5 July 2013
NPF3 consultation newsletter article
The Government is currently consulting on a revised version of the National Planning Framework (‘NPF3’) and Scottish Planning Policy (‘SPP’). These documents are important as they set the basis upon which all land use planning decisions are taken.
A first phase of consultation was conducted in autumn last year. We’re pleased to see that a new ‘National Cycling and Walking Network’ national development has been added to the existing ‘Central Scotland Green Network’ and ‘High Speed Rail’ national developments carried over from NPF2.
However, a criticism of the new national development is that it is focussed principally on leisure cycling. Given that we've just published a report stressing the importance of leisure cycle tourism, this is clearly a welcome development. However, Scottish Planning Policy needs to give greater focus on day-to-day walking & cycling -- and the draft has asked for views on how walking & cycling networks can be expanded for everyday use.
We are less convinced that the NPF3 has got it right on public transport. The draft relies on the 'Infrastructure Investment Plan' (IIP) for its road & rail plans. But while the Government's planners have consulted widely, there has been zero public consultation on the the IIP. Given that the Government's IIP is massively skewed towards road-building, NPF3 risks further worsening the uncompetitiveness of rail journey times compared to road journey times between our cities.
The consultation on NPF3, and the related Scottish Planning Policy, is open for comments until 23 July. We're currently composing our response & we would welcome your thoughts. We'd also encourage you to make your own views known as part of the consultation.