Response to your request
1. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because this information is not collated centrally by the government, but instead is held by each individual planning authority.
This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of the circumstances of the case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about the number of major development planning applications submitted to each planning authority, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
2. Major development appeals received between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2018
Authority Number of major appeals received Aberdeen City Council 3 Aberdeenshire Council 12 Angus Council 2 Argyll and Bute Council 3 Cairngorms National Park Authority 2 City of Edinburgh Council 24 Dumfries and Galloway Council 13 Dundee City Council 4 East Ayrshire Council 17 East Dunbartonshire Council 6 East Lothian Council 8 East Renfrewshire Council 2 Falkirk Council 1 Fife Council 17 Glasgow City Council 4 Highland Council 20 Inverclyde Council 2 Midlothian Council 5 Moray Council 1 North Ayrshire Council 3 North Lanarkshire Council 21 Perth and Kinross Council 9
4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR au=RRTMMR=c^ihfoh= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a Renfrewshire Council 5 Scottish Borders Council 11 South Ayrshire Council 2 South Lanarkshire Council 7 Stirling Council 11 West Dunbartonshire Council 1 West Lothian Council 13 Note: If no relevant appeals involving a specific Authority have been received in the period, the Authority will not be listed.
3. Major development appeals allowed between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2018 Authority Number of major appeals allowed Aberdeenshire Council 6 Angus Council 1 Argyll and Bute Council 2 Cairngorms National Park Authority 3 City of Edinburgh Council 10 Dumfries and Galloway Council 5 Dundee City Council 1 East Ayrshire Council 7 East Dunbartonshire Council 1 East Lothian Council 5 Fife Council 8 Glasgow City Council 1 Highland Council 10 Inverclyde Council 1 Midlothian Council 2 North Ayrshire Council 1 North Lanarkshire Council 7 Perth and Kinross Council 4 Scottish Borders Council 5 South Ayrshire Council 1 South Lanarkshire Council 3 Stirling Council 3 West Lothian Council 4 Note: If no relevant decisions have been issued for a specific Authority, the Authority will not be listed.
4. Parties involved in a planning appeal are responsible for meeting their own costs, such as professional representation. The Scottish Government are responsible for the administrative costs of the appeal including a venue required for a hearing or inquiry, publication costs and the cost of the appointed reporter.
5. Reporters are allocated to cases on the basis of their experience, skill and availability. DPEA has a cohort of salaried reporters who are Scottish Government Civil Servants and a panel of self-employed reporters who are employed on a case by case basis to deal with peaks in DPEA’s workload. Reporters will not be
4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR au=RRTMMR=c^ihfoh= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a appointed to cases where there is a conflict of interest or to cases in the area which they live or have recently worked in the local authority.
4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR au=RRTMMR=c^ihfoh= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a