Other Development Planning & Environment responsibilities
In addition to being responsible for the preparation of the development plan, the Development Planning & Environment team also undertakes the preparation of the annual Housing Land Audit (HLA), the Employment Land Audit (ELA), maintains the council's Register of Vacant and Derelict Land and manages the process of protecting trees and which sometimes culminates in the making of Tree Preservation Orders. The DP&E team would also be responsible for the process of designating Masterplan Consent Areas (MCAs) should the Council choose to exercise this option.
The Housing Land Audit is an annual survey of housing land supply to establish the availability of effective housing land at the time of production and into the short, medium and long term future. They also indicate the progress of sites through the planning process, house completions and a programme for development.
Vacant land is defined by the Scottish Government as 'land viewed as an appropriate site for development, having either had previous development on it or preparatory work in anticipation of future development'. Derelict land is that 'damaged by development, so that it is incapable of development for beneficial use without some remedial works'. Both relate to land that is capable of being reused but due to particular issues with the condition of a site, new development has not occurred. They are sometimes referred to as 'brownfield' sites.
Trees and woodlands contribute to local amenity and the quality of the natural and historic environment. Tree preservation orders protect important trees and woodland in West Lothian from felling, and from works which might damage them.
Masterplan consent areas (MCAs) can streamline consenting by giving in advance several types of consent, including planning permission, roads construction consent, listed building consent, and conservation area consent.
West Lothian Council conducts an annual survey of the employment land supply, the Employment Land Audit, to determine completions within the timeframe and update forecasts of the employment land supply. ELAs are an established means for monitoring employment land and its key functions are to identify land that is available for employment use.
