Scotlink/Our Work/Our Society/Planning

Planning

LINK’s Planning Group works to ensure that the Scottish land use planning system contributes to a more environmentally sustainable society.

Group Objectives

Supporting the implementation of NPF4, ensuring its policy intent on nature recovery and climate action is fully delivered in planning decisions across Scotland.
Advancing delivery of Nature Networks through the planning system, making sure ecological connectivity is properly embedded in planning.
Promoting effective biodiversity enhancement in development, ensuring biodiversity net gain principles are consistently applied and lead to real, measurable improvements for nature.
Engaging with the development of the biodiversity metric, ensuring it is practical and capable of driving meaningful outcomes in planning decisions.
Sharing and learning from planning casework across LINK members, building a collective evidence base to influence policy, improve consistency in decision-making and highlight both good and poor practice.

Convener

Esmé Clelland, RSPB Scotland

Vice-Convener

Anna Perks, Woodland Trust Scotland

Staff liaison

Juliet Caldwell

Subgroups

ECU Subgroup – Focuses on ensuring NPF4 biodiversity enhancement requirements are consistently and robustly applied in Energy Consents Unit decisions, particularly Policy 3. It works to address the gap between policy intent and practice by pushing for clearer, more consistent requirements so that energy developments deliver measurable and enforceable biodiversity benefits.

Latest News

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Reflecting on the National Planning Framework 4

28 Nov 2022

The Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4): revised draft was published 8 November 2022 and sets out a plan for Scotland to create sustainable, liveable and productive places to improve people’s lives. Bruce Wilson, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Scottish Wildlife Trust, represented LINK when giving evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee […]

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Last chance for planning reform to tackle the nature crisis

18 Aug 2022

A coalition of leading environmental charities has called on the Scottish Government to ensure imminent reforms to the planning system respond to the climate and nature emergencies. Scottish Environment LINK has said that the draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) falls short of the action required to reverse the crisis of nature loss. 1 in […]

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NPF4: can it transform our transport systems?

21 Mar 2022

By Malachy Clarke, Public Affairs Manager for Friends of the Earth Scotland and a member of LINK’s Planning Group. Transport is Scotland’s biggest source of climate emission, accounting for over one-third of all emissions. It will be impossible for the Scottish Government to meet their proposed 75% reduction in emissions by 2030 without taking radical […]