John McNairney has been appointed as the new chief planner for Scotland, it has been announced.

The current assistant chief planner will switch to the top job from July 2.

As the country's most senior planning officer, he will lead the Scottish Government’s planning department as well as providing guidance and delegated authority to local authorities' planning officers.

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Mr McNairney's predecessor Jim MacKinnon is retiring after more than a decade in the post.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish government confirmed that the appointment followed an open recruitment competition.

(NE)