How Local Development Plan 2 was created
The process to create the Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2) started about a year following the adoption of the first LDP in September 2014. The main stages in preparing Local Development Plan 2 were as follows:
- Call for Sites and Comments
- Main Issues Report
- Proposed Plan
- Examination
- Adoption
Call for Sites and Comments
The Call for Sites and Comments stage provided an early opportunity for members of the public, landowners, developers and interested parties to submit details of potential development sites they wanted considered for inclusion within LDP2. It was also an opportunity for people to submit comments they had about the existing LDP.
During this stage there were 6 community-based workshops held across the region to hear community views on where they live and what could be done to shape how and where they live would look and operate in the future. PAS (previously known as Planning Aid Scotland) helped to facilitate the workshops. PAS is a planning and educational charity which helps people to engage with the place where they live. The workshops were attended by 116 people. The Place Standard tool, which has been developed by the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and Architecture + Design Scotland, was used to help facilitate discussion.
The comments and information received at this stage were used to develop the first key early milestone in the preparation of LDP2, the Main Issues Report.
Main Issues Report (MIR)
The MIR was the first major document in the preparation of LDP2. It set out the areas of key change that had occurred since the first LDP was adopted and discussed the Council's big ideas for future development. It also included, where possible, one or more reasonable alternative sets of proposals. The document did not set any firm ideas on proposals but asked for views on the suggestions and options before the final plan was put in place. As the adopted LDP was still relatively new, there were a number of policies and site allocations the Council were proposing to carry forward into LDP2. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report on sites and policies recommended in the MIR was also prepared.
All sites in the adopted LDP and the sites submitted through the call for sites were subject to a planning and strategic environmental assessment. The only sites not subject to the assessment were those either in villages, Small Building Groups or in the countryside.
View assessments of the relevant settlement:
A 12-week consultation was held between January and April 2017 on the MIR and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This included 13 drop-in sessions held across the region and provided an opportunity for people to see and discuss what changes the Council were proposing to make to the adopted LDP. Copies of the MIR were provided in Libraries and Planning Offices, adverts were placed in newspapers across the region, articles were included in the newspapers explaining what was happening and neighbours adjacent to proposed development sites were notified of a site being considered for development.
The comments and information received at this stage were used to develop the next key stage in the preparation of LDP2, the Proposed Plan.
Proposed Plan
The Proposed Plan was published for representations from 29 January to 30 April 2018, a total of 519 representations were received. On 3 September 2018 it was agreed by Full Council to submit LDP2 to the Scottish Government Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) for examination. This decision was made after Councillors considered all unresolved representations made to the Proposed Plan along with the Council's response.
The Proposed Plan was also subject to the following assessments:
Examination
The representations to the Proposed Plan were considered by 3 appointed reporters of the Scottish Government Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA). Their recommendations were outlined in the following Examination Report and Recommendations Table.
Examination of the Proposed Plan commenced on 23 October 2018 and ran until 24 April 2019. Further information can be found on the DPEA website:
http://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?ID=119904
Adoption
The modifications to the Proposed Plan as recommended by the Reporter in the Examination Report were presented to Full Council on Thursday June 27th, 2019 and were approved. A copy of the Plan and associated documents were then sent to Scottish Ministers. LDP2 was formally adopted by the Council on October 3rd 2019. Hard copies of the Plan can be viewed in Planning Offices and Libraries.