Planning Services
Major Development
Major development planning applications are defined by the Town and Country Planning
(Hierarchy of Developments)(Scotland) Regulations 2009. You can establish if a development
is a major development by referring to the General Guidance Notes for Applications
and Agents on Processing of Planning Applications. For example, housing
proposals for 50 or more dwellings or for any proposal on a site of more than 2
hectares is classified as major development. The Priority Projects team encourages
applicants to seek pre-application advice prior to the submission of their major
development planning application, so that applicants are aware of the likely level
of information which requires to be submitted with their application. We can provide
advice on the Council’s planning policies and the likely issues which may arise
during the processing of major development proposal.
A major development planning application must be accompanied by a pre-application
consultation report, which sets out the level of community engagement, the issues
raised by the community and the extent to which the applicants’ proposals have changed
as a result of community engagement.
Major development planning application must be accompanied also by a Design and
Access Statement which is required to ensure that design quality and access has
been fully considered in any application. Guidance on Design and Access Statements
is available by reading General Guidance Notes for Applications
and Agents on Processing of Planning Applications.
Major Development applications require to be determined by the Regulatory Panel
of the Council, or in cases where the proposed major development is significantly
contrary to the development plan and in respect of national development, the application
requires to be determined by the full Council following a pre-determination hearing
of the Regulatory Panel.
Proposal of Application Notice
Applicants are required to carry out pre-application consultation with the community
on all national and major developments. At least 12 weeks prior to submitting a
major or national development planning application, applicants require to submit
a ‘Proposal of Application Notice’ to the Council. The purpose of this Notice is
set out in the following section. A Proposal of Application Notice is submitted
to the Council at least 12 weeks before the submission of a ‘major development’
planning application. Proposal of Application Notices are listed in the planning
register with the suffix ‘PAN’. The Proposal of Application Notice is not a planning
application, it is a notice served on the Council advising of a likely forthcoming
planning application. The Notice seeks to establish from the Council the agreed
level of pre-application consultation with the community for a major development
prior to the submission of a planning application.
Once the planning application is submitted, after a minimum of a 12 week period
of pre-application consultation, neighbour notification will be carried out by the
Council and members of the public will have an opportunity to make representations,
if they wish to do so. If you wish further details of what a Proposal of Application
Notice involves, you can seek further guidance by reading the General Guidance Notes
for Applicants and Agents on Processing of Planning Applications.