Regional Spatial Strategy

Emerging regional spatial strategy

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 establishes a duty for a planning authority, or planning authorities acting jointly, to prepare and adopt a Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for their region.

The new duty to produce a RSS will be enacted with the publication of statutory guidance.

Although this part of the Act has still to be enacted, the Scottish Government encouraged planning authorities to develop an indicative Regional Spatial Strategy (iRSS) for their area, these iRSSs developed early thinking on RSS and helped inform the preparation of the NPF4.

The regions that the Scottish Borders belongs to are the South East of Scotland region and the South of Scotland region. An iRSS for each of these regions has now been produced by us, in the case of the former jointly with the same authorities as are included within SESPlan and in the case of the latter, jointly with Dumfries and Galloway Council. Both iRSSs were submitted to the Scottish Government in April 2021 and informed the production of NPF4.

Visit SES Regional Planning webpage

Planning Policy and GIS

Previously known as Forward Planning

Address: Council Headquarters
Newtown St. Boswells
Melrose
TD6 0SA

Telephone: 01835 825010