Scottish Executive

Planning Circular 1/2010: Planning agreements. Circular providing guidance on the processes for determining the need for, and negotiation of, planning agreements

Designing Streets is the first policy statement in Scotland for street design and marks a change in the emphasis of guidance on street design towards place-making and away from a system focused upon the dominance of motor vehicles. It has been created to support the Scottish Government’s place-making agenda and is intended to sit alongside the 2001 planning policy document Designing Places, which sets out government aspirations for design and the role of the planning system in delivering these.

Most new developments and changes of use will have some form of transport implication. Given the policy significance of the links between land use and transport1 the likely transport impacts of development proposals need to be identified and dealt with as early as possible in the planning process. This document seeks to provide a better practice guide to help identify and deal with the likely impacts. It sets out requirements according to the scale of development being proposed; from a minimal change requiring a simple transport statement or explanation of transport issues through to a major complex development where detailed technical analyses will be required.

Land use planning has a key role in supporting the achievement of the Scottish Ministers’ economic, environmental and social objectives. The national focus on transport is now on delivery of projects. Integration of land use and transport planning can play a positive role in supporting the Scottish Executive’s transport delivery agenda. For the transport network to most effectively support the economy, land use planning should assist in reducing the need to travel; in creating the right conditions for greater use of sustainable transport modes; and in avoiding or mitigating adverse environmental impacts. The interaction of accessibility, transport and the development strategy should be considered early in the planning process. Land allocations should take account of transport opportunities and impacts alongside consideration of economic competitiveness, social justice, environmental quality and design objectives as set out in the National Planning Framework and SPP1 The Planning System. Development plans should be co-ordinated with Regional and Local Transport Strategies, relate the settlement strategy to the capacity of the strategic transport network, and identify where economic growth or regeneration requires additional transport infrastructure. Councils should encourage ongoing stakeholder involvement particularly in respect of new rail and guided transit schemes and emerging air transport policy. Development patterns should reduce the need to use strategic routes for short local journeys. Land allocations and regeneration projects should be related to transport opportunities and constraints. Locating new development to maximise sustainable transport modes while constraining car parking will help to reduce dependence on car travel. Local planning should prioritise action on walking, cycling, public transport and motorised modes, plan for those whose mobility is impaired and deal with the needs of freight. Assessing development proposals involves getting location policy right; having a set of maximum parking standards; using Transport Assessment methodology; and using travel plans to promote sustainable transport to end users of developments. Developers must be prepared to mitigate impacts through contributing to necessary works. Development likely to affect trunk and other strategic roads should be managed so as not to adversely impact on the safe and efficient flow of strategic traffic. New motorway or trunk road junctions will only be considered exceptionally and will require significant developer funding. Roadside service facilities are a special case of development affecting strategic routes. In general the comfort and safety of drivers should be accommodated through provision of opportunities to stop and rest, with additional facilities in appropriate locations from toilets through to full service area provision. Their location should take account of land use, environmental, economic and transport objectives.

This Planning Advice Note (PAN) accompanies SPP17 Planning for Transport. Reference should be made to SPP17 for guidance on policy. Delivery of Scottish Executive policy depends, to a large extent, on action at the local level. The PAN provides good practice guidance which planning authorities, developers and others should carry out in their policy development, proposal assessment and project delivery. The document aims to create greater awareness of how linkages between planning and transport can be managed. It highlights the roles of different bodies and professions in the process and points to other sources of information. The information provided and the examples given in this PAN are not exhaustive. It is intended to be used as an initial reference point. Local flexibility, appropriate to particular circumstances, would be appropriate. Annex A provides links to useful data sources. The remaining annexes are summaries of recent research findings and provide more detailed information on topics covered.