Terra Firma Chambers will again provide sponsorship for The Scottish Planning & Environmental Law (SPEL) conference which this year will be held on Thursday 5th September 2013 at The Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, 172 High Street, Edinburgh.

Widely regarded as the foremost annual planning law event in Scotland, the SPEL Conference offers participants the opportunity to engage in high level discussion and debate. Chaired jointly by James Findlay QC and Maurice O’Carroll of Terra Firma Chambers, the full-day conference, entitled Planning Performance and Improvement, will take an in depth and critical look at key elements of the Scottish planning system, featuring a series of talks by a range of experienced practitioners.

In March 2013, the Scottish Government produced a summary report of the information contained in individual Planning Performance Framework (PPF) reports of local authorities. Whilst the report acknowledges a general move towards a tighter performance culture, it concludes that there are some clear areas where improved performance could be made.  This year's programme reflects a general theme of improved performance by looking at a number of current and topical issues from a variety of perspectives. Amongst the highlights, Maurice O’Carroll will also be part of a panel discussing planning appeals and local review bodies and fellow Terra Firma member Stephen O’Rourke will provide a planning case law round up.

For further details or to register your place at this event, please visit the Idox Group website.