Development Management Service (Planning)

General information

Main Roles

The primary role of the Council's Development Management Service is to process and determine planning applications. Approximately 2000 planning applications are submitted to the service each year, and comprise a large variety of proposals, ranging from small householder extensions to large-scale housing and retail developments.

The service also operates an enforcement function. This involves monitoring conditions imposed on planning consents, monitoring unauthorised developments and taking enforcement action, where necessary, against those developments which have been carried out without planning consent.

The service also offers general advice on planning policies and procedures in the Scottish Borders.

Staffing

Head of Planning and Building Standards: Mr Brian Frater

Development Manager (West): Mr John Hayward

Development Manager (East): Mr Ian Aikman

The service operates from the Council's headquarters in Newton St. Boswells, and from four area offices in Hawick, Duns, Galashiels and Peebles.

The legislative background

The principal statute under which the Council is given the authority to determine planning applications and to enforce against works which do not have consent is established in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

Secondary to the 1997 Planning Acts are the Planning Orders:

The General Permitted Development (Scotland) Order 1992 essentially defines what does not require planning permission - it comprises a list of developments which, though they can be considered to fall within the scope of planning control, do not require planning permission.
The General Development Procedure (Scotland) Order 1992 outlines the procedures that planning departments must follow when processing and determining planning applications.
The Use Classes (Scotland) Order 1997 broadly establishes whether planning permission will be required to change the use of a building or area of land to another use. It effectively categorises the main use types - e.g. shops, offices, factories - into sets of Classes.

The policy background

Once it is established whether or not planning permission is required, and an application is submitted, deciding whether the application should be or approved is largely a matter of whether or not it complies with relevant planning policies.

Planning policies are established at three levels:

At national level, the Scottish Executive publishes Scottish Planning Policy Guides and Planning Advice Notes
The policies established at the national level influence how Scottish Borders Council sets its own policies at the regional level, through the Structure Plan.
At the local level, the Council also publishes the Local Plan. There are currently four local plans covering the Berwickshire, Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale and Peebleshire areas. A Borders-wide Local Plan is currently at the draft stage. The Council also produces supplementary guides - covering the development of houses in the countryside, and design guidance for conservatories for example.

If the planning application does not comply with the relevant policies, it may be refused unless there are exceptional reasons for granting approval.

Application Types

The Development Control Services processes and determines a number of application types, all of which come under the umbrella of planning control. These include:

householder planning applications (for extending your house for example)
non-householder planning applications (for building a house or altering a commercial building for example)
listed building consent applications (for altering or demolishing a listed building)
advertisement consent applications (for installing or erecting signage)
applications for the erection of agricultural buildings (for the erection of farm buildings which do not require planning permission)

All of the above applications are available, with guidance notes, to download from our development control pages

The service does not however process Building Warrants - these wholly come under the remit of the Council's Building Standards Service.

Area Office Contacts

If you have any queries about the Development Control Service or about how and when to apply for planning permission, browse our Development Control pages, or follow the link to find out the contact details of your local area planning office.

Planning Applications On-Line

Planning applications are now available to view on-line, so you find out about planning applications in your local area, or track the progress of your own application.

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Your Council Departments and Services Council Management Structure Services Chief Executive Resources Education and Life Long Learning Planning and Economic Development Planning and Building Standards Economic Development and Regeneration Social Work Technical Services How SBC works Locations and Directions Neighbouring Authorities Special interest Borders Performs	Development Management Service (Planning) General information Main Roles The primary role of the Council's Development Management Service is to process and determine planning applications. Approximately 2000 planning applications are submitted to the service each year, and comprise a large variety of proposals, ranging from small householder extensions to large-scale housing and retail developments. The service also operates an enforcement function. This involves monitoring conditions imposed on planning consents, monitoring unauthorised developments and taking enforcement action, where necessary, against those developments which have been carried out without planning consent. The service also offers general advice on planning policies and procedures in the Scottish Borders. Staffing Head of Planning and Building Standards: Mr Brian Frater Development Manager (West): Mr John Hayward Development Manager (East): Mr Ian Aikman The service operates from the Council's headquarters in Newton St. Boswells, and from four area offices in Hawick, Duns, Galashiels and Peebles. The legislative background The principal statute under which the Council is given the authority to determine planning applications and to enforce against works which do not have consent is established in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Secondary to the 1997 Planning Acts are the Planning Orders: The General Permitted Development (Scotland) Order 1992 essentially defines what does not require planning permission - it comprises a list of developments which, though they can be considered to fall within the scope of planning control, do not require planning permission. The General Development Procedure (Scotland) Order 1992 outlines the procedures that planning departments must follow when processing and determining planning applications. The Use Classes (Scotland) Order 1997 broadly establishes whether planning permission will be required to change the use of a building or area of land to another use. It effectively categorises the main use types - e.g. shops, offices, factories - into sets of Classes. The policy background Once it is established whether or not planning permission is required, and an application is submitted, deciding whether the application should be or approved is largely a matter of whether or not it complies with relevant planning policies. Planning policies are established at three levels: At national level, the Scottish Executive publishes Scottish Planning Policy Guides and Planning Advice Notes The policies established at the national level influence how Scottish Borders Council sets its own policies at the regional level, through the Structure Plan. At the local level, the Council also publishes the Local Plan. There are currently four local plans covering the Berwickshire, Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale and Peebleshire areas. A Borders-wide Local Plan is currently at the draft stage. The Council also produces supplementary guides - covering the development of houses in the countryside, and design guidance for conservatories for example. If the planning application does not comply with the relevant policies, it may be refused unless there are exceptional reasons for granting approval. Application Types The Development Control Services processes and determines a number of application types, all of which come under the umbrella of planning control. These include: householder planning applications (for extending your house for example) non-householder planning applications (for building a house or altering a commercial building for example) listed building consent applications (for altering or demolishing a listed building) advertisement consent applications (for installing or erecting signage) applications for the erection of agricultural buildings (for the erection of farm buildings which do not require planning permission) All of the above applications are available, with guidance notes, to download from our development control pages The service does not however process Building Warrants - these wholly come under the remit of the Council's Building Standards Service. Area Office Contacts If you have any queries about the Development Control Service or about how and when to apply for planning permission, browse our Development Control pages, or follow the link to find out the contact details of your local area planning office. Planning Applications On-Line Planning applications are now available to view on-line, so you find out about planning applications in your local area, or track the progress of your own application.
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