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
Last week, pupils from Firrhill High School, spent two days with the planning service to experience the range of work we do and to give us their ideas on what the city could be like in the future. The programme included:
Mapping how young people use the city
Sharing photos of their favourite places
Using the Place Standard to assess how the city works as a place for young people
An exercise on what the issues will be for the next Local Development Plan and how best to engage young people
The feedback from the school was really positive, with the young people having the opportunity to learn more about the work of the planning service and the challenges for the city. It certainly has given us lots to think about for the next local development plan.
We were also delighted to hear that the group of pupils who visited us, won first place as part of the school’s business placement exercise.
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
Apologies for the erratic nature of my blogging, but as the student in the office, I’m working on a whole range of topics which gives me the chance to experience lots of planning issues. I’m not just here to make tea! HOWEVER, I have (fortunately for you, reader) found the time to write and henceforth publish yet another blog post.
I apologise for that subtitle. Wasn’t very snappy. ANYWAY the map is actually very good. The new LDP was adopted at the end of November, and the map is now live. It shows the land allocations from the LDP, and the associated policies, so you can easily check which policies apply to your area (or your house, if you’re just having a nosey). You can click on your area/site (house), and all the policies pop up with links to the LDP document. Let’s use Leith as an example, because I may or may not live there.
(This isn’t actually where I live)
Click somewhere on the map, and up pops a dialogue box where you can flick through the different categories that apply to the area. And hyperlinks are in there that take you straight to the written policies. It’s a pretty useful bit of kit. AND: it can be used on your mobile device, so you can check your policies on the go. You can flick through the different layers, there, on the right. Turn some off, turn more on. Whatever tickles your fancy. You can even scribble on it, or leave text boxes, if you were so inclined.
BUT WAIT! There’s more. There’s a whole “other” section on the layers list. Here, you can see data sets like “Education” and “Derelict and Vacant Land” etc etc. AND THEN you can map these onto different basemaps, to see what has changed over time.
^^ That ^^ is all the “other” data, mapped onto an aerial picture of Edinburgh from 1940, and I think it shows quite well how things have changed since then. So some structures are the same, but some have transformed drastically… Like Leith Academy on top of what looks to have been a train depot?
Feel free to leave a comment with any planning-related topics you would like to see covered in the blog – I’m open to suggestions (FYI: I’m obviously eager for my posts not to be about maps every time). I’ll try my best to enliven anything you suggest. I know some people think planning can be a bit dull… but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s ALWAYS EXCITING.
Planning Edinburgh 
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