Evaluation of the Regional Land Use Framework Pilots - Research Findings

Summary and Conclusions

The two land use pilots were established to test the practicality of preparing regional land use frameworks, to inform the review of the Scottish Government's Land Use Strategy. The pilots had flexibility to develop their own approach, but were expected to comply with a set of criteria provided in a project brief provided by the Scottish Government.

The project teams and stakeholders regarded the pilot's objectives and requirements as challenging, due to timescales, complexity of land use, potential for tension between those with different interests and the sensitivity of the agenda. These issues played a significant role in dictating the pilots' approaches to the different aspects of delivery (e.g. project governance, stakeholder engagement, development of GIS tool and supporting documents).

Generally speaking, the stakeholders involved in the evaluation held positive views on the pilots. They felt that they had taken an effective and reasonable approach to the development and management of a challenging project. There was evidence from both pilots of benefits that had been generated through the development process and some evidence of future potential benefits. These included improved stakeholder relationships and practical applications of the materials that had been produced.

Overall, stakeholders were optimistic yet cautious about the pilots' potential to have a positive impact on local land use decision making. They felt that more work was required to develop the pilot outputs and noted the need to accommodate a multi-scale approach to guide land use decision making.

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☒ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact landusestrategy@gov.scot for further information.