Planning and Architecture

  • The National Planning Hub – A year of delivery!

    16th March 2026 by

    Overview This month completes the first full year of the National Planning Hub. In 2025/26, the Hub has provided over £1m of support in surge capacity with 50 projects across 20 planning authorities, alongside a cross-cutting programme by the Improvement Service and direct Scottish Government brokerage for stalled housing sites. This represents a significant package of support and a good basis to build from as the Hub team plan for the year ahead,...

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  • Stalled Housing Sites

    13th March 2026 by

    From early 2025 we have worked collaboratively with industry and local authorities to remove barriers on stalled housing sites. The work demonstrates how the planning system can be proactive in addressing the housing emergency and the importance of partnership working to overcome barriers. A Short Life Working Group (SLWG) was convened involving Heads of Planning...

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  • Local Development Plans (LDP): Action Plan and Advice on Evidence Reports and Gate Checks

    26th February 2026 by

    Challenges An increasing number of Evidence Reports have been returned to planning authorities following the Gate Check, on the basis of having insufficient information to inform the proposed local development plan. This has particularly related to key issues of housing and infrastructure, including education, transport and health. Addressing the issues is adding time to plan...

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  • National Planning Framework 4 Policy Overviews 23 to 33

    29th January 2026 by

    NPF4 policy overviews We have collated over three blogs, overviews of advice and guidance available for each of the 33 policies contained in National Planning Framework 4. The blogs contain the following policy split. blog 1 – policy 1 to 11 blog 2 – policy 12 to 22 blog 3 – policy 23 to 33...

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  • National Planning Framework 4 Policy Overviews 12 to 22

    29th January 2026 by

    NPF4 Policy overviews We have collated over three blogs, overviews of advice and guidance available for each of the 33 policies contained in National Planning Framework 4. The blogs contain the following policy split. blog 1 – policy 1 to 11 blog 2 – policy 12 to 22 blog 3 – policy 23 to 33...

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  • National Planning Framework 4 Policy Overviews 1 to 11

    29th January 2026 by

    NPF4 Policy overviews We have collated over three blogs, overviews of advice and guidance available for each of the 33 policies contained in National Planning Framework 4. The blogs contain the following policy split. blog 1 – policy 1 to 11 blog 2 – policy 12 to 22 blog 3 – policy 23 to 33...

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  • Publications declutter

    8th December 2025 by

    The 2025 Programme for Government contained a commitment to declutter the planning system by removing all dated national planning advice. This commitment continues our aim to reduce the volume of advice, to avoid confusion and reduce complexity. We consulted a number of stakeholders over the summer on a list of advice and other guidance that...

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  • Update on Elected Member Training

    25th November 2025 by

    The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 included mandatory training for elected members as part of a package of measures designed to improve the effectiveness of the planning system as a whole. In 2023, we consulted on the proposed implementation of mandatory training for elected members in planning. There was broad support for the mandatory element to...

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  • Water Resilient Dundee

    20th June 2025 by

    Across Scotland, sewer systems in urban environments are being inundated by rainfall from more extreme and frequent rainfall events. In response, Dundee City Council (DCC) has teamed up with Scottish Water to spearhead the ‘Water Resilient Dundee’ partnership. The Water Resilient Dundee (WRD) partnership aims to jointly plan and sustainably manage water in the city...

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  • Planning partners are working together to help deliver homes that are needed

    9th June 2025 by

    Planning partners are working together to help deliver homes that are needed Addressing the housing emergency requires a collective effort, with the planning system playing a key role in finding solutions. Planners and industry partners have collaborated to drive forward a solutions-focused approach to address the challenges in developing new homes and to accelerate their...

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