Development Plans

Barbara Cummins, Head of the Development Assessment Team, writes on Development Planning

Development plans are a key area of work for local planning authorities and the Historic Scotland Inspectorate (HIS) recognises the challenges these create.

In response  to this, we are prioritising related work and  resources to enable us to engage actively with every authority in Scotland.  This includes supporting Strategic Environmental Assessment  activities and pre-main issues discussions with other key agencies.  Our aim is to help local authorities to manage change through their development plans and do so within the tight time constraints they face.  Development Plan Schemes published by local authorities earlier this year have been used  to develop a “tracker” system.  This has enabled the Development Assessment Team (DAT), which has responsibility for development planning within the HSI, to identify lead officers, manage workload and attend meetings with local authorities.