Consultation on Amendments to Permitted Development Rights for Fin Fish and Shellfish Developments

Overview

Permitted development rights (PDR) for fish farms were introduced by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Fish Farming)(Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 and the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Order 2012.

The consultation paper for the 2012 Order noted that there would be an opportunity to review the operation of the regime and whether there is scope to add additional permitted development rights. The Scottish Government committed to a review of PDR for fish farms which commenced in 2015.

This consultation asks for responses regarding a number of proposed changes to current permitted development rights for fish and shellfish farms.

Why your views matter

The Capacity Working Group (CWG), part of the restructured Ministerial Group for Sustainable Aquaculture, was established in 2013 to work with the Scottish Government to effect improvements to the planning and consenting process. The Scottish Government have consulted with industry, statutory planning consultees and local authorities through the CWG, accessing their expertise during the process.

A number of suggested improvements to PDR were identified which included improvements to both PDR legislation and existing guidance. This includes the amendment and addition of classes of PDR and further extension to shellfish farms. Desired legislative changes to PDR are described below. Improvements to guidance will be taken forward separately.

We would like to seek views on whether these legislative changes should be introduced. 

Download the consultation paper.

What happens next

Following the consultation, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us finalise the amending Order. Subject to the consultation response we envisage the new permitted development Order coming into force in December 2017.