Alexa Morrison, RSPB Scotland Conservation Policy Officer (Climate and energy)
How is the revised Scottish Planning Policy shaping up for wildlife and for tackling climate change? Here are some of our thoughts so far...
Here in the planning team at RSPB Scotland, good planning policy is music to our ears. And everyone knows that, to have a great orchestra, you need a strong conductor. They must be authoritative, responsive to their environment, and most importantly, make sure everything comes together in the best way. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have in the mixture, if no one knows where to come in, the outcome will not be pleasing to the ear.
When it comes to planning policy for onshore wind, it’s the same idea. We need strong policies to conduct the renewables industry towards a sustainable energy mix. Good planning needs good planning policy to guide it. On the 30th April two important planning documents for Scotland’s environment were published for consultation: a revised Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and the third National Planning Framework (NPF3). The former sets out planning policy for the whole of Scotland, covering all types of onshore development, and the latter identifies key ‘national developments’, specific infrastructure required to meet Scotland’s needs. Together, they set the course for development in Scotland for the forthcoming years. It’s crucial that they contain the right safeguards to ensure development takes place in harmony with nature.
Planning policy for onshore wind forms a significant chunk of the draft SPP. Rightly so, as continued renewables development in Scotland is crucial for tackling climate change, a massive threat to wildlife. We need to work hard to meet our emissions targets, particularly after news announced in June, that Scotland missed its climate change target in 2011 for the second year running. Renewables development can also help to restore habitats and benefit local communities if designed and run well.
At the same time, all development can harm wildlife, and renewable energy is no exception. We want to see a planning system that creates the right development, in the right place, at the right time. This is an important opportunity to get the balance right, to ‘conduct’ the renewables orchestra better. A key criticism we have made of planning policy in Scotland in the past, is the lack of clear direction for how local authorities should develop spatial plans (maps) to guide onshore wind development in their areas. Strategic local planning, identifying sensitive areas and providing a consistent steer to developers, means inappropriate applications should be much less likely to come forward.
We are encouraged to see the draft SPP has made a start on this, providing a national spatial guide for local authorities to follow. Under the proposed approach, authorities will need to identify areas where wind farms will not be acceptable (National Parks and National Scenic Areas), followed by areas of ‘significant protection’ (e.g. sensitive peatland), areas of ‘less significant constraint’, and finally areas where wind farms are ‘likely to be supported’.
As more wind farm applications are consented, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify appropriate sites. Having a consistent, national approach will help planners, developers and NGOs a great deal in meeting the challenge of deploying renewables responsibly.
There is room for improvement in the detail however. Whilst ‘wild land’ maps have been included under areas of significant protection, maps of bird sensitivity (developed by RSPB) and sensitive peatland, which provide important guidance to developers, have been left out. These maps are all included in Scottish Natural Heritage’s ‘Strategic Locational Guidance for Onshore Wind Farms’, which provides a crucial steer to the industry. SPP should adopt SNH’s guidance as a whole, rather than pick and choose aspects from it. We also think elements of the proposed approach could be applied to other types of development, like open cast coal or landfill sites. It doesn’t matter if the orchestra is playing Beethoven or the Beatles, they all need to be kept in time.
Whilst we are still going through the detail of the new policies, we are pleased with the direction of progress. Watch this space for more details of our response in July.
The consultation period runs until 23 July 2013. You can read the draft Scottish Planning Policy and find out how to submit your views, at the Scottish Government website.