Purpose

The report sets out and seeks consideration of
the Evidence Report prior to the submission of said report for
Gatecheck by the Scottish Government Division for Planning and
Environmental Appeals (DPEA). The Evidence Report is a collection
of all the information that must be considered before the Council
can embark on the preparation of the Proposed Local Development
Plan. The purpose of the evidence collected is to inform the plan
making process, and to provide a baseline from which planning
authorities can assess where development should take place in their
areas.

Content

To provide the following comments:
 
1.    
To express concerns about the ‘postcode
lottery’ methodology of defining rural areas.
2.    
Need to be clear that legislation needs to change to
allow upfront collection of development obligations to deliver an
infrastructure first approach.
3.    
Welcomed the indication that there may be
opportunities to develop policy that departed from NPF4 where this
was necessary to reflect local circumstances.
4.    
A long-term plan for public infrastructure was
needed so that developers could come in behind to build houses in
suitable locations accordingly.