Scottish Ministers have halted an Angus housebuilder’s appeal over a plan to double the size of a development on the edge of Forfar.
And the hold-up revolves around a landmark planning test case almost 100 miles away from Angus.
Guild Homes appealed Angus Council’s refusal for a 245-home extension of its £50m Strathmore Fields development at Turfbeg.
The company has already built hundreds of homes there and the project’s final phase is due for completion in 2024.
But it wants to carry the development on over farmland towards the Forfar by-pass not currently zoned for housing.
However, a challenge over Angus Council’s non-determination of the proposal has been stalled by the issue surrounding recently introduced national planning legislation.
And a revised bid for 216 houses on the same site – currently with Angus Council – is also now on the back burner.
What is the West Lothian question?
The hold-up centres around a test case in West Calder, near Livingston, relating to the application of new Scotland-wide planning rules.
The fourth National Planning Framework 4 (NPF 4) came into force in February.
It will be used to create “sustainable, liveable and productive places” according to the Scottish Government.
Projects returning former industrial or derelict sites to community use will be more likely to be approved following its introduction.
But it has forced planning authorities to re-examine many applications in the context of NPF4.
Those include the West Calder planning bid.
Scottish Ministers say submissions in that case directly challenge elements of NPF4 and raise national issues in terms of its application.
Those could impact on new style local development plans across Scotland.
So a number of appeals have been sisted – put on hold – until a ruling in the test case is delivered.
That could take months.
What do Guild Homes say?
The firm says it understands the need for Scottish Ministers to decide on a consistent approach to the interpretation of NPF4.
“The delay in determination which the sist will cause is disappointing,” said the company.
But it is confident its interpretation of how NPF4 applies to the Forfar case is correct.
“Given the evidence already available to the Scottish Ministers, we would hope progress can be made quickly once they have determined their approach.”
What does this mean for the parallel Strathmore Fields application?
The company tweaked its original 245-house plan and submitted a revised 216-home proposal in January.
Angus planners have yet to make a decision on that application.
And the NPF4 test case means it will also be put on hold.
“We do not anticipate this (pending application) will be determined until Scottish Ministers have provided clarity on the approach to be taken to NPF4,” said Guild Homes.
“The delay is disappointing given the evident and worsening housing land shortfall which our latest submissions have shown now equates to 251 houses in West Angus when compared to the council’s own housing requirement.
“Our site at Strathmore Fields is now nearing completion with the final houses in phase four due to be sold/completed in summer 2024.
“There is strong demand for the full range of housetypes we provide, and we are keen to provide security and continuity of work to our local workforce and suppliers by continuing to build to the west of that site. ”
They say work would begin almost immediately if either the appeal or revised application are successful.
“We believe this is the only site within West Angus which is readily available to make a meaningful contribution towards the housing shortage.
“The longer it takes for a decision to be made on Turfbeg West, the more the housing shortage within West Angus will worsen, as it has been doing year on year.”
NPF4’s early impact on Angus proposals
The new legislation has already impacted consideration of planning applications in Angus.
It led to a delay in the appeal determination of a proposal for a new crematorium at Duntrune, on the border with Dundee.
In March, councillors overturned planning officials to give farmer Guthrie Batchelor the go-ahead for the project.
And an appeal over the rejection of plans for two houses on Condor Drive in Arbroath is one of several other cases now on hold.
Development review committee councillors were due to consider the application for the site near the town’s Domino’s pizza outlet in March.
But officials warned the authority could be subject to a judicial review challenge if proper cognisance of NPF4 had not been taken before making a ruling.
Conversation