update – Planning Edinburgh

Planning Helpdesk and Weekly Lists – Christmas and New Year arrangements

View from Princes Street of Edinburgh Castle covered in snow with a sunset in the background.

The Planning Helpdesk will be closed from Monday 25 December 2023 and will reopen on Wednesday 3 January 2024.

Queries received over this time will be dealt with starting on Wednesday 3 January 2024.

Our online resources and self-service options will still be available 24/7, ensuring that you can find information and resources whenever you need them.

We have a wide range of planning quick guides – these answer a lot of commonly asked questions, including for

Planning guidance gives advice on topics to guide new development. This guidance answers a lot of commonly asked questions for

The Planning Portal is the easiest & quickest way to comment on planning applications. When you submit a comment over the planning portal, we receive it within minutes.

Planning enforcement issues can also be reported online.

Weekly lists & planning advertisements

Please note there will be NO planning weekly lists issued Monday 25 December 2023.

The next weekly list will be issued on Wednesday 3 January 2024.

The following dates apply for the planning advertisement in the Edinburgh Evening News

Friday 22 December 2023 – Advertisement
Friday 29 December 2023 – NO Advertisement
Friday 5 January 2024 – Advertisement

Updated Planning and Enforcement Charters

View of Edinburgh looking West towards the castle from Calton Hill. Cranes tower above New Town & the Dugald Stewart Monument sits in the foreground.

We recently updated two of our customer service charters. These refreshed charters set out the service we aim to provide and what happens at different stages of the planning process.

The Planning Customer Service Charter

The Planning Enforcement Charter

The charters set out more specific standards linked to our three main responsibilities which are

planning policy
development management
planning enforcement

The charters provide details of how to contact us and report planning breaches.

We also have a wide range of guidance on our website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planning including for

If you still have a question, get in touch!

planning@edinburgh.gov.uk

Planning & Building Standards Systems Upgrade

Computer keyboard with the letters 'upgrade' highlighted.

Next week an upgrade of Planning and Building Standards systems is planned, meaning the Planning and Building Standards Portal will be unavailable from Thursday 20 July to Thursday 27 July 2023.

The upgrade will result in several improvements including security fixes and enhanced accessibility.

The weekly list of planning applications will not be issued on the week beginning Monday 24 July 2023 and you will be unable to view and comment on applications.

There will also be no advert or site notices published on Friday 28 July.

Relevant applications will have additional time added for comments to be made to take account of the downtime. Our targets of 2 months/ 4 months are not altered.

During this time, you will be unable to view enforcement cases or the enforcement register. Enforcement enquires can still be made using the online form.

Latest updates will be displayed at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/pbsupgrade.

You can also keep up to date by following us on Twitter @planningedin or subscribing to the Planning Blog.

Changes to the pre-application advice service

Following customer feedback, we have undertaken a review of our pre-application advice service, with the proposed changes agreed by the Planning Committee on 24 March 2023.

The changes will provide consistency of advice, with a simpler fee structure to reflect full cost recovery. Pre-application advice will continue to be the opinion of the planning officer and team manager and will not prejudice any subsequent decision taken by the planning authority.

Advice for householder development, advertising, simple changes of use and minor alterations to buildings will continue to be provided through the resources we have online.

Whilst providing pre-application advice is not a statutory planning function, providing this service helps to support the efficient operation of the planning system as it can improve the quality of applications and provide a level of additional certainty to applicants.

The changes were introduced on 1 April 2023. Full details on the pre-application advice service, including the customer service guide and charges are on our website.

Once implemented we will be reviewing the updated pre-application advice service gathering feedback from customers through the feedback survey.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4)

Covers of LDP & NPF4, shown together in a circle. After Feb 13, they together make up Edinburgh's new Development Plan.

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:

NPF4
the Local Development Plan (2016)

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

View our Approved Policy Framework Quick Guide (PDF)

View our Policy Framework (PDF)