Here you will find our response to the Scottish Government Local Living and 20-minute neighbourhoods – planning guidance consultation.  This response was developed by our Scotland Policy Group.

20/07/2023

CIEEM’s Key Comments:

• We support the 20-minute neighbourhood concept and the vision of how it is described.  Developments in Scotland are now required to achieve positive effects for biodiversity in line with the 2019 Planning Act and Policy 3 of NPF4. Considering biodiversity and nature networks in the design and planning of 20-minute neighbourhoods is fundamental to meeting these requirements.
• It is good to see the principles of local living and 20-minute neighbourhoods embedded in a range of wider policy initiatives. We would also like to see links made to the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 and Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029.
• Nature-based solutions approaches should be at the forefront of any new development and redesign of the urban environment and very much integral to 20-minute neighbourhoods and local living.
• Mapping multifunctional green infrastructure with the objective of well-connected nature networks integrates biodiversity conservation with planning and land-use objectives to secure ecosystem service delivery, thus providing multiple benefits to nature and people.
• To make places more inclusive, diverse, vibrant, resilient, and empowering we should ensure equitable access to greenspace (both in terms of amount and quality), sustainable transport routes and blue-green infrastructure.
• The collaborative approaches outlined can help achieve local living, but we have concerns around ecological capacity and resourcing within Scottish Local Planning Authorities.