Consultation Response: National Planning Framework 4 2022

Community Land Scotland supports much of the aspiration in the NPF4 draft document, particularly for rural repopulation and community wealth building. However, substantial changes are needed on the specifics of the policy to make it implementable. There is conflict between policies in the draft, particularly between policies 31 and 32. There is also detail missing on the cascading policies needed to deliver outcomes from the high-level policy commitments.

In this submission we propose the detailed wording changes needed to fulfil the interests of our members. Taken together, our proposed changes provide a planning policy framework which complements the Scottish government commitment to land reform and community ownership, aligning to deliver Scotland’s land for the public interest.