SE LINK Hilltracks group letter to Planning Minister & Chief Planner

In February 2023 the Scottish Environment LINK's Hilltracks group wrote to the Scottish Government's Planning Minister and Chief Planner asking the Government to include hilltracks within Phase 3 of their review of Permitted Development Rights.

Under the current system hilltracks are considered a Permitted Development Right, which means landowners creating hilltracks do not need to complete a full planning application. As a result the construction methods, design and environmental impacts of hilltracks are not scrutinised in the same way as they would be through a full application process.

The John Muir Trust and members of the SE LINK Hilltracks group would like to see hilltracks subject to a full planning application process as this should reduce the number of poorly constructed hilltracks that damage sensitive habitats in the landscape.

In 2019 the Government committed to including hilltracks in a future review of Permitted Development Rights. However, the timetable for that work programme was subsequently altered during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Following a Parliamentary Question in May 2022 we understood that the review of hilltracks as a permitted development would take place in Phase 3 of the Review of Permitted Development Rights work programme. However, that work programme, now published, does not mention hilltracks. 

This letter asks the Scottish Government to include hilltracks in its Phase 3 Review of Permitted Development Rights. 

You can find the letter available below.