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Scottish Planning Consultants Forum

The Scottish Planning Consultants Forum (SPCF) is a voluntary group of town planners representing the private sector planning profession within the consultancy sector with a growing membership of town planners from both independent and multinational consultancies working across Scotland.

The purpose of the Forum is to bring together the expertise and knowledge of its membership to help shape the future of the Scottish Planning System by actively engaging with its planning partners and other stakeholders.

As one of the founding members of the Partners in Planning initiative led by the Scottish Government's Improvement Service, our participation recognised that greater collaboration is required to inform the skills, knowledge and behaviours of those working in Scotland's planning system to shape our thinking on how we each contribute to creating places that deliver wellbeing, sustainable homes and inclusive growth.

What we do

The key aims of the Forum are:-

• To support the improvement of the planning system and its delivery to ensure it has the ability to offer an effective and efficient system to all users;
• To collaborate with a range of partners and stakeholders in order to seek to have a positive influence on the on-going vision and direction of the Scottish Planning System. This includes the Scottish Government, RTPI Scotland and other planning representative bodies such as Heads of Planning Scotland;
• To provide constructive feedback and comment on planning issues and consultations on approaches to planning policy and practice in Scotland based on the extensive day to day practice, knowledge, skills and expertise of its members;
• To highlight good and poor practice within the planning system, in both the public and private sector, for the overall improvement of the system generally;
• To provide a support mechanism to ensure that its members can share practice and seek advice on a range of planning issues affecting them on a daily basis in their development as professional planners.

The SPCF meets approximately three times a year, or as required, at dates to be agreed.

For more information about SPCF contact either Stuart Salter [email protected] or John MacCallum [email protected]