Rural Affairs and Environment Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Official Report 569KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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National Scenic Areas (Consequential Modifications) (Scotland) Order 2010 (Draft)

We will now consider an affirmative instrument. I welcome to the committee the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead MSP, and Bob McNeill, policy officer in the landscape and protected sites team in the Scottish Government. This item enables members to ask questions about the content of the instrument before we move to a formal debate. As members know, officials can contribute under this item but cannot participate in the debate.

I am pleased and—like many other members, I am sure—relieved to be here.

The order is necessary to implement provisions on national scenic areas in section 263A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 that provide for the designation by direction of NSA boundaries. The provisions were inserted into the 1997 act by section 50 of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006, as NSA boundaries had never been formally designated. Earlier provisions for that in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 were repealed in 1991 without having been used.

The order makes consequential amendments to certain legislation for references to be made in terms of section 263A and to remove references to NSA designation under other instruments. That will ensure that the amended legislation continues to apply to NSAs when section 263A designation directions are issued.

What impact, if any, is the change likely to have on planning?

All that it means is that the new power for ministers under recent planning legislation to designate boundaries will be recognised in all the relevant legislation. There are no immediate plans to use the powers, but there are 40 scenic areas in Scotland that were identified under the previous policy on the issue. The order will have no immediate impact.

As there are no further questions, we move to the formal debate on the order.

Motion moved,

That the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee recommends that the National Scenic Areas (Consequential Modifications) (Scotland) Order 2010 be approved.—[Richard Lochhead.]

Motion agreed to.

11:21 Meeting suspended.

11:24 On resuming—