URGENT – CALL FOR ACTION – PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS CONSULTATION

In response to our Petition calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to adopt English planning legislation for the determination of onshore wind farm developments (which would allow all wind energy schemes to be determined by local planning authorities irrespective of size) the Petitions’ Committee wrote to the Scottish Government in March 2023 recommending that they should now “undertake work to explore the benefits and disadvantages of altering the 50MW threshold for onshore wind farms.”    As you all know, in Scotland all applications for >50MW wind farms are determined by Scottish Ministers.  Planning Aid Scotland and the Royal Town Planning Institute also  support a change in the 50MW threshold, stating “If more applications were to be decided by Planning Authorities it could be argued that a more planned approach to onshore wind would be achieved, and there is also potential for greater involvement of communities throughout the consenting process.”

Last night we received some news from the Scottish Government’s Principal Planner in the Energy Team within the Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division (see letter below).  It seems they listened  and are now consulting all stakeholders.  That includes members of the public.  Please take this chance to tell them if you want the 50MW threshold to be changed so that decisions can be made at a local level rather than by Scottish Ministers.   How often have members of the public and Councillors on Planning Committees complained that there is no point in objecting to an application when it is likely to be consented by Scottish Ministers anyway?

SAS has already suggested that any changes made could easily be financed through an increase in planning application fees.  Let the applicant pay!

You don’t have to answer all the questions in the consultation, just those you feel comfortable with but the question on the 50MW threshold is of particular importance if you want  onshore wind farms, irrespective of size, to be determined at a local level.  (Question 28). If you are responding as an individual you can remain anonymous if you wish.  This is our chance to make a real difference to the current planning system but we need your help to do that.  The more responses they receive the better.

You can find the Consultation at https://consult.gov.scot/local-government-and-communities/resourcing-scotlands-planning-system/  The closing date for submissions is 31 May.

LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL PLANNER

Thank you for your correspondence of 22 February 2024 to Emma Roddick MSP, Minister for
Equalities, Migration and Refugees regarding the Petition currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee on increasing the ability of communities to influence planning decisions for onshore windfarms. I have been asked to respond in my capacity as Principal Planner in the Energy Team within the Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division.
On 28 February 2024, the Scottish Government published Investing in Planning – a consultation on
resourcing Scotland’s planning system which responds to current resourcing challenges in planning.
As well as considering the potential to do things differently, the consultation explores options for
levering in additional financial resources to better support the planning system and move closer to full cost recovery.
As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to exploring the scope for planning authorities to determine more applications for onshore windfarm developments, this consultation invites stakeholder views on whether the current threshold of 50 megawatts (MW) which determines the requirement for consent from the Scottish Ministers for the construction, extension or operation of an electricity generating station should be changed to allow planning authorities to determine more applications for electricity generating stations, such as on-shore windfarms. In addition, it asks whether different thresholds should apply to different types of electricity generating stations, and what the resource implications from this change would be. Views are invited on proposals by 31 May 2024, and thereafter responses will be considered further.
We will be responding to the Public Petitions Committee shortly to provide an update on actions. I trust this information is helpful.
Yours sincerely
Nikola Miller
PARD : Transforming Planning

NOTE: Our Petition also requested that effective community engagement was undertaken for all wind energy development applications. The Scottish Government consulted on draft guidance on “Effective community engagement in local development planning” between 24 May
and 13 September 2023. Work is continuing on the final approach to the guidance, anticipated to be published later this year