Written Evidence: Planning Bill, Stage 1 (Feb 2018)

Friends of the Earth’s written submission in response to to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee’s call for evidence for their scrutiny of the Planning (Scotland) Bill at its first parliamentary stage.

In our evidence, we call for the Bill to be improved by:

• Giving planning the explicit purpose of delivering sustainable development, and aligning the planning system with our efforts to tackle climate change.
• Democratising the planning process by maximising the opportunities for meaningful public engagement.
• Introducing an Equal Right of Appeal so that affected communities, not just developers, can challenge councils’ planning decisions.