What the legal position is in respect of planning applications that are dependent on land being purchased from a local authority being cons…

As far as the requirements of planning legislation are concerned, a planning authority must process a planning application in which they have an interest as they would any other. In addition, the Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 1997, as amended, includes requirements on planning authorities to notify certain planning applications in which they have an interest to the Scottish ministers before they grant planning permission.
These notification requirements apply where any planning authority proposes to grant planning permission for development to be located on land wholly or partly in their ownership or in which they have an interest, and the proposed development does not accord with the adopted or approved local plan for the area or has been the subject of a substantial body of objections.
Notification allows the Scottish ministers to consider whether there are any planning issues which would warrant call in of the application for their determination.