25th September 2026
Scotland wants more investment, more houses, more renewable energy and better infrastructure. But there is growing concern that one of the systems needed to deliver all of this is struggling to keep up.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Scotland has called for major changes to the planning system, arguing that delays are holding back business investment and important development projects.
Its latest survey of businesses involved in the planning system found that 32% had experienced delays to planning applications being approved during the past three years. More than half of the businesses surveyed said they had waited at least a year for a planning decision.
The CBI says the consequences can go beyond frustration. A business waiting for planning permission may also be waiting to employ people, order equipment, build premises or invest in new technology. A developer may postpone a housing scheme, while an energy company can face delays before infrastructure can be constructed.
This is particularly important because Scotland is simultaneously trying to attract private investment into housing, energy, transport and digital infrastructure.
There is, however, another side to the story.
Scottish Government statistics show that major planning applications without processing agreements took an average of 37.4 weeks to decide in 2024/25. That was actually an improvement on the 41.3 weeks recorded in 2020/21. In the first two quarters of 2025/26, average decision times were 29.2 weeks and 31.9 weeks respectively.
Planning decisions are also not necessarily slow simply because councils are inefficient. Major developments can be complicated, involving environmental assessments, roads, drainage, infrastructure, communities and a range of statutory consultees. The Scottish Government notes that a small number of particularly large applications can have a substantial effect on average decision times.
The CBI's argument is therefore less about removing planning controls and more about making the system work more efficiently.
It is calling for better-resourced planning departments, more planners, clearer timescales and simpler processes. It also wants planning fees to be reinvested in the planning service and greater coordination between the different organisations involved in major developments.
There is some evidence that the Scottish Government recognises the problem. Its Programme for Government says a new Major Projects Office will operate during 2026-27 to accelerate nationally and strategically significant projects and help unlock private investment, particularly in areas such as housing and energy. It also plans further consultation on simplifying planning and consenting systems.
For the Highlands, this is more than an Edinburgh policy debate.
Large energy projects, electricity infrastructure, housing developments, tourism facilities, industrial developments and other investment all have to navigate planning processes. In a rural area, the consequences of delay can potentially be greater because there may be fewer alternative investment projects competing for the same land, workforce and infrastructure.
Highland Council is also among the Scottish planning authorities still preparing its new-style Local Development Plan, with the Scottish Government's January 2026 update showing Highland as not then on track to adopt the new plan by the May 2028 target.
There is an important question here for Scotland's economic ambitions.
A planning system has to do more than say yes or no to development. It has to balance the interests of communities and the environment with the need for homes, jobs and infrastructure.
But if Scotland wants businesses to invest billions of pounds, it also needs investors to have some idea of how long decisions will take.
Nobody would suggest that major developments should simply be waved through. The question is whether a decision that takes months or even years can be made more predictable without weakening the scrutiny that planning is supposed to provide.
That may be the real test of the latest planning reforms.
Scotland does not necessarily need fewer planning rules. It may need a planning system that is better equipped to apply them.