Councillors from the six member authorities approved a Proposed Strategic Development Plan at a meeting of the Joint Committee on June 20. The plan will be published for public comment later in the year.

SESplan’s role is to prepare and maintain an up to date Strategic Development Plan for the area which takes a long term view on how the area should change. The purpose of the plan is to address strategic and cross boundary issues affecting the six member authorities. These issues include housing, transport, employment, infrastructure and energy.

The Proposed Strategic Development Plan is a key regional planning document which sets out a 20 year framework for growth. It informs the Local Development Plans of the six councils in the south east Scotland region – City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and the southern half of Fife.

Councillor Stuart Bell, convener of the SESplan Joint Committee, said: “The Proposed Strategic Development Plan sets out an ambitious vision to guide growth in the South East Scotland region over the next twenty years.

“The plan is designed to support a strong and growing economy across the region. Its vision is for a city region where homes that people need are built in the right locations, where there are a range of opportunities for enterprise to flourish and where better public transport and provision for walking and cycling make it easier to move around.

“The plan sets out how the vision can be delivered and how we can ensure that the region continues to be the best place to live and work in Scotland.”

Following approval by the SESplan Joint Committee, the decision to approve the Proposed Plan will have to be ratified by each of the six member councils over the summer. It would then be open for public comments from mid-September through October.

Whilst the period for comments on the Proposed Plan has not yet commenced, the plan is available to view on the SESplan website.