Following the passage of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, Scottish Government is taking forward a comprehensive programme of planning reforms, the details of which were published in September 20191. As part of this, Scottish Government pledged to continue exploring how increases in land value can be more effectively captured for public benefit(e.g., to fund infrastructure required to support new development). Before exploring new potential approaches such as the infrastructure levy and/or changes to compulsory purchase rules, Scottish Government has committed to review the effectiveness of current mechanisms.
This research will help to inform Scottish Government’s review by providing evidence on the effectiveness of current mechanisms, namely planning obligations, focussing in particular on how much they currently raise in Scotland, what the funds are being spent on and what this represents as a proportion of development value.
The purpose of the review is to evaluate the effectiveness of planning obligations as a means of securing timely contributions to - and delivery of - the infrastructure and affordable housing that are necessary to create high quality places. The findings of the review will inform future policy development on infrastructure planning and delivery in Scotland.