National Planning Framework 4 came into effect in February 2023. Unlike previous NPFs, NPF4 supersedes and replaces Scottish Planning Policy
(SPP) of February 2014. What does this mean for transport and land use planning?
Well, in many ways, the new NPF builds upon the guidance in the former SPP on the integration of land use and transport planning, to enable
sustainable development. SPP began to promote a shift from car based travel to walking, cycling or public transport, by making sure that
significant travel generating uses should be sited at locations which are (or can be) well served by public transport, subject to parking
restraint policies, etc.
NPF4 continues to promote that shift, but there are subtle but important differences.
For example, the former SPP recognised that the availability of parking can have an important influence in reducing the reliance on the car, and introduced
parking policies, including national maximum parking standards for certain types and scales of development, although it added that local
authorities should also take account of relevant town centre strategies when considering appropriate parking provision.
Instead, the new NPF4 policies promote a place-based approach to car parking provision, with support for low and no car parking developments.
NPF4 therefore no longer recommends national maximum car parking standards (upon which most Council’s parking requirements are based), but
places the emphasis more on ensuring that opportunities for walking, cycling and wheeling are promoted, for example by ensuring that cycle parking
is more convenient than car parking is.
As another example, SPP recommended that bus services should be available within a specific distance of 400 metres from new development (and
even then, it was a recommendation, not an absolute “maximum”). NPF4 no longer quotes a recommended distance at all, but encourages development proposals
to take account of “sustainable travel and investment hierarchies and where appropriate they… will be accessible by public transport, ideally
supporting the use of existing services” and specifically states that they should take into account the specific characteristics of the area
- a welcome addition, not contained in the former SPP.
