DRIVING THE

LOW CARBON
ECONOMY
PAPER 5: planning

Introduction
This policy paper is the fifth in the Driving the Low Carbon Economy
recommendations series produced by Scottish Renewables to outline what investment
and concerted support across all levels of government is required
✓ Ensure a transparent to realise Scotland’s ambitions of meeting at least 80 per cent of
and timely consents our electricity needs by 2020. Meeting or exceeding targets will put
process Scotland on a path to delivering a low carbon economy, securing
✓ Continue to deliver massive environmental, economic and social gains for our country.
strong policy and This paper outlines the priorities for government, industry and stakeholders
political support towards creating effective and efficient consenting regimes that balance the
for all forms of need for renewable energy development with other interests. The terrestrial
renewable energy and marine planning systems in Scotland must remain modern and able
to enable delivery to cope with the demands of the growing renewables industry by ensuring
of Scottish and UK appropriate, effective and timely decisions.
Government targets
In this paper we consider ways in which the Scottish planning system
✓ Alignment of local
could be enhanced to support the delivery of renewables development and
development plans
help secure the achievement of Scotland’s renewable energy and carbon
with national policy
reduction targets.
✓ Effective link between
renewable energy
projects and the local
community
✓ Clarity from
statutory consultees
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The Story so Far...
Scotland’s planning system is undergoing the most
significant modernisation in over 60 years. With the
implementation changes introduced by the Planning
Act currently underway there has never been a more
important time for planning.
It is the stated aim of the Scottish Government to
deliver a planning system that is: efficient, inclusive, fit
for purpose and sustainable.
There is a huge amount of potential to develop
renewable energy in Scotland. To realise this we need
to ensure that the regulatory and planning regimes work
together to minimise delays, reduce costs and ensure
applications are dealt with as efficiently as possible.
4000
Installed Capacity (MW)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0 efficient system.
2008 2009
Year
Figure 1. Capacity of renewables projects in the planning
system from November 2008 to November 2010.
What needs to change?
Align policies with obligations on Renewables
and Climate Change
As the renewables industry grows and the areas of
least constraint for development decrease, projects
need to adapt to find the best way of achieving
acceptable design in more sensitive environments.
Equally, the Scottish Government must find a way of
balancing competing policy agendas to ensure that
renewable energy can deliver these changes. Many of
these challenges face a common theme: the impact of
outdated regulation that does not fully take account of
the national and European obligations on renewable
Top front page picture: Ted Leeming
energy and climate change.
2 PAPER 5: planning
Where are we now?
At the time of writing (November 2010) there were just
over 3.5 GW of renewable energy projects awaiting
planning determination in Scotland, with onshore wind
accounting for over half of this potential capacity.
With around 10 GW of offshore wind and 1.6 GW of
wave and tidal projects in the early stages of scoping,
the size of development off our shores is due to increase
massively over the next decade and beyond.
The renewables industry prides itself on maintaining
a responsible reputation and this is why a robust and
transparent planning system is so important for the
growth of the industry.
Scottish Renewables has been pleased to see a drive
from the Scottish Government towards a speedy,
efficient and inclusive planning system which has
undoubtedly assisted many projects to gain consent.
The consolidation of policy into the streamlined Scottish
Planning Policy has generally been successful and
resulted in a useful document.
We support the positive role the Scottish Government
has played in guiding local authorities within this
framework and encourage the Scottish Government
to ensure availability of resource in order to deliver an
2010
The Scottish Government must continue to ensure key
messages transfer from central to local government
so that all applications are determined on their merits
against identified, broad criteria that is consistent with
national policy.
✓ Scottish Government and its advisers must ensure
that environmental and planning policy objectives are
aligned with national and European policy on climate
change and renewables with the explicit recognition
of climate change benefits which renewable
technologies provide.
Advocate a positive local approach
It is critical to the achievement of our renewable
energy and carbon reduction targets and to driving
sustainable economic growth that local planning
authorities (LPAs) adopt a genuinely positive approach
towards renewable energy development, recognising
both national priorities and the local socio-economic
benefits of projects.
In some local authority areas, level of response to
scoping is not currently as comprehensive or upfront
as it could be. Consequently additional issues are often

raised post submission with associated time and cost
implications. This would be improved through positive
and proactive pre-application engagement between
developers, planning authorities and consultees for
all types of projects, leading to meaningful and clear
screening and scoping advice for projects requiring an
environmental impact assessment.
A number of local authorities are recognising the
economic development potential of renewable energy,
not only from commercial projects but through, for
example, Council’s new powers to generate their own
energy. However this connection needs to be made
across all planning authorities.
✓ The Scottish Government should take a greater role in
ensuring that local planning authorities follow national
policy and guidance in developing local development
plans and supplementary guidance; and when
determining planning applications and forming a view
on other consent applications (e.g. under the Section 36
and 37 Electricity Act).
Clarity of decisions from Statutory Consultees
Scottish Renewables welcomes engagement with
statutory consultees when working to address sensitive
issues, and we engage closely with Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH) to work through issues of shared
interest and to develop good practice guidance of
mutual benefit to the industry and SNH.
SNH recently produced a guidance document
confirming the agency’s approach to determine whether
impacts on natural heritage raise issues of national
interest; if they do not, SNH will only use objections
“sparingly.” This change in approach is of concern
to industry as it enables local officers to comment
extensively on a proposal but falls short of offering
objection or support for the project, resulting in a lack
of clarity to planning officers.
✓ Statutory consultees should be absolutely clear when
responding to an application and spend most of their
budgeted time on key issues of objection and support.
Extensive comment on an application while falling
short of objection or support can create confusion and
lack of clarity.
Consistent Local Planning Guidance
We are pleased to see the drive from the Scottish
Government towards a speedy, efficient and inclusive
planning system and we welcome the up to date
Development Plans that have been drafted and
DRIVING THE
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completed in accordance with SPP with appropriate
industry involvement.
However some authorities have so far failed to update
Development Plans or provide supplementary planning
guidance to reflect the SPP approach, while a number
of those that have developed policies appear to have
adopted a defensive approach to renewables. Not only is
this at odds with the inclusive approach directed in SPP,
but it is also at odds with the approach to other areas
of policy development (for example, in housing, where
housing providers are directly involved in monitoring
and in strategy and policy development). The Scottish
Government should provide a clear steer to local
authorities to only develop and adopt a Development
Plan and supplementary guidance that are consistent
with national policy, and that any plan or guidance that is
adopted without consultation is likely to be given limited
weight in the determination of planning appeals.
We are also concerned that a number of LPAs
are departing from national policy and guidance.
Some have produced additional guidance, without
consultation, that diverges from national guidance.
This places additional, excessive requirements and
cost on developers and is inconsistent with nationally
recognised good practice.
✓ The Scottish Government should require that full,
thorough consultation takes place on all supplementary
guidance and should assign the Department of
Planning Environmental Appeals the role of examining
supplementary planning guidance to ensure alignment
with national policy.
✓ The Scottish Government should take a view on the
appropriateness of specific additional guidance
produced by local authorities and stipulate that local
guidance that does not adhere to national policy or
guidance sets a dangerous precedent and that it is
likely to carry little weight at public inquiry.
Enhance link between project and community
The renewable energy industry in Scotland has a strong
track record of positive engagement with communities
from pre-planning right through to construction and
operation of projects. This can include sharing some of
the financial rewards and in a few cases sharing project
risks with communities.
The most successful examples of good practice are
where strong dialogue with communities has taken
place early and throughout the process and also where
a flexible and voluntary approach has been applied
leading to good partnership working and a strong bond
between the community and the renewables project.
PAPER 5: planning 3
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Scottish Renewables has learned of specific instances
where local authorities have requested a proportion of
community benefit payments to be directed towards
inappropriate uses, such as affordable housing.
Such requests, which are in conflict with Scottish
Government planning guidance, put the developer
seeking planning consent in a difficult position.
Communities are benefiting throughout Scotland from
renewable energy projects as a result of effective
dialogue between communities and developers.
Further progress could be made through consideration
of the following actions.
✓ The Scottish Government should consider enabling
a proportion of business rates to be returned to local
authorities from renewables project receipts to make the
wider economic benefits transparent at a local level;
✓ The Scottish Government should reinforce existing
guidance to planning authorities about what does
and does not constitute proper use of the planning
agreements and conditions.
Prompt implementation of General Permitted
Development Rights
Micro-renewables can make a valuable contribution
to a sustainable, low carbon economy by generating
useful energy at the point of demand. Therefore we are
pleased to see that measures are being considered
which will reduce the burden on the consumer and the
planning system, however we need a prompt decision
to allow this to happen.
✓ Ensure the prompt decision and implementation of
the General Permitted Development Rights for micro-
generation. Implementation of GPDR will: ease the
work load on planners; protect both the consumer
and neighbouring residents; offer clarity to both the
consumer and local authorities; and facilitate industry
to grow, innovate and develop products suited to the
urban environment.
Conclusion
In order to achieve our low carbon ambitions, the
Scottish Government needs to address the increasing
cumulative, regulatory burden being experienced by
the renewables industry from a range of government
departments and agencies, whilst continuing to
ensure support for the renewables industry - which is
clearly present at national level - is properly reflected
in local plans and supplementary guidance. This
requires ongoing monitoring of the implementation
4 PAPER 5: planning
Supportive advice on renewables
We support the current revision of PAN 45; it is critical
that this advice remains supportive and aligns with
government policy.
✓ Ensure the update of PAN 45 provides the necessary
guidance to support the development of good
renewable energy projects and provides up to date
advice supporting national policy.
Address duplication in water licensing
There is currently duplication between planning and
the water licence processes, resulting in ‘double
jeopardy’ for developers. The planning authority as a
democratically accountable authority is best placed to
consider the social and economic impacts, including
recreation, of an application.
✓ Within the Controlled Activities Regulations (Scotland)
2005 the roles of SEPA and the planning authorities
must be properly defined. This allows the Scottish
Government to avoid duplication in this process
resulting in streamlining and financial savings.
Effective marine planning framework
We welcome the one-stop-shop approach that has
accompanied the creation of Marine Scotland and
the level of engagement we are seeing with industry.
It is imperative that the Scottish Government get the
framework right to deliver timely, efficient and inclusive
decision making.
✓ The National Marine Plan must take account of the
national renewable energy targets and the role that
offshore renewables will play in meeting those and
future targets.
Contact Planning Policy Manager: Rosie Vetter
E-mail: rosie@scottishrenewables.com | Tel: 0141 353 4987
of the modernised planning system, and the Scottish
Government needs to be prepared to make changes
where necessary to ensure it is delivering its aims.
The above examples are only a relatively small - yet
significant - proportion of the regulatory pressures being
faced by the industry. Combined, these constraints
threaten the ability of the industry to deliver projects
at reasonable cost, and to meet Scotland’s renewable
energy targets and ambitions for 2020 and beyond.