WOBO appreciates the links provided by the Scottish Government.
Planning, Architecture and Regeneration News
Do you want to lead Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) into a new chapter of transformation and increased impact?
Scottish Ministers are looking to appoint a new Chair to play a leading role within Scotland’s creative, architecture and design sector, steering A&DS at an exciting time of change and opportunity.
As Chair, you will lead the Board and ensure A&DS delivers its objectives, functions and ambitions. This is a central role with significant potential for strategic influence on the role of architecture and design in Scotland.
Established in 2005, A&DS is a national champion for good architecture and sustainable design, working with partners across sectors to shape the places and buildings that influence our lives.
Following a recent government review, A&DS is entering a new chapter. Alongside its continuing actions to champion good design, A&DS will now play a new role to support and develop Scotland’s architecture and design workforce, growing the collective capacity and harnessing the value of design.
The review also recommended structural reform activity, including nesting A&DS within another public body, to harness opportunities, maximise efficiency and increase impact.
Full details of the role, including key responsibilities and required skills and experience is available here.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact Jim MacDonald, CEO, A&DS, at Jim.MacDonald@ads.org.uk. You can also find out more about A&DS on their website.
The closing date for applications is 16 March 2026.
Local Development Plans – Evidence reports and gate checks action plan and advice
Advice has been published today that provides greater clarity on preparing Local Development Plan Evidence Reports and carrying out Gate Checks. Developed collaboratively following a summit between the Scottish Government and Heads of Planning it aims to accelerate plan progress. Drawing on experience to date, it includes actions for stakeholders and information on essential housing and infrastructure evidence to be included within an Evidence Report.
This advice is accompanied by a blog which explains the background to the advice and the key messages contained within it.
Hydrogen planning and consenting guidance
New Hydrogen Planning and Consenting Guidance was published on 5 February. Providing comprehensive guidance to developers on planning and consenting processes for hydrogen projects of all scales in Scotland, it covers a number of areas governed by different statutory regimes and regulatory bodies.
Consultations
Accelerating home build-out
On 5 February we published a consultation paper on Accelerating home-building in Scotland. The consultation contains four options; introduction of fiscal measures to tackle slow build-out rates; intervention when rates are slow; reduction of time and costs for SME builders; and diversifying outputs from deliverable land. The consultation closes for comments on 30 April.
Infrastructure Strategy 2027-2037
On 13 January 2026 the Scottish Government published the Infrastructure Strategy 2027 consultation. The strategy sets out a 10 year framework to guide infrastructure planning, investment and delivery across Scotland to ensure that it’s infrastructure continues to evolve to meet the challenges and opportunities of the next decade.
Closing date for comments is 5 May.
Increasing the threshold for applications under the Electricity Act
Our consultation on increasing the current threshold of 50MW for onshore electricity generating stations to be considered by local authorities remains open for comment. Increasing the 50MW threshold, whether for all or only some technologies, would transfer responsibility for deciding more applications to planning authorities. The consultation is open until 27 March 2026.
Legislation
Planning fee regulations
Regulations were laid in the Scottish Parliament on 5 February, which will increase planning fees in Scotland in line with inflation on 1 April 2026.
The fee increases form part of the wider planning improvement programme, including the National Planning Improvement Champion and Frameworks and the National Planning Hub. We have considered introducing a new fee category for hydrogen-related development. However we are not introducing such a category at this time, given the emerging and evolving nature of hydrogen-related projects.
An updated fee circular will also be published.
Compulsory Purchase Reform
On 19 February we published a blog providing a post-consultation update on Compulsory Purchase Reform. The blog provides a high level overview of the feedback received and sets out the next steps ahead of the May 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) – Policy Overviews
In January we published three blogs which set out each NPF4 policy and highlighted good practice guidance and advice issued since the adoption of NPF4. These have now been updated with additional guidance.
• blog 1 – policy 1-11
• blog 2 – policy 12-22
• blog 3 – policy 23-33
Other News
Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) Chair
Do you want to lead A&DS into a new chapter of transformation and increased impact?
Scottish Ministers are looking to appoint a new Chair to play a leading role within Scotland’s creative, architecture and design sector, steering Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) at an exciting time of change and opportunity. As Chair, you will lead the Board and ensure A&DS delivers its objectives, functions and ambitions. This is a central role with significant potential for strategic influence on the role of architecture and design in Scotland.
Full details of the role, including key responsibilities and required skills and experience is available on the Scottish Government website. For more information or an informal discussion, please contact Jim MacDonald, CEO, A&DS, at Jim.MacDonald@ads.org.uk. You can also find out more about A&DS on their website.
The closing date for applications is 23 March 2026.