Applications have been divided into different categories to ensure that they are dealt with in a way appropriate to their scale and complexity and to allow decisions to be taken at the most appropriate level. There are three categories allocated in the hierarchy of developments:
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"national" development;
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"major" development; and
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"local" development.
"National" developments are described in the National Planning Framework (NPF2), a document prepared by the Scottish Parliament. There is currently only one "national" category developments within the Falkirk Council area, the Grangemouth Freight Hub, although the Beauly to Denny Powerline is also part of National Grid upgrades and might affect part of our area.
"Major" developments are prescribed in Regulations by Scottish Government. These include:
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Development classed within Schedule 1 in the Environmental Impact Regulations;
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Housing development of 50 or more units, or on sites of more than two hectares;
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Business, industrial or storage and distribution uses where the gross floor area is greater than 10,000m2, or the site more than two hectares;
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Other development, including combinations of the above classes, with gross floor area over 5,000m2, or on a site of two hectares or more;
Extensions to existing "major" developments proposed must in themselves exceed the thresholds for that application to be considered "major". With certain exceptions, applications for "national" and "major" developments must be accompanied by a Design and Access statement|. Applications for major development must be subject to pre-application consultation| with the local community.
There is no scope for local additions to or removals from the "major" development list. Applications for both "national" and "major" developments will be determined by a Committee.
"Local" developments are developments which are neither "national" nor "major".