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Planning, Architecture and Regeneration News
Permitted development rights to support the provision of new homes: summary of responses to the consultation
We have published a summary of responses to the consultation ‘Permitted development rights to support the provision of new homes’. The consultation invited comments on various options to support and encourage the provision of rural homes and town centre living. It also sought views on potential changes to support the deployment of heat networks and domestic air source heat pumps.We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to this consultation. After carefully considering all of the responses received, we have decided not to make changes to permitted development rights at this time.
Letter from Minister for Public Finance and Chief Planner
Today the Minister for Public Finance along with the Chief Planner have written to stakeholders. The letter provides a progress update on those priority actions identified in the Programme for Government to boost planning capacity and reduce barriers to delivery, as well as detailing those other workstreams and individual projects that have also been completed this year.
Battery Energy Storage Systems( BESS) Guidance
Scottish Government commissioned planning guidance on BESS has been published today and is available at Planning Guidance: Battery Energy Storage Systems.
The guidance, prepared by Ironside Farrar, sets out how the planning process can ensure development is properly sited, well-designed, and responsive to its context. It also summarises regulatory requirements relevant to BESS.
Climate Change
Statutory Guidance for public bodies on implementing their climate change duties was published on Friday 6 March and can be found here.
The guidance aims to help public bodies to minimise their operational emissions, adapt and become resilient to the current and future impacts of the changing climate, live within environmental limits and ensure a strong, healthy and just society.
Accelerating home-building in Scotland consultation
There is still time to make your views known on our consultation on Accelerating home-building in Scotland. The paper, which closes for comments on 30 April sets out four high level options to encourage faster build out and increase the volume of delivery. We are also keen to see any evidence that could help to define possible impacts and consequences of the options, and would also welcome input of other ideas.
Publications
Planning fees circular
Today saw the publication of a new circular on planning fees. Circular 1/2026 consolidates Circular 2/2025 Fees for Applications and Circular 3/2025 Fees for Local Reviews and Appeals. It also contains updated fees due to come into force on 1 April 2026.
Ministerial and Chief Planner letter
Last week the Minister for Public Finance along with the Chief Planner wrote to stakeholders. The letter provided a progress update on those priority actions identified in the 2025 Programme for Government to boost planning capacity and reduce barriers to delivery, as well as detailing those other workstreams and individual projects that have also been completed this year.
Battery Energy Storage Systems( BESS) guidance
Planning guidance on BESS, commissioned by the Scottish Government was published on 19 March. The guidance, prepared by Ironside Farrar, sets out how the planning process can ensure development is properly sited, well-designed, and responsive to its context. It also summarises regulatory requirements relevant to BESS.
Permitted Development Rights – summary of responses
On the 10 March we published a summary of responses to the consultation ‘Permitted development rights to support the provision of new homes’. The consultation invited comments on various options to support and encourage the provision of rural homes and town centre living. It also sought views on potential changes to support the deployment of heat networks and domestic air source heat pumps. After carefully considering all of the responses received, we have decided not to make changes to permitted development rights at this time.
Consultations
Accelerating home-building in Scotland consultation
There is still time to make your views known on our consultation on Accelerating home-building in Scotland. The paper, which closes for comments on 30 April, sets out four high level options to encourage faster build out and increase the volume of delivery. We are also keen to see any evidence that could help to define possible impacts and consequences of the options, and would welcome input of other ideas.
Electricity Act threshold consultation
Our consultation paper on proposals to increase the 50MW threshold which determines whether applications for onshore electricity generating stations are decided by Scottish Ministers, or by the relevant planning authority is open until Friday 27 March.
Blogs
National Planning Hub
To mark the first full year of the National Planning Hub we published a blog on 16 March setting out its inception, how it approaches its work, and what it has delivered throughout this period.
Stalled Sites
A blog on the work undertaken on Stalled Sites in Scotland was published on 13 March. This work has been a collaboration between the Scottish Government and stakeholders and this blog sets out the actions taken on identified sites, brokerage that has taken place, and the impact these actions have had in terms of moving sites towards build out.
Other news
Climate change
Statutory Guidance for public bodies on implementing their climate change duties was published on Friday 6 March. The guidance aims to help public bodies to minimise their operational emissions, adapt and become resilient to the current and future impacts of the changing climate, live within environmental limits and ensure a strong, healthy and just society.
Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey interactive map
An updated version of the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey interactive map with data from the 2024 survey was published on 10 March. The map gives viewers the ability to zoom into a site on the map to learn more about it, for example, the previous use, development potential, when it was last in use, the main owner, and get a satellite image to visualise the site. The overall aim of the map is to help increase the amount of vacant and derelict land that is re-developed and re-used, whilst reducing the overall amount of vacant and derelict land in Scotland.
Our Place website
The Place Standard Tool and ourplace.scot website are currently closed for maintenance. Our technical team are actively working on the website. We aren’t yet able to guarantee a date for the website being back online, however we are expecting this to be in the spring.
In the meantime, all static content of the website is available at