Tag: community councils

Changes to pre-application consultation with local communities

View of Princes Street from the Castle looking North on a sunny day.

Changes are coming to the way pre-application consultation with local communities takes place.

All applications for national or major development must comply with the Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) process. Where pre-application consultation is required, applicants must submit a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) at least 12 weeks prior to the submission of the planning application.

Previously, a minimum of one event was required to take place, however for notices submitted after 1 October, there will now need to be two events, in accordance with The Town and Country Planning (Pre-Application Consultation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 .

At the second event the application will provide feedback on comments received regarding the proposed development. Both of these exhibition/events must be press advertised.

The changes also introduce a time limit of 18 months within which an application must be submitted.

Notices submitted prior to 1 October will not be required to hold two events but will be subject to the 18 month time limit, starting from 1 October. 

Since the first outbreak of Covid in March 2020, all events have been taking place online. For notices received after 1 October, all events must now be in person. It is still good practice however to provide online information for those not able to attend in person.

The Edinburgh Development Concordat promotes collaborative working between the developer, community councils and the Council. It is recommended that an engagement strategy is prepared which sets out how community feedback will be sought. This could include the use of:

  • Public meetings
  • Meetings with community councils
  • Exhibitions with developer staff on hand to answer questions
  • Social media to promote events
  • Bespoke websites for the development
  • Surveys – both online and in person
  • Posters in local libraries and other public places
  • Leaflets distributed to properties in the local area

Consultation should be a meaningful engagement with the community and should offer the opportunity to mitigate negative impacts and misunderstandings and deal with community issues that can be addressed.

The Edinburgh Development Concordat

We have published our new Development Concordat which sets out how developers, community organisations and the Council can work together to achieve good placemaking.

The Concordat seeks to help the city’s economic recovery by promoting collaboration.  It builds on the values and principles of the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision which provides clear aspirations for what the city is looking to achieve.

The Concordat recognises the need for agility, flexibility and collaborative engagement between Council services, the development and business communities and community organisations. We all need to work together to address the City’s recovery.

Developers are encouraged to promote the value of early and meaningful engagement including post planning decision engagement with Community Councils in shaping and realising development proposals. Within this context, the changes to pre-application consultation proposed by the Scottish Government: consultation should be recognised.

Community Organisations are encouraged to promote the vital role in representing the views of the wider community when new developments are proposed and to work collaboratively with developers from pre-application through to post planning decision.

The Council will promote the ways that developers and representative community organisations can engage with each other and will promote a “whole Council approach” as an enabler of development to facilitate a more continuous “end to end” approach taking in all of the development functions of the Council throughout the whole development process.

Cllr Neil Gardiner, Convener of the Planning Committee, said

“Edinburgh attracts a wide range of major investments and developments and more minor applications which can be complex. It’s important that the process is as smooth as possible for applicants and that we give quality, consistent and timely advice at all times.

The Concordat highlights the need for early community engagement in the planning process.

Good collaboration is even more important at the moment and the Concordat will help us all work together to address the city’s recovery. This Concordat is about adding value and helping to create good places.”

The Concordat was approved by the Council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee and replaces the Edinburgh Planning Concordat which has existed in various forms since 2009.

Read the full Edinburgh Development Concordat here.

Updating our scheme of delegation

house extension under construction - cropped.jpg

On 7 February 2019, we agreed changes to the way that decisions are made on planning applications and this has been in force from 8 February. Decisions on applications validated after that date will follow the new scheme.

A scheme of delegation gives officers decision-making powers on behalf of members. There are three main reasons for changing the scheme:

  • Firstly, to reduce the amount of householder applications dealt with by Committee to allow members to focus on bigger cases with a wider local interest.
  • Second, to give more prominence to objections or support comments from community councils when they are statutory consultees.
  • Third, to tidy up and clarify certain issues in the previous scheme such as the status of petitions and small changes to approved schemes.

These changes are part of our plan to improve our performance. The main changes agreed are:

  • Planning officers can now grant planning permission for householder development (house extensions and alterations) with up to 20 material objections.
  • Planning officers can now grant listed building consent for householder listed building applications with up to 20 material objections.
  • Planning officers can now refuse planning permission, listed building consent, advert consent, etc. for any application with up to 20 support comments.
  • A Committee decision is needed where there are unresolved objections from statutory consultees, including community councils where they have that status.
  • A Committee decision is needed where the recommendation is at odds with the views of the community council as a consultee.

We will monitor the operation of these changes and put a report to Planning Committee next year as part of a review of the scheme.

Full details of the scheme of delegation can be found on our website.

City Plan 2030 – Corrected Times – Community Groups and Elected Members Engagement

(Please note – due to a mistake these times have been corrected from a previous post, apologies for any inconvenience or confusion)

SE community Briefing June 2018 1.JPG

We will soon meet again with Ward Elected Members and Community Councils to update on the timetable for City Plan 2030. This will include updates on our planned consultations.

We want to connect with other community and amenity groups e.g. Residents Associations, ‘Friends of’ groups, youth groups, etc. It would be great if you would get in touch with us to book a place for your group at a session near you, so we can make sure we have enough space in advance.

Area Date Venue
NW Monday 18 February 2019 Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Road, Edinburgh, EH4 5EG

Event: 6pm – 7.30pm

Registration and light refreshments from 5.45pm
SW Monday 25 February 2019 Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street, Edinburgh, EH11 1BG

Event: 6pm – 7.30pm

Registration and light refreshments from 5.45pm
NE Monday 4 March 2019 Piershill Library, 30 Piersfield Terrace, Edinburgh, EH8 7BQ

Event: 6pm – 7.30pm

Registration and light refreshments from 5.45pm
SE Monday 11 March 2019 Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG

Event: 6pm – 7.30pm

Registration and light refreshments from 5.45pm

To book a place for your community group or amenity group please email the City Plan team at cityplan2030@edinburgh.gov.uk or call us at 0131 529 4692.

Community Council training

June 2018

Presentations from the 14 June training on the Planning Performance Framework and the next Local Development Plan are available below.

February 2018

On 27 February we held Community Council training on three topics.  The topics were chosen by the Community Councils and included planning enforcement, social media and tree protection.  Thanks to everyone who came along and took part in the discussions.  For information we have included links to the presentations below.

The next Community Council training is planned to take place on 14 June 2018, and will focus on the next Local Development Plan and how this will shape the future development of the City (see presentation above).

If you have any queries, or would like to suggest future topics for Community Council training, please get in touch with us at Planning.ServiceDelivery@edinburgh.gov.uk