The Scottish Government has published the consultation on proposals to change Permitted Development Rights for the construction of Hill Tracks. At the moment most hill tracks are constructed without the need for planning permission as they are deemed to be Permitted Development. This consultation is in response to a campaign to change the Permitted Development Rights (PDR) which resulted in a parliamentary debate in June last year.
The consultation document stops well short of proposing removing PDR for this sort of development totally or from specified designated areas which was recommended in research carried out by Herriot Watt University. The consultation document says, “We are concerned that these proposals could result in unnecessarily restrictive PDR in designated areas. We are also concerned that defining and mapping other sensitive areas and trying to specify controls within them could have significant practical challenges and costs.”
The consultation does include the consideration of removing PDR for private roads above a certain height above sea level (300m is suggested) and asks for comments on these and some general questions about the issue. The full consultation document together with details on how to respond can be seen at the Scottish Parliament website (scroll down to click on Hill Tracks).
Last week Peter Peacock, one of the MSPs who has led the campaign for planning restrictions on hill tracks, urged people to respond to the consultation. He said, “I would like to encourage as many people as possible to make their views known to the government and once again to demonstrate the strength of feeling that exists on this issue. With election season upon us there is also an opportunity to seek the views of candidates and to petition them to support greater regulation of Hill Tracks in Scotland.”