Scots planning system a 'barrier to economic growth'

SMALL businesses have warned that the Scottish planning system is hampering their growth after new figures revealed lengthening delays in the time taken to process applications.

The Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland issued the warning after figures from Audit Scotland showed that only 43.6 per cent of non-householder planning applications were dealt with within two months in the year 2007-8. In England, around three quarters of applications were processed within the same time period.

The current situation north of the Border is even worse than it was two years ago, when 44.6 per cent of applications were dealt with within two months.

FSB Scotland's policy convener Andy Willox has written to the Scottish Government's chief planner to demand an outline of what can be done to solve the "logjam" of applications. Willox said: "The FSB in Scotland has for years been asking why the English planning system is so much more responsive in dealing with non-domestic planning applications."

"But, despite the efforts which have been put into improving the system north of the Border, the figures still aren't moving in the right direction."

Moray and Shetland Islands councils were the worst performing local authorities, respectively completing just 29.8 per cent and 23.5 per cent of applications within two months, while Clackmannanshire was the best at 73.1 per cent.

Edinburgh's planners were slightly above average at 50.1 per cent and Glasgow completed just 46 per cent within two months.

Willox claimed delays to planning made it difficult for small firms to adapt to changing conditions. He added: "This is extremely frustrating to the business and is bad for the growth prospects of our smallest firms. Rather than creating opportunities for development, the system almost seems to be acting as a barrier to economic growth."

The FSB in Scotland has called for local authority planners to take modest, routine applications from small firms "as seriously as they take loft conversions", adding that they did not want to deregulate the planning system to the extent that large supermarkets could build wherever they wanted.