Planning delays are causing Scottish businesses to postpone or cancel investment, CBI Scotland has warned. The business group is calling for more planning staff, protected funding and faster decisions to support housing, energy and infrastructure projects.
A snapshot survey of CBI Scotland members involved in the planning system found that 32% had experienced delays to application approvals in the past three years. More than half of the firms polled said they had waited at least a year for a planning decision.
The findings accompany the CBI’s Planning for Growth report, which sets out proposals to increase capacity, simplify applications and improve accountability. The group says planning fees should be ring-fenced so that income from applications is reinvested in the service.
Michelle Ferguson, CBI Scotland director, said: “The Scottish Government’s ambitions for economic growth are being held back by a planning system that is too slow, too cumbersome and too under-resourced to meet Scotland’s needs. Businesses want to invest, build and create jobs, but too often they find themselves stuck in a planning logjam that undermines confidence and delays growth.”
The CBI wants a recruitment campaign to encourage college and university leavers into planning. It also proposes that requests for information should come at the start of the application process, with applicants given a single point of contact rather than having to deal with multiple organisations in parallel.
The report describes a fragmented system involving 32 local authorities, two national park authorities and a separate marine consenting regime. It calls for shared planning services and lead-authority arrangements for complex applications, alongside annual public reporting on decision times, approval rates, backlogs and delivery outcomes.
The CBI says offshore wind, electricity grid and ports projects need a consenting system that can match the pace of Scotland’s clean-energy ambitions. It also wants housing treated as economic infrastructure, with a target of at least 25,000 homes a year and more land available for construction.
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The group welcomed the Scottish Government’s proposed Major Projects Office as a positive step. It said ministers should work with business to establish its role and remit.
Gavin Newlands, chair of the CBI Scotland Infrastructure Working Group and executive director of corporate affairs at AGS Airports, said: “Whether it is transport, clean energy, housing or digital infrastructure, Scotland’s future prosperity depends on our ability to deliver major projects at pace. A properly resourced planning system that is transparent, consistent and agile is essential to unlocking investment, accelerating delivery and supporting economic growth.”
