The Scottish Parliament has voted unanimously to bring the “Agent of Change” principle into planning law.

The adoption of Section 14 F and amendment 182 of the Planning (Scotland) Bill means that existing venues will be protected from having to spend cash on sound-proofing when developers build nearby.

The Music Venue Trust described the vote as a “massive breakthrough for Scottish Music Venues.”

The process to protect music venues was recognised in February 2018 when the minister for local government housing and planning asked the chief planner to write to all planning authorities, emphasising the importance of venues.

Speaking before the vote, Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts/King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut said: “It’s vital that Parliament ensures that a reference to live music venues remains in the Bill. This is an opportunity for plain speaking. If Scotland wants to protect live music venues, it can speak plainly and choose to do so by ensuring that the words ‘live music venues’ are in the Planning (Scotland) Bill.”

That wording now states that developers should take “sufficient measures to mitigate, minimise or manage the effect of noise between the development and any existing cultural venues or facilities (including in particular, but not limited to, live music venues)”.