Plans for a 650-home development on 'green belt' farmland to the south east of Edinburgh have been allowed on appeal after the senior reporter at the Scottish Government Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals, Michael Cunliffe, found the presumption in favour of certain developments in the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) outweighed the local authority's objections.

The latest version of the SPP, which was published in June 2014, introduced a presumption in favour of sustainable development as a 'significant material consideration' where local development plans were out of date or silent on a particular planning issue.

Planning law expert Fiona Gordon at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the decision was significant and highlighted the potential for the new presumption to "result in large-scale greenfield releases when coupled with a shortfall in the effective five-year housing supply".

Gordon added: "As an example of the 'teeth' behind the presumption, this decision is likely to have many local authorities looking anxiously over any perceived shortfalls in their supply whilst giving developers an indication of the potential value in seeking to exploit these."