Businesses are cancelling investment projects because of planning bottlenecks, prompting a call for urgent action from the Scottish government.
CBI Scotland said that a third of its members involved in the planning system suffered delays to planning applications and over half had waited a year or more for a decision.
These bottlenecks “are holding back growth and leaving a legacy of postponed or cancelled business investment and projects’, it said in a new report, Planning for Growth.
It is calling for consistent planning decisions, ring-fencing of planning fees, and more staff so the service is properly resourced and fit for purpose.
There is a demand for the “fragmented” system of 32 local authorities, two national park authorities and a distinct marine consenting regime to be slimmed down.
The Scottish Government’s proposed Major Projects Office is described as a positive step – but ministers “must work with business to get its role and remit right”.
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.
“Current proposals to reform planning and speed up infrastructure delivery are welcome, but we need to move further and faster. It’s only by cutting unnecessary bureaucracy that we can really unlock growth-boosting projects like upgrading our energy grid, building new homes and delivering major industrial projects.
“Government and industry have worked hard to make planning reform a priority. Now is the time to build on that momentum to deliver an efficient, consistent and growth-focused planning system that unlocks investment, drives prosperity and helps Scotland compete for investment on the world stage.”
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.”
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