The planning system is critical to increasing the rate of sustainable economic growth. The foundations of a new planning system were laid in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006. This is now undergoing a significant reform.

The aim of the reformed planning system is to clarify roles and responsibilities, to avoid duplication and overlap, to ensure that requirements for information and analysis are proportionate, and to approach issues collaboratively. Joint actions will speed up the reforms and result in a planning system where: policies are proportionate, practical and informed by early and wide engagement; advice is clear and consistent; processes are effective and efficient; and skills are developed and performance improved.

The key to sustained and real change will lie in part in the development of a new generation of development plans - plans that are robust, address community needs and can be delivered in practice, giving much greater certainty in the delivery of new development on the ground. Agencies will support planning authorities in the new approach to development plans by providing map-based advice on potential constraints.

The LATIS planning capability has been developed and will further evolve to assist planning authorities in the development of such plans. Initially, LATIS data and in particular its modelling suite will be used to prepare ‘baseline information’ and a range of data and model outputs to appraise proposed development plans on network performance, accessibility, the economy and the environment.

To find out more details about the data, including examples of the baseline information maps as well as reports specifically related to the LATIS Planning service please visit our LATIS Planning portal.