Structure Plan Review

The Edinburgh and the Lothians Structure Plan as approved by Ministers currently addresses land use requirements to the year 2015. However, in approving the plan the Scottish Ministers required a review of the plan well before the end date in order to ensure that the strategy, polices and proposals remain up to date and relevant.

Accordingly, the four Lothian authorities identified the need to undertake a Structure Plan Review. It was intended that this would lead to the publication of a reviewed plan by 2008. The process of reviewing the plan began in July 2005 and lead to the preparation of a Consultation Paper to 2020 (PDF,1MB). This paper discusses the options for reviewing the structure plan, and suggests a limited alteration is made to the plan, rolling the plan forward to 2020. The consultation period for this document ran from 2 May to 30 June 2006. The Councils collated the results of the responses received and these were reported to the Joint Liaison Committee in October 2006.

Due to changing circumstances including local plan work pressures, the existing housing land position and the Planning Bill, the details of which can be found in the committee report (PDF,43kb), the Committee agreed to authorise the preparation of a joint submission (PDF,90kb) to Scottish Ministers justifying and seeking support for the abandonment of the ELSP review.

The Scottish Ministers wrote (PDF,119kb) to the Lothian authorities on 23 March 2007 to confirm that they had accepted the joint submission. In accepting the abandoning of the Structure Plan review the Scottish Ministers asked the Structure Plan authorities to submit a succinct overview of recent planned house building in Edinburgh and the Lothians (PDF,402kb). This report was forwarded to the Ministers on 25 July 2007.

Structure Plan Monitoring

The approved plan also identifies the need to undertake a Biennial Monitoring statement on the progress of the plan. A Baseline Monitoring Report was published by the Lothian authorities in March 2004 to provide a comprehensive and up to date baseline information source to accompany the approved structure plan. This is also intended to update background material contained within the Supporting Statement which was first published in March 2003. It was agreed that this would form the basis of any subsequent monitoring to be undertaken of the plan.

The first full monitoring report of key issues relating to the structure plan including Housing, Economic Development, Transportation, Environment, Retail and Sustainability has been completed. Included is the first Annual Housing Monitor. The findings of the monitoring process, along with a Housing Background Paper have informed the content of the above consultation paper.

The four Lothian Councils published a second version of the Action Plan (Action Plan 2 PDF,672kb) in July 2006. A further review of the Action Plan is now underway and it is scheduled to be reported to the Joint Liaison Committee for approval in early 2007.