The City of Edinburgh Council has agreed that its Local Development Plan should be moved on to be examined by the Reporter appointed by the Scottish Government.
To help the Reporter to understand where there are opportunities to change the plan, the Planning Committee also agreed a motion which details where it sees merit in the representations made.
Councillor Ian Perry, Convener of the Planning Committee, said, The Council needs to allocate land to allow much needed housing to be delivered for the city. While we are keen to ensure that brownfield land is developed first, it is necessary to identify some new greenfield sites in a growing city.
“It is therefore very important that the Local Development Plan is now moved to the next stage to allow the Council to guide developers on future land use. This has been a difficult decision but it is important that we move towards providing certainty for local communities and developers.”
Trade body Homes for Scotland (HFS) welcomed the decision to submit the city’s second proposed Local Development Plan to the Scottish Government for examination.
HFS Director of Planning Nicola Barclay said, “Whilst we still have major concerns with the draft plan, after such lengthy delay we are relieved that further setback has been avoided and that Edinburgh has taken a positive step forward to delivering the housing our capital city needs.”
