2020 is shaping up to be a massive year for planning in Scotland; for how our transforming planning system will shape our places and our society over the years and decades to come. Of course, there’s much to be done on the nuts and bolts of the system following on from the new Planning Act. There are also some game-changing opportunities coming from emerging digital technologies. And so vital to the way planning will lead the development and use of land in the long-term public interest – the production of Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework will be taking shape.

None of this will happen on its own; we need the involvement, experiences, skills and enthusiasm of people, businesses and organisations from across Scotland.

Getting started, we are delighted to announce that our early engagement period for National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is underway. Our Programme for Engagement explains and highlights the package of engagement opportunities over the coming months to help gather ideas to inform the draft NPF4 that we will publish for consultation in September.

To make sure everyone can keep up-to-date and stay involved through progress on NPF4 and the other key strands of the changing planning system, we will be using a new website www.transformingplanning.scot as a hub for essential information and opportunities as things progress. Over the next few weeks we will publish dates and booking details for the Scotplan 2050 Roadshow; details of our community grant scheme; more information about national developments; and background information notes on Scottish Planning Policy topics.

Today, we have also opened a Call for Ideas – we want to hear from you about your priorities for NPF4. We are inviting any comments within the scope of the NPF by 31 March. We have posed 5 questions and some prompts to get you started; but please note that they are just there as a guide to help stimulate debate, not as formal consultation questions. You can find all of that in the Programme and at www.transformingplanning.scot.

We will be regularly adding to this new web resource with further materials over the next few weeks and we will tweet whenever we add significant new material. So please follow us at @ScotGovPlanning #scotplan. If you have any other questions, just let us know (email – scotplan@gov.scot).

Happy New Year to all in planning! Jump in and be a part of it…