With COP26 taking place in Glasgow later this year, and the latest Scottish National Planning Framework (NPF4) set to focus even more on the environment than in years gone by, many eyes are cast on the environmental impact of planning decisions.

While this focus on greener, more carbon-neutral development isn’t anything new, additional scrutiny and regulation means planners will need to begin to make more extensive considerations on the environmental impacts of planning applications, given the UK’s wider statutory Net Zero targets. The coal mine being planned for Whitehaven is one key example of where English planning authorities are being asked to make these considerations.