'Reform' for PGS in Scotland – Salmond
By Jim Dow
THERE will be no alternative in Scotland to the planning gain supplement
(PGS) which was dropped by the Westminster government – a decision which
will be welcomed by the commercial property industry.
This has been confirmed by Alex Salmond, with officials clearly
concerned about the impact on the property development industry of the
credit crunch.
The wording by the First Minister was that the government instead will
go ahead with the reform of existing guidance on developer
contributions, as laid out in Circular 12/96
The Scottish Property Federation (SPF) says this means that the Scottish
government is effectively not pushing ahead with an alternative to the
PGS and will instead focus on improving the existing system of planning
contributions.
Dan Macdonald, the chairman of the federation and chief executive
officer at Macdonald Estates, said: “It is heartening that the Scottish
government is listening to industry
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Salmond: Credit crunch concern
concerns regarding the burdens placed upon developers and how this could
in current market conditions be a serious deterrent to much needed
investment in the Scottish commercial property industry.
“Earlier this year, SPF advised ministers to avoid policy changes that
deter investment and development, so the decision to postpone demanding
additional developer contributions is a welcome boost to the industry at
this time.
“SPF has suggested a number of improvements to Circular 12/96 and will
continue to engage with the government on planning agreement reform."
Macdonald added that the SPF had always said that developers would not
walk away from their obligations but planning agreements must be agreed
up-front and not raised at the 11th hour by authorities. "This change in
culture must be complemented by ensuring planning contributions are
proportionate to the development.”
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£69m stem-cell research go-ahead for BioQuarter
THE City of Edinburgh Council has given the go-ahead for a £69
million development by the University of Edinburgh of a world-leading
centre for regenerative medicine and stem cell research.
The 9,000 sq m centre, to be built at Little France next to the
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, is seen as being of crucial importance to the
city’s economic growth strategy and will be the flagship development of
Edinburgh’s fledgling BioQuarter.
It is a joint project between the University of Edinburgh, SEEL and
the private sector, who say the landmark life sciences development will
establish Edinburgh and Scotland as
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one of the world’s top ten centres for biomedical commercialisation.
The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine heralds the beginning
of the BioQuarter. Planned to be operational within three years, it is a
building of outstanding design quality by award-winning architects
Sheppard Robson. It will span three storeys and be built to BREEAM
Excellent standards; the emphasis on quality is intended to attract the
best academics to the city.
Angus Currie, director of estates and buildings at the University of
Edinburgh, said: “This is fantastic for the University of Edinburgh and
for the city of Edinburgh as a whole. The Scottish Centre for
Regenerative Medicine is a major development that will draw the very
best scientists from across the world to work here in this
fast-developing sector.”
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| Fast track to planning decisions in the south-east
JENNY Dawe, in her latest report as leader of the City of Edinburgh
Council, makes a statement of the obvious when she says that there has
long been a perception across Scotland that the planning system is slow
and bureaucratic.
But, she adds, the 2006 Planning Act is expected to improve the process,
with the six local authorities in South-east Scotland (Edinburgh, East
Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and Fife) coming
together to form Sesplan.
The body is charged with the creation of a modernised development plan
for the region, taking full account of trends in both the housing market
and commuting patterns.
She states: “The importance of this change is very well illustrated by
the fact that,
Dawe: Welcoming Fife and Borders aboard
although about a quarter of the people of south Fife work in Edinburgh,
they have until now been covered by a totally different and separate
development planning regime. The new plan addresses this. The Borders
will have much closer links to Edinburgh following the construction of
the Waverley Line. Again, it makes sense for the new plan to recognise
this.
“Joint working is not new to Edinburgh or its immediate neighbours, and
the addition of our colleagues from Fife and Borders is to be welcomed.
“Together we have been set a target of submitting a new development plan
for South-east Scotland within two years of the legislation taking
effect. In practice, this will probably require us to be ready to submit
at the end of 2010."
Dawe says the development by Tiger Developments at the former railway
goods yard at Haymarket to transform the site into hotels, offices,
shops and leisure facilities represented an important catalyst for this
key gateway to the city centre from the west.
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