The Scottish Parliament and Development Planning

Abstract

Land use planning will be one of (he services to fall within the remit of the Scottish Parliament. Of all public services, planning is the one that affects most people and most activities, if only by virtue of the fact that they use land. Indeed it is in recognition of the importance of land use to the community that it is one of the few government services where there is a statutory right for the public to participate at various stages in both plan preparation and implementation. Despite this importance there has been very little detailed debate or discussion as to how planning might evolve under the Parliament. Two recent articles in Scottish Affairs have hinted that planning is something that the Parliament needs to consider. Sinclair (Sinclair 1997) has argued for establishing community planning, which would incorporate not only the local authorities' own plans but those of other agencies such as the Local Enterprise Companies (LECs). Alexander argues that local authorities need to co-operate to provide a 'strategic vision1 to counterbalance the Parliament (Alexander 1997). Neither author develops arguments in detail and both talk about planning in a generic way, including land use planning within a far wider definition.