RTPI Scotland Planifesto
Our Planifesto vision is
A Scotland that is prosperous, resilient and equitable, where everyone has access to safe, well-planned places and a healthy natural environment.
What do we need?
- A fully resourced planning system: Scotland's planning system is fully resourced, plan-led, effective, accessible and is empowered to deliver the homes, jobs, infrastructure and sustainable communities that Scotland needs.
- Infrastructure-led development: Scotland takes an infrastructure-led approach which ensures services and infrastructure at all scales —national, regional and local— are in place at the right time for the people that need them, supporting sustainable development outcomes.
- Diverse and inclusive housing: Scotland has diverse and inclusive housing to meet everyone's needs and deliver prosperity and growth.
- To ensure the future of rural and island communities: Scotland's rural and island communities have access to the infrastructure and services they need to thrive and achieve a just transition.
- Thriving and resilient places: Scotland's communities are prosperous, healthy and biodiverse, driven by an equitable approach to community-led placemaking that inspires, emboldens, and empowers.
A fully resourced planning system
Our key ask:
A whole system approach to funding the planning service.
- A long-term budget commitment to fund and support future planners.
- A national digital planning lighthouse who will coordinate a funded programme to:
- support local planning authorities to innovate and adopt digital planning tools; and
- create a National Development Plan Interactive Portal as a one-stop shop for users of the planning system.
- Invest in forward plan-making by ensuring that all local planning authorities have the resources and support they need to deliver their local development plans in a timely manner.
Infrastructure-led development
Our key ask:
Long-term investment in Infrastructure First.
- Create an infrastructure delivery body to coordinate and direct infrastructure investment and growth.
- Reaffirm commitment to regional planning by implementing Regional Spatial Strategies and funding regional planning partnerships to deliver cross-boundary and strategic infrastructure where and when it's needed.
Deliver diverse and inclusive housing
Our key ask:
Long-term commitment to housing delivery in all its forms.
- Recognise housing in all its forms as critical infrastructure.
- Create a new housing delivery body that:
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- thinks beyond volume/market driven house building;
- delivers a variety of housing tenures; and
- picks up work on stalled sites to separate delivery issues from planning.
Ensure the future of rural and island communities
Our key ask:
Deliver the outcomes that Scotland's rural and island communities need to thrive.
- Champion flexible planning approaches by local planning authorities to support innovation in rural areas and to maximise opportunities for allocated and developable land.
- Create a housing delivery body with a clear role to deliver housing of all types at all scales in rural and island communities where they are most needed.
- Enable and empower rural and island communities to create their own Local Place Plans through a dedicated funding programme.
Build thriving and resilient places
Our key ask:
Maximise opportunities for net zero place-making.
- Embed net zero placemaking into every planning policy, project, plan and development proposal utilising existing tools that support this, such as the Place Principle.
- Implement a balanced approach to net zero plan, design and decision making - utilising nature based carbon sequestration solutions as well as emissions reduction measures.
- Enhance support to communities in plan-making and placemaking to ensure an equitable approach is taken.
Contact Us
If you have any further questions about our Planifesto for the 2026 Holyrood elections, please don't hesitate to contact us!