43 - Planning delays and NPF4 with Janice Russell and Cameron Greig

The Scottish Housing News Podcast

While financial pressures have undoubtedly played a huge part in a slowdown of new homes being delivered, there is a strong sense among housebuilders that the planning process is also having a detrimental impact.

A recent survey published by our sister publication Scottish Construction Now found that the statutory timeframe for the turnaround of planning applications is being routinely breached in Scotland, with readers blaming under-resourced planning departments and the implementation of NPF4 for increasing delays.

To find out more, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay spoke to Janice Russell, the managing director at McTaggart Construction, which delivers hundreds of homes every year for Scotland’s RSLs.

Cameron Greig, a senior associate in Morton Fraser's Litigation Department, also joins to provide a detailed look at a specific planning appeal called in by the Scottish Government, which highlights a post-National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) change impacting unallocated sites.

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here:

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-fail-to-plan-plan-to-fail

Other relevant reading:

• Scotland's Broken Planning System
• Scotland’s leading planner responds to SCN’s ‘Scotland’s broken planning system’ series and reveals extent of ‘demographic time-bomb’ facing planning departments
• Construction Leader: Janice Russell takes the reins at McTaggart

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

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