Major Planning Applications

The following categories of "major" development are encouraged to adopt Aberdeenshire Councils Major Applications process:

• All Schedule 1 development;
• Housing development of 50 or more units, or the site is 2ha or more;
• Business and Industry (Use Classes 4-6) - the gross floor space of the development is 10,000 sq metres or more, or the site is 2ha or more;
• Electricity Generation– the generating station (including renewables) has a capacity of 20mw or more;
• Waste Management - the facility has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes or more per annum, or in the case of sludge treatment a capacity of more than 50 tonnes (wet weight) per day of residual sludge;
• Transport and Infrastructure – the length of new or replacement roads, railways, tramways, waterways, aqueducts or pipelines (including some cycle/walk ways) exceeds 8km;
• Fish Farming - the surface area of water covered is 2ha or more;
• Minerals - the area of extraction is 2ha or more;
• Other Development (not falling within any class above) - the gross floor space of the development is 5,000 sq metres or more, or the site is 2ha or more.

Guidance Note (pdf 356kb) provides guidance on dealing with major development from pre-application stage to formal submission and determination.

Pre-Application Meeting Request Form (pdf 117 KB) to be completed and submitted to the Planning Service for the purposes of undertaking pre-application discussions for major development.

Pre-Application Meeting Dates (pdf 58.8 KB) pre-set meeting dates and venues for pre-application meetings. A meeting date and time will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Developer Contribution Guidance (pdf 146 KB) provides guidance on Aberdeenshire Council's developer contribution procedure.

Consultees (pdf 104 KB) gives details of internal and external consultees for planning applications.

Please note that all major applications must be submitted using the existing "All Development" or "Mineral Workings" application forms.