Select Page

Contact Us

Why Masterplan Consent Areas?

21 Oct 25

If the Housing Emergency is to be treated as a material consideration, could enabling MCA schemes to unlock unallocated sites and overcome delivery challenges be the type of urgent and ambitious action the Scottish Government’s recently published Housing Emergency Action Plan calls for?

.

More than a year has passed since the Scottish Housing Emergency was declared in May 2024. Recent housing statistics show a 6% drop in completions and a 3% decrease in site starts as of June 2025 compared to the previous year. The Scottish Government published the ‘Planning and the Housing Emergency – Delivery Plan’ in November 2024, outlining a six-month strategy to accelerate development. While the English Government has sought to unlock development through recognising “grey belt”, a key feature of the strategy here in Scotland is the introduction of Masterplan Consent Area (MCA) Guidance in January 2025, designed to “de-risk” and streamline the planning process by offering upfront consents to developers.

MCA schemes are authority led and can automatically grant four types of consent: planning permission, road construction consent, listed building consent, and conservation area consent, through a pre-determined scheme subject to agreed land use and conditions. Within designated MCA schemes, development may proceed without a full planning application, provided it complies with the scheme’s criteria.

The guidance confirms that MCA schemes may be used to consent housing development with the potential to unlock significant areas for delivery. By providing upfront consent, MCA schemes offer a mechanism to accelerate the build out of housing and supporting infrastructure.

MCA schemes are not part of the statutory development plan and are not accounted for within Housing Land Requirements. Instead, they serve as a delivery mechanism that supports the strategic aims of Local Development Plans.

Notably, MCA schemes do not need to be identified within the development plan and may also facilitate development on unallocated sites which emerge outwith the plan cycle. When preparing an MCA scheme, planning authorities must have regard to development plan, and decisions should be made in accordance with policy unless material considerations suggest otherwise.

Following the dismissal of the Mossend Appeal in July 2023 and ongoing discussions around National Planning Framework 4 Policy 16: Quality Homes criterion f, there is increased emphasis on land allocation within development plans, as greenbelt release becomes more stringent. In response, Iceni Scotland have actively engaged in ‘Call for Sites’ exercises to promote land for allocation in the emerging 10-year plan period.

Although no Scottish planning authorities have formally designated land for MCA schemes to date, the potential for their use is being considered as part of emerging Local Development Plans. The relationship between MCA schemes and Housing Land Requirements remains uncertain, however it is prudent for the industry to ask: Why MCA?

If the Housing Emergency is to be treated as a material consideration, could enabling MCA schemes to unlock unallocated sites and overcome delivery challenges be the type of urgent and ambitious action the Scottish Government’s recently published Housing Emergency Action Plan calls for? And, with both Scotland and England in the midst of an ongoing housing crisis, could we use MCA as a mechanism to unlock housing in a similar way to England’s use of grey belt – and vice versa?

To discuss the potential of unlocking development sites through MCA or grey belt, our planning teams on the north and south of the border would be happy to help.

More Insights

Hannah Sally Assistant Planner,Planning

Related insights: