What you need to know
Understanding Local Place Plans
The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced changes to the Scottish planning system, including the right for communities to produce their own Local Place Plans. These plans should set out what communities think about the development and use of space in their area. Under the Act, these plans can be registered with the local planning authority (either your council or national park authority) and taken into consideration when the next formal Local Development Plan is created for your area.
The Local Development Plan is produced every 10 years. It sets out the planning policy for your area and what the Council or National Park thinks should be allowed to happen e.g, where houses could be built, where industrial development should be allowed to happen etc. These aren’t necessarily what the Local Authority is planning to do, but what they, as the planning authority think should be done to develop an area (through public, private or third sector investment).
Your Local Place Plan should:
set out the community’s proposals for the development and use of land in their area. Proposals should have specific actions that positively affect local needs. For example, if a local community needs to have more houses, the Local Place Plan needn’t just say “we need more houses”. It’s an opportunity for the community to say what kind of housing they need e.g. flats, terraced housing, what size of housing and who for, as well as where they should be built. It might also include other thoughts that they hope planners will take into consideration such as supporting facilities and services, public transport connections, available play spaces, that there will be active travel routes into town and to the local schools etc.
be community-led. This includes setting out the community that the plan relates to. This may or may not match up with community boundaries that the Local Authority or other public bodies work to, but that’s okay. A plan might cover a community council area, a housing scheme, an island or any other area that makes sense to the local community. Like community-led action plans, it’s the community who are the driving force behind the local place plan.
link aspiration and need for development. Plans should address the needs of the local area to make it a good place to live in. They should look at what the needs are and then set out what they think would help address those needs e.g. safe path development to encourage people to travel by bike, scooter, wheelchair or on foot. It also helps to make sure that proposals are realistic and deliverable. It’s good to include some “big thinking” but that should be based on evidence and need – you need to show why something is both wanted and needed, rather than just wanted. Where possible, we also think that your plan should look to address inequalities and improve the lives of the most vulnerable in the community.
Local Place Plans (LPPs) should say what spaces are important to the local community, like a park or a sports pitch, and might include information on why they are important and how they could be improved. They can suggest changes to the existing Local Development Plan, or support things that are in the existing plan and that they want to see rolling forward to be included in the next plan too.
Legislative requirements of an LPP
Unlike Community-led Action Plans, Local Place Plans have some requirements to meet in order to be registered with the planning authority, which will give them legal status to be taken into account when the next Local Development Plan is prepared. The legislation sets out:
Who can register a local place plan. Like community-led action plans we recommend that LPPs are put together by a partnership of the key community organisations working within a community however, your plan will need to be submitted by an eligible organisation such as a Community Council or community-controlled body with an appropriate written constitution.
What other plans and policies you need to consider when you’re putting your Local Place Plan together.
Who you need to share your plan with before submitting it.
There are a number of places where you can find information on the details of how to create a Local Place Plan, including the ourplace.scot website. Your local planning authority (either your council or national park authority) should also have information on their website – this might include local sources of help and support.
A comparison guide