Understanding Supplementary Planning Guidance

In addition to the Development Plan, Aberdeenshire Council also produces Supplementary Planning Guidance to assist applicants with aspects of planning policy. Supplementary guidance can be useful where:

• there is a need for an urgent policy response to an emerging issue; or
• the level of detail is inappropriate for a development plan; for example development briefs, design guides and master plans for areas of intensive change.

Supplementary guidance is used to support statutory development plans, not as an alternative. Statements made in supplementary guidance carry less weight than those in the development plan in determining planning applications and appeals but are likely to be material considerations.

The guidance produced by Aberdeenshire Council can be split into site specific guidance, or development briefs and information to assist understanding of policy and its application.

Seven pieces of Supplementary Planning Guidance of this nature have been approved to support the current development plan

• Assessing the Impact of Retail Developments in Aberdeenshire
• Development on Allocated and Existing Employment Land
• Employment Development in the Countryside
• Wind Energy Developments
• Housing Land Release 2006 - 2010
• Biomass Energy Developments
• Micro-Renewable Energy Developments

Supplementary Planning Guidance Delivering Carbon Neutrality in New Developments

Scottish Planning Policy 6: Renewable Energy sets a target that for all new developments with a total cumulative floor space of 500sq metres or more they should incorporate at least an extra 15% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions beyond the 2007 Building Regulations carbon dioxide emissions standard.

Aberdeenshire Council is producing Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) in order to achieve this target.  A draft of the SPG has been approved for public consultation

• Consultation Details