Development Plan Approval (DPA) is one of the key products we provide to the Scottish land and property sector. It provides certainty to property developers, legal professionals, and their customers and clients that ownership and rights for new developments can be registered quickly.

Here we get to know one of the people behind the DPA process, as we speak to Stuart Pardue, who plays a major role in the plans side of the service.

Q. How long have you been with RoS and what is your role within the DPA team?
A. I have been with RoS for 17 years. My role within the DPA team is head of the plans technical team.

Q. That sounds interesting – can you tell us what that entails and what are you responsible for?
A. The role really breaks down in to two parts. The first part entails engaging with customers on all matters to do with the digital data that forms a fundamental part of the DPA process. The second part is assisting the rest of the plans technical team with digital data/mapping related referrals and queries.

Q. Everyone always asks about a typical day. What does yours entail?
A. A typical day for me consists of assisting the rest of my team with any current issues that may be present. I also deal with any correspondence regarding DPA that has been sent to us from an existing customer or someone looking to do DPA for the first time.
When time permits I also work on some of the DPA requests that we as a team receive.

Q. What is the best part of your job?
A. There’s actually two parts to my job which I enjoy. Interacting with new customers to showcase the benefits of the DPA service and working with the digital data we receive as part of a DPA request.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?
A. The most challenging part of my role but in a positive and rewarding way is working with new customers to showcase the DPA service. Some people don’t like change so convincing them to use DPA can be an initial challenge, but seeing them go on to use it on a regular basis is the rewarding factor – the service really speaks for itself.

Q. Why should people reading this use DPA?
A. DPA will give confidence to the developer that what they intend to build is within their legal title. This confidence can then be passed on to their prospective customers who will equally benefit from it.

Thank you Stuart, we will let you get back to it!

You can find out more about DPA, including how to get started, by visiting our website or by emailing dpa@ros.gov.uk.

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