a short-term control area, which has now been in place since 5 September 2022 and covers the whole of the Council’s area.
The amount of STL accommodation has grown significantly in the last ten years and Edinburgh is recognised as an area that has greater pressures than other parts of the country.
Planning applications for STLs be assessed against the Local Development Plan along with the updated guidance and any other relevant material considerations.
Your responses will shape the final version of the guidance which we aim to have in place in early 2023.
The LEZ aims to reduce air pollution, since it presents a significant threat to public health. It is especially harmful to young children, the elderly and those suffering from pre-existing conditions, including heart and lung diseases.
LEZs are being introduced across Scotland’s four largest cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee in response to dangerous levels of air pollution generated by road traffic. The LEZ will improve public health by discouraging the most polluting vehicles from entering an area.
Following the consultation, an objection period ran from 1 February to 1 March 2022. During this time we received 26 objections and 1 letter of support. Objections were from a mixture of individuals, businesses and organisations including some Community Councils.
The most common objections were about;
the LEZ boundary should be wider or smaller
the process for assessing local exemptions
the modelling/evidence base & how robust it was
The next step for the LEZ is to submit the proposal to Scottish Ministers for approval. Assuming approval is granted by Ministers, the LEZ will be introduced on 31 May 2022. There will be a two year ‘grace period’, meaning it won’t be enforced until June 2024.
On Wednesday at Planning Committee, proposals were approved to designate the City of Edinburgh Council area as a short-term let (STL) control area.
The proposal follows a consultation with the public as well as industry bodies.
The majority of respondents to the consultation were in favour of a control area, with 88% supporting the principle of it, and 85% supporting the entire City of Edinburgh Council area to be included.
A report of the consultation forms part of our Report to Planning Committee.
The designation cannot come to effect without the approval of Scottish Government. A request will be submitted to the Scottish Government requesting that the new powers are implemented in the whole of the Edinburgh area.
If the government agree with this approach, and the new legislation is implemented in the city, it will require residential property owners wholly letting a property which is not their principle home as an STL in the local authority area, to apply for planning permission for a ‘change of use’ to a short-term let.
Short-term lets of private rooms or shared rooms where the property is the only or principal home of the host will not be affected by the control area requirement. This allows for house swaps at holidays and also for the host to let out the entire property when on holiday or working away, provided the property remains their only or principal home.
If approval is given by the Scottish Government, the designation will be publicised in advance of coming into effect.
The introduction of powers to make a control area follows the Council calling for new legislation to tighten up the control of short-term lets to help manage high concentrations of secondary letting where it affects the availability of residential housing and character of a neighbourhood.
Also, it will help to restrict or prevent short-term lets in places or types of buildings where they are not appropriate as well as making sure homes are used to best effect.
Complementary to the control area legislation, the Scottish Parliament has approved legislation which will introduce a new licensing scheme requiring short-term lets to be licensed from July 2024. It will address the issues of safety, anti-social behaviour and noise.
To keep up to date with the Short-term Lets Control Area;
Planning Edinburgh 
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