SESplan MAIN ISSUES REPORT VERSION 14.2 CONTENTS FOREWORD .......................................................................................... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................... iii 1. PURPOSE ........................................................................................ 1 2. NATIONAL POLICY ......................................................................... 4 3. RELATED PLANS ............................................................................ 7 4. CONTEXT/CHALLENGES/PRIORITIES........................................... 9 5. VISION ............................................................................................ 19 6. STRATEGIC SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT ....................................... 21 7. STRATEGIC POLICY AREAS ........................................................ 25 INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................................................ 25 TRANSPORTATION ....................................................................................................... 28 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................... 32 HOUSING ....................................................................................................................... 36 ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................. 43 RESOURCES .................................................................................................................. 49 8. SCALE AND DIRECTIONS FOR GROWTH ................................... 59 EDINBURGH CITY CENTRE .......................................................................................... 60 EDINBURGH WATERFRONT ......................................................................................... 62 WEST EDINBURGH ........................................................................................................ 64 SOUTH EAST EDINBURGH ........................................................................................... 67 EAST COAST CORRIDOR ............................................................................................. 69 FIFE FORTH CORRIDOR ............................................................................................... 73 MIDLOTHIAN BORDERS CORRIDOR ............................................................................ 76 WEST LOTHIAN CORRIDOR ......................................................................................... 80 9. GETTING INVOLVED ..................................................................... 85 10. GLOSSARY .................................................................................... 86 11. BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS ...................................................... 88 i FOREWORD The SESplan Strategic Development Plan Authority has produced this Main Issues Report to encourage public involvement in the strategic planning process within Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland. The Strategic Development Plan is an essential building block in the forward planning system in Scotland, and will ultimately guide the allocation of sites and the provision of the policy framework within the Local Development Plan for your area. This will then be the basis for the consideration of planning applications and proposals. Whilst Scotland, as with the remainder of the UK, is currently suffering from the consequences of the banking crisis, it is important that SESplan continues to look forward and provide the planning framework for future sustainable economic growth. This is particularly important for future prosperity given the significance of the SESplan area’s economy to Scotland. There are key questions that require to be addressed by strategic planning in the SESplan area. These include the scale and direction for development over the next 20 years, as well as the services and infrastructure required to deliver that development. There are also important issues related to sustainable development and climate change, as well as the need to enhance the quality of space and place. The SESplan Authority therefore looks forward to your contribution towards this consultation so that the Proposed Plan that will follow the consultation process can be strengthened to the benefit of residents and businesses within the plan area. The SESplan Strategic Development Plan Committee ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. South East Scotland is one of four areas within the country where a new Strategic Development Plan (SDP) will be prepared as part of the new planning system. The South East Scotland Development Plan Authority (known as SESplan) which includes the City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian, Fife (south), Scottish Borders and West Lothian councils is to produce the new Plan. The SDP looks at the future strategic spatial development for the area. It considers the likely future population and household growth alongside economic aspirations and constraints to development. 2. The first stage of the new SDP is to produce a Main Issues Report (MIR) for public consultation. The MIR sets out the context and challenges facing the SESplan area around the key areas of economy, population and households, transport and infrastructure, environment, and, resources and climate change and suggests how these challenges might be met. To assist the consultation process a series of questions are posed around preferred and alternative approaches to these issues. Following consultation, a Proposed Plan will be prepared, and taking into account the responses to this document, a formal submission made to Scottish Ministers. 3. Scottish Ministers expect SDPs to be concise visionary documents that set clear parameters for subsequent Local Development Plans (LDPs) and inform decisions about strategic infrastructure investment. Vision statements look forward 20 years, and provide a context for the spatial strategy of the SDP. The spatial strategy should provide clear direction for new development up to year 12 from plan approval, with a broad indication of the scale and direction of growth up to year 20. The principal topics for SDPs are expected to be land for housing, business, shopping and waste management development, strategic infrastructure (including transport, water supply and waste water) and strategic greenspace networks (including green belts). 4. The SDP does, however, require to take into account existing development plans, national planning policy and other strategies. These plans include the National Planning Framework (NPF2) which sets out national development proposals and a view on the future direction of development; Scottish Planning Policy; national strategies with a land use interface such as the National Transport Strategy; strategies from adjoining areas; and, importantly the approved Structure Plans within the SESplan area. 5. The main priorities for the plan are:- to continue the delivery of identified development areas iii to link the development strategy to the availability and provision of supporting infrastructure to provide additional land to allow sustainable economic development, and to promote a sustainable pattern of development 6. The MIR proposes a Vision for the area: The South East of Scotland will be a sustainable and competitive city region with residents benefiting from economic prosperity in a high quality place. 7. The key aims surrounding the vision are to:- grow the economy meet housing demand and need, and provide community facilities promote improved infrastructure and connectivity encourage sustainable development, and conserve and enhance the built and natural environment 8. The MIR expects that future household growth will be limited by the current economic recession and proposes a preferred scenario based on ‘market recovery’, as opposed to an alternative ‘high growth’ scenario. Existing plans and proposals across the SESplan area already identify housing land equivalent to just under 140,000 housing units. The ‘market recovery’ scenario identifies a need for a further 27,000 housing units across the SESplan area from 2019 to 2032. This will require the identification of sites within Local Development Plans for 7,000 houses to meet the shortfall in the period 2019-2024. The remaining 20,000 houses for the period from 2024-2032 are simply subject to an indication of broad location and scale, and will be reviewed as part of the next SDP. 9. The MIR also suggests priority locations for future economic development, and together this leads to the identification of preferred growth areas across the SESplan area as shown in the figure below. iv Strategic Spatial Directions for Growth v vi 10. The MIR also sets out preferred and alternative strategic policy approaches to sustainable development, infrastructure, transportation, economic development, housing, environment and resources (see Chapter 7). 11. Each of the strategic growth areas are described in further detail in Chapter 8 of the MIR, where development already committed, future development proposals and preferred and alternative (where appropriate) approaches to the development of the area are set out. 12. The MIR and its associated documents are now available for public consultation, and any comments should be sent to the SESplan team at: SESplan 1st Floor, Hopetoun Gate, 8b McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4LZ e-mail: [email protected] vii 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The overarching purpose of