New guidance published to ensure ‘streamlined’ and ‘consistent’ approach to planning

MCAs allow for place leadership and offer a streamlined approach to consenting planning, roads construction, listed building and conservation area applications.

The Scottish Government said: “The Programme for Government committed to support early adopters of MCAs. As we move to the delivery phase we have met with the first of the early adopter planning authorities and will be discussing the provisions with the housing industry, as a possible measure to support the housing emergency.  Success will depend on strong collaborative partnerships to ensure MCAs schemes are well-designed, deliverable and align with broader outcomes.”

View the MCA Guidance and impact assessments here.

The documents follow the publication of updated guidance on preparing Housing Land Audits (HLA), and a template spreadsheet to assist with putting it into practice.

This will promote a consistent approach across Scotland to provide more reliable data and improved monitoring locally and nationally of the housing pipeline. The guidance is the outcome of stakeholder engagement carried out in 2023, and offers further support for implementation of NPF4 policy 16, covering the purpose, content and methodology of HLAs, and providing detail on deliverability of sites and collaboration.