Development plans and policies

Approved Supplementary Guidance

Overview

The Midlothian Local Development Plan includes the commitment to produce Supplementary Guidance on a range of topic areas, which provide additional detail to policies in the plan. Following public consultation on drafts of the Supplementary Guidance, the feedback is reported to the Planning Committee with an amended draft and approval sought. Once approval is obtained, the Supplementary Guidance is adopted.

Green Network Supplementary Guidance

This supplementary guidance sets out where the Green Network can be improved and extended, particularly in areas where significant new development is planned. 

The Green Network includes parks, woodland, hedges, verges, footpaths, cycleways, rivers, ponds and lakes. It provides space for people and wildlife, improving the quality of the environment in and around our towns and villages.

Green Network Supplementary Guidance

Special Landscape Area Supplementary Guidance

This supplementary guidance provides details of the seven Special Landscape Areas (SLAs) identified in Midlothian through the adoption of the Midlothian Local Development Plan (2017). These areas are:

• Pentland Hills
• North Esk Valley
• South Esk Valley and Carrington farmland
• Gladhouse Reservoir and Moorfoot Scarp
• Tyne Water Valley
• Fala Moor
• Fala rolling farmland and policies

For each of the SLAs the supplementary guidance provides a Statement of Importance. The purpose of these is to:

• identify the location of the SLA;
• provide an overview of why the area is designated as a special landscape area;
• provide a description of the landscape qualities of the designated area;
• provide a justification of the chosen boundaries;
• set out factors to be considered in the preparation and assessment of development proposals; and
• help inform the application of the Midlothian Local Development Plan's policy framework in the assessment of development proposals.

The supplementary guidance provides background information on the Midlothian Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) which were replaced by the Special Landscape Areas. The supplementary guidance also provides a copy of the review of the Midlothian Areas of Great Landscape Value undertaken in 2012. This helped inform the identification of the Special Landscape Areas in the production of the Midlothian Local Development Plan.

Special Landscape Areas Supplementary Guidance

Resource Extraction Supplementary Guidance

The MLDP set out the framework for assessing minerals applications, providing additional detail for policy MIN2: Surface Mineral Extraction.

Resource Extraction Supplementary Guidance

Food & Drink and Other Non-Retail Uses in Town Centres Supplementary Guidance

This supplementary guidance aims to ensure that food and drink and other non-retail uses do not compromise the amenity, environment and functioning of Midlothian's town centres. In addition, it provides guidance in respect to food and drink uses and hot food takeaways outwith town centres.

Food & Drink and Other Non-Retail Uses in Town Centres Supplementary Guidance

Housing Development in the Countryside and Green Belt Supplementary Guidance

The Midlothian Local Development Plan sets out those developments which are permissible in the countryside and the Green Belt. These policies state that housing will only be permitted where it is required for the furtherance of an established countryside activity. This is a longstanding policy position that has been included in previous Local Plans with the aim of preventing overdevelopment in rural areas.

The MLDP makes provision for exceptions to this general position for situations such as developing in the vicinity of existing housing groups and the conversion of redundant steadings. This  supplementary guidance outlines some of the detailed matters that will be considered in determining such proposals. The aim of the Council's planning policies is to provide a balance between development and protecting the essential characteristics of the countryside.

Housing Development in the Countryside and Green Belt Supplementary Guidance

Low Density Rural Housing Supplementary Guidance

Low Density Rural Housing was an initiative introduced to Midlothian by the 2008 Midlothian Local Plan. This applies to the Leadburn and Wellington areas in the vicinity of the A701 and close to the Scottish Borders. The Midlothian Local Development Plan (MLDP), which was adopted in 2017, continues this initiative through Policy RD2.

The aim of Policy RD2 is to ensure that there are benefits to the area through environmental improvements, while allowing some housing provision where it would not otherwise be permissible. The Council considers that this policy, in addition to other provisions in the plan, will:

• assist in promoting rural diversification
• promote a pattern of rural development appropriate to the area
• encourage rural development while protecting and enhancing the environment.

This Supplementary Guidance specifies which sites are preferred for development under Policy RD2, and sets out landscape, biodiversity and access requirements that apply when assessing planning applications on these sites.

Low Density Rural Housing Supplementary Guidance