Planning Guidance - Planning & Biodiversity

Biodiversity must be considered when planning all new developments. Policy 41 of the Local Development Plan 2 sets out these requirements. Further detail on how to implement the policy is contained in Planning for Nature guidance and further resources are set out below. 

 Planning for Nature: Development Management and Wildlife Guide (PDF, 4 MB) sets out how the Council expects nature to be considered and addressed in planning applications. It sets out the law, best practice and minimum mitigation and enhancement for biodiversity in developments. The guide was consulted on in October 2021 and following Committee approval was adopted in April 2022. The guide can be used to help applicants prepare planning submissions, which are required to be consistent with this guide.

The draft document was screened for a requirement to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment through a Screening Determination (PDF, 284 KB) in 2018. 

Comments from the consultation and how they were taken into account in finalising the guidance are set out in the Planning for Nature: Development Management and Wildlife Guide (PDF, 222 KB).

The guide should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

• Interim guidance National Planning Framework 4 - Policy 3 Biodiversity & Development (PDF, 1013 KB) on information requirements to meet National Planning Policy 4 Policy 3 Biodiversity.
• Bat survey requirements for planning proposals of all scales and proposals in our bat survey guidance (PDF, 288 KB).
• Further information on local biodiversity including priority species and habitats and areas for action set out in the Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership have produced the following documents as non-statutory guidance to the Local Development plan. These documents contain very useful information on legal obligations, mitigation and enhancement.

• A Guide to Incorporating Biodiversity into Development (PDF, 2 MB)
• Biodiversity: A Developer's Guide (PDF, 3 MB)
• Householders' Guide to Biodiversity (PDF, 2 MB)

National policy

National Planning Framework 4 sets out the policies that must be taken into account when considering the impact of development on the natural heritage. Scotland has specific obligations to fulfil in terms of European Directives which have now been incorporated into Scottish law. There are also national considerations in terms of species, habitats and landscapes.

Sites of importance for wildlife and biodiversity

Perth & Kinross has many important sites that are protected or designated for wildlife and biodiversity. These range from internationally important protected areas to nationally important Sites of Special Interest and National Nature Reserves. Many of these have planning restrictions associated with them. You can visit NatureScot to get information on the sites, their reason for designation, a map reference and other information.

The Council is currently identifying sites of local value for geodiversity and biodiversity which will be assessed and adopted as local nature conservation sites. More information on this process is available in our Local Nature Conservation Sites Project flyer (PDF, 1 MB).

For further information to please go to our dedicated Local Nature Conservation Sites' page, 

Information Resources

• NatureScot has data and information on many aspects of Scotland's environment - on species, habitats, protected areas, landscapes, wild land, access, recreation, geology and landforms.
• Scotland's Environment Web contains a large amount of accessible environmental information mapped across Scotland.
• Information on species can be found through the NBN Atlas and by contacting local recording groups. Note the Council does not hold a separate record of species. 

Biodiversity Duty Report

We publish reports on the actions we have taken to support biodiversity every 3 years. You can view the previous reports on our Enhancing Biodiversity page. The next report will be published in 2024.

Tay Estuary Management Plan

The Tay Estuary Forum have recently launched a five- year Management Plan: a non-statutory document aimed at promoting the future sustainable management in the Tay Estuary and along the adjacent coastline. You can find out more on the TEF Management Plan website.