Shetland Islands Council · Scottish council
Transport Statements and Assessments in Shetland Islands
What transport evidence a Shetland Islands planning application needs, the parking standards that apply, and the policies an assessment should address.
Which document do you need?
In Scotland, NPF4 Policy 13 requires a transport assessment wherever a development will generate a significant increase in the number of person trips, undertaken in accordance with the relevant guidance.
Transport Statement
A shorter document for smaller schemes where transport issues are limited: access, parking, trips and sustainable travel.
Transport Assessment
A full assessment for larger schemes: trip generation, network impact, junction capacity and mitigation.
Parking standards
The standards Shetland Islands Council applies, taken from the source document below and checked against it row by row.
| Use | Area and size | Car parking | Minimum car parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Housing | 1 bedroom unit | 1½ spaces per 1 bedroom unit | – |
| All Other Housing | 2-3 bedroomed units | 2 spaces per 2-3 bedroomed units | – |
| All Other Housing | dwelling units with 4 or more bedrooms | 3 spaces for dwelling units with 4 or more bedrooms | – |
| Car washes | – | 5 queuing spaces | |
| Clinics, Dentists', Doctors' Vets' surgeries, etc. | – | 4 spaces per consulting room | |
| Conference facilities | – | 1 space per 3 seats | |
| Educational Establishments | – | 1 space per permanent staff member (teaching & ancillary staff) plus space for peripatetic staff and pupils/students (as appropriate) | |
| Hotels | – | 1 space per bedroom and 1 space per 3 staff | |
| Housing development in the Lerwick and Scalloway Conservation Areas | 1 space per dwelling unit | – | |
| Servicing/bodywork | – | 4 spaces per service bay | |
| Spares departments | – | 4 spaces per 100 square metres of gross floor area | |
| Tyre & exhaust centres | – | 2 spaces per service bay | |
| Vehicle display areas | – | 2 spaces per 100 square metres of gross floor area |
Source: Shetland Local Development Plan Supplementary Guidance: Parking StandardsFigures checked against the published document on 6 November 2026Selected tables: the source document has the full standards
Policies your assessment should address
The transport policies of the development plan documents in the summary panel. A neighbourhood plan, or a plan for one part of Shetland Islands, may also apply to your site.
National Planning Framework 4
- Policy 13Sustainable transport
Shetland Local Development Plan 2014
- GP1Sustainable Development
- TRANS1Integrated Transport
- TRANS3Access and Parking Standards
This page summarises adopted policy and links to the source documents. It is not legal advice: always confirm a figure against the adopted document before relying on it.