The Planning (Scotland) Bill, currently before the Scottish Parliament, risks harming the system it was designed to help, planning experts from Colliers International have warned, as lobby groups seek to hijack the legislation for populist ends.

The bill was drafted following independent consultation and aims to speed up a planning system that has become so slow and costly that it is seriously hampering development in Scotland. But at its first reading before MSPs in June, it faced calls for a third party right of appeal to be drafted into the system, threatening a further escalation in costs and timescales to this crucial part of the economy.

Anthony Aitken, Colliers International’s UK head of planning, based in Edinburgh, said: “Even before these suggestions, the Planning Bill offered little to really speed up and streamline the system. Now, we have seen further amendments proposed, which would be disastrous to the Scottish economy, for Scottish families in need of modern affordable homes, and to Scotland’s competitiveness as a place to do business in comparison to the separate planning regime south of the Border. The demand for a third party right of appeal would clearly slow things down significantly, and further draw out scarce resources within planning departments.”