Background
3.The Act will provide a mechanism for the delivery of a modernised planning system, as set out in the Policy Memorandum to the Bill. It takes forward the commitment in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to improve the planning system to strengthen involvement of communities, speed up decisions, reflect local views better and allow quicker investment decisions.
4.The package set out in the White Paper Modernising the Planning System, published in June 2005, brought together the Scottish Executive’s final proposals for modernisation of the system in a single document. The Paper identifies elements of the modernisation package that require changes to primary legislation, secondary legislation, and elements that can be dealt with through guidance.
5.The purpose of the Act is to amend existing planning legislation to implement the proposals in the White Paper, Modernising the Planning System, which require changes to primary legislation. It also introduces provisions to implement Business Improvement Districts in Scotland, as set out in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.