Chamber and committees

The word “necessary” in this context is considered to carry its normal meaning.

Scottish Planning Policy requires that a five-year ongoing effective land supply is available to meet the identified housing land requirements. Housing land requirements are ultimately to be derived from housing need and demand assessments prepared by local authorities for each housing market area. If a downturn in the housing market is reflected in a lower assessment of need and demand, then this could be expected to produce a lower housing requirement.

Ministers have no powers to intervene in the examination process, but may intervene in the planning authority’s subsequent actions to adopt the plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02188 on 12 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

This matter will be considered after North Lanarkshire Council have sent Scottish Ministers a copy of the plan they wish to adopt and the advert of their intention to adopt the plan.

Following the adoption of a local plan, any aggrieved person may question the validity of the plan through an application to the Court of Session under Section 238 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Such an application must be made within six weeks of the publication of the adopted plan.

Section 19(3) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 requires ministers to appoint a person to examine the proposed plan if they have been requested to do so by the planning authority or it appears to them that there are unresolved representations on the proposed plan.

Scottish Planning Policy defines the effective housing land supply as the part of the established housing land supply which is free or expected to be free of development constraints in the period under consideration, and will therefore be available for the construction of housing. Planning Advice Note 2/2010 defines the established housing land supply as the total housing land supply - including both unconstrained and constrained sites. This will include the effective housing land supply, plus the remaining capacity for sites under construction, sites with planning consent, sites in adopted local development plans and where appropriate other buildings and land with agreed potential for housing development.

Scottish Ministers appoint the person who is to carry out the examination, but they have no powers to intervene in the running of the examination. Section 19(5) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 states that the form that the examination is to take is to be at the discretion of the appointed person.

Following completion of the examination, the reporter sends their report to the planning authority. Apart from certain limited exceptions, authorities must make any modifications to plans that are recommended in examination reports. Within three months of receiving the report, authorities must send the modifications, the proposed plan they wish to adopt, and the advert of their intention to adopt the plan to Scottish Ministers. There is then a 28-day period during which ministers may delay the adoption of the plan, direct the authority to consider modifying the plan, or direct that the plan should only come into force on being approved by them.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02199 on 12 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The procedures are set out in Part 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2008.