Planning Under a Scottish Parliament: A Missed Opportunity?

Abstract

Devolution has naturally led to expectations of legislative and policy divergence. Given its largely unitary nature across the UK such anticipation has also been a characteristic of planning debates. In Wales and Northern Ireland there is evidence of some progress in developing planning to better meet the needs of those areas. In Scotland, however, there have been far more modest achievements to date. Far from charting a new course for planning through legislative and policy change the trajectory for planning in Scotland post-devolution has been very similar to that south of the border. This article explores the changes to planning under the Scottish Parliament and discusses some of the reasons for the apparent lack of ambition and progress.