Local place plans - proposals for regulations: consultation

Scottish Government Proposals

Preparation of Local Place Plans

27. The Act sets out matters which the community body must do in preparing an LPP. Some of these matters are to be set out in regulations. The full requirements are:

(a) have regard to—

(i) the local development plan for the land, or any part of the land, to which the local place plan relates,

(ii) the National Planning Framework,

(iii) such other matters (if any) as are prescribed

(b) set out reasons for considering that the local development plan should be amended, and

(c) comply with any prescribed requirements as to —

(i) the form and content of the plan, and

(ii) steps which must be taken before preparing the plan.

28. In relation to regulations, this section will therefore consider the following elements:

- Other prescribed matters;

- Form and Content of the Local Place Plan;

- Steps to be taken before preparing the Local Place Plan.

Other prescribed matters

29. The provision introduced by the 2019 Act^[32] require the community body to have regard to the National Planning Framework and the Local Development Plan when preparing an LPP. However, it also provides for Ministers to set out any other matters they consider community bodies should additionally be required to have regard to.

Locality Plan where one is in place

30. The need to have regard to links between the LPP and relevant planning policies at both a local and a national level are set out in the Act. There is also a clear policy steer to make a tangible link between spatial and community planning at a local level. In future, for example, LDPs will be required to take into account any Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) for its district.

31. The Policy Memorandum^[33] accompanying the Planning Bill noted that there is a significant opportunity to link LPPs with wider Locality Plans that have emerged in some areas as a result of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. It goes on to note that as with the wider provision on aligning the LDP with LOIPs, this could create efficiencies, reduce duplication and prioritise resources to areas where there could be particularly significant benefits for communities and inclusive growth.

32. Locality Plans are prepared by Community Planning Partnerships under section 10 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Section 10(3) sets out that a Locality Plan is a plan setting out for the purposes of the locality to which the plan relates:

(a) local outcomes to which priority is to be given by the community planning partnership with a view to improving the achievement of the outcomes in the locality,

(b) a description of the proposed improvement in the achievement of the outcomes, and

(c) the period within which the proposed improvement is to be achieved.

33. Community planning partners and community bodies should benefit from building an ongoing relationship. Such relationship building can provide an invaluable platform for parties to capture an evidence base for developing LPPs and a range of other spatial and community plans.

34. Where Locality Plans are in place, examples in Aberdeen City^[34], Angus^[35] and East Ayrshire^[36] show that they cover such issues as new and affordable housing, employment opportunities, active travel, social isolation and the provision of community facilities. Given the scope for read-across, it may cause confusion should LPPs have different priorities to Locality Plans without at least a consideration of their content.

35. Should the area of the Local Place Plan not be covered by a Locality Plan, regulations will also need to reflect this.

1. Do you agree with the proposal that community bodies should have regard to any Locality Plan that is in place for the area under consideration when preparing their Local Place Plan?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

Other additional matters

36. We have considered if there are further matters which the community body should have regard to. For example, the Renfrewshire Council 'How to' Guide^[37] suggests there may be scope to consider the plans and strategies of community planning partners. It has also been suggested that community bodies should have regard to the LOIP for the area. It could be suggested that thisrecognises that not all areas may have Locality Plans and that sometimes plans may be out-of-date. It has also been suggested that this would also encourage wider alignment and buy-in to the process. It has also been suggested that the community body should have regard to community action plans prepared by development or community trusts.

37. Local Outcomes Improvement Plans are prepared by the 32 Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs), one for each local authority area. Each CPP focuses on where partners' collective efforts and resources can add the most value to their local communities, with particular emphasis on reducing inequality. An example of a LOIP can be found here^[38]. A key element of the preparation of a LOIP is engagement with the community.

38. With the community body having to have regard to both the NPF and LDP in preparing the LPP, a wide range of public sector national and local plans, strategies and projects should have already been considered / reflected in the LPP. In addition, the Act will require the planning authority to take into account the LOIP when preparing its LDP.

39. Whilst there is no requirement for LPPs to be comprehensive, we expect them to focus on the community's development priorities. We are therefore not proposing to include other public sector plans, programmes or strategies other than the Locality Plan, where one is in place. However, we would be interested in consultees' views on the value of extending this to the LOIP where a Locality Plan is not in place.

40. Community trusts or development trusts can be found across the whole of Scotland covering urban, rural and island communities. Development Trust Association Scotland, an independent, member-led organisation, has in the region of 300 members^[39]. The Galson Estate Trust's plan for its area of North Lewis^[40] is an example of the kind of plans that community / development trusts prepare. The Community Ownership Support Service highlights a number of examples of community action plans in Aberdeenshire^[41].

41. In developing the 2019 Act, the definition of a community body was designed to ensure bodies such as community / development trusts could be included alongside community councils, reflecting the potential for different perspectives about development and place existing within communities, and the importance of being inclusive. We intend that communities take a lead from the phrase 'collaboration rather than conflict' to bring their shared expertise, drive and resources together to develop the LPP.

42. As noted in Measuring development trust impact^[42] there is no regulatory framework for development trust activity. However, where such plans have been prepared they show a commitment to setting out a roadmap for a community's development, helping people to participate in setting out their aspirations in a realistic and concrete way. We would expect that, rather than formally requiring any such plans to be linked to LPPs, they would naturally be a useful point of reference or starting point for communities who are considering whether they should prepare an LPP.

43. We see the value of community bodies using the community led plans that have been prepared in their area as they are likely to give an initial steer as to the community's aspirations. However, we plan to place this in guidance rather than make it a legal requirement.

2. Do you consider that community bodies should have to have regard to other additional matters beyond the Locality Plan when preparing their Local Place Plan?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer, giving examples (particularly if you agree)

Form and Content of the Local Place Plan

44. The Act requires the community body to comply with any prescribed requirements as to the form and content of an LPP.

45. From examples we have seen, community led plans tend to be in writing but are supplemented through the use of diagrams, maps, photographs and illustrations. They illustrate the community journey, setting out the outcomes and visions that the community wishes to express, and how the community got there. Many of them also consider how the aspirations can be delivered, by whom and over what timescale.

46. In relation to the form and content of a Local Place Plan, we do not want to be overly prescriptive on community bodies. We consider that the focus should be on a clearly expressed statement combined with a spatial representation of the community's proposals for the area contained in a map which shows the community's boundary of its LPP. We are envisaging, as noted above, an LPP which is clear and visual, using graphics, photographs, and maps.

47. We therefore consider that the LPP should contain two elements:

- a statement setting out the community's proposals for the future development or use of land within the area covered by the Local Place Plan; and

- a map of the area covered by the Local Place Plan, which must be annotated to provide the boundary.

48. We consider this will be the minimum required to allow for the community body to express to the wider community and the planning authority what is being proposed. However, we also see the value of other information being submitted to support the LPP, including information to assist its registration by the planning authority. This information could set out the journey to the final LPP and how the proposals in the LPP could be delivered. We consider this may be best submitted as 'additional information' (see below under Submission of Local Place Plans).

49. We are keen to hear your views on whether we have struck the right balance of information which will form the content of an LPP. You may want to consider this answer in light of any thoughts you might have on Question 2.

3. Do you agree with the proposal that an LPP should contain a statement setting out the community's proposals plus a map of the area, setting out the LPP boundary?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

Steps to be taken before preparing the Local Place Plan

50. The Act requires the community body to comply with any prescribed requirements as to steps which must be taken before preparing the plan. The Delegated Powers Memorandum^[43] which accompanied the Planning Bill noted that such steps may include requiring consultation before a plan is made.

51. From examples of community led plans, it is apparent that community bodies have taken engagement with their communities seriously and have taken positive steps to engage with their communities to ensure that they have evidence of their community's aspirations and views. This has already been happening without a requirement in law. It may therefore be reasonable to consider whether or not, in terms of maintaining light touch legislation, there is a need for a legal requirement to engage, and if so, in what way?

52. Enhancing community engagement in the planning system has been a key component of the planning reform programme from the outset.

53. A wide range of guidance and tools are available, or are emerging, which support community focused engagement. The National Standards for Community Engagement^[44] are good-practice principles designed to support and inform the process of community engagement and improve what happens as a result. In addition, PAS has produced SP=EED^[45] which is referenced in the Scottish Government's Planning Advice Note 3/2010: Community Engagement. The Scottish Government has also contracted the Scottish Community Development Centre / Nick Wright Planning to prepare a 'How to' Guide based on current practice in developing community led plans. A draft version is currently being developed, and will be updated in light of the legislation this paper is consulting on.

54. The Place Standard tool^[46] provides a simple framework for local people to assess the quality of a place and to help structure conversations about future improvement. It allows people to think about the physical elements of a place (for example its buildings, spaces, and transport links) as well as the social aspects (for example whether people feel they have a say in decision making). Architecture & Design Scotland has produced a series of case studies which show use of the Place Standard at a range of geographical levels and show engagement with a range of societal groups^[47]. New versions of the Place Standard tool are in development. A 'Design' version will support the integration of Place Standard assessments within a design process and new versions of the tool for children and young people are also in development and will be published in summer 2021. The Young Placechangers Toolkit^[48], developed by greenspace scotland and Youth Scotland, aims to inspire young people to take the lead in their local community, to voice their opinions and help make positive change happen. The toolkit gives examples of place activities and sets out ways to work with children and young people to evaluate places, map the community and influence local decision making.

55. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown there is a need for flexibility in the way that engagement is undertaken. Restrictions on public meetings and social distancing rules put in place as a result of the pandemic make some traditional ways of consulting impractical. We have published some case studies highlighting engagement through online technology and systems on our Transforming Planning website.^[49]

56. For communities developing their LPPs, we want to ensure that more people are able to contribute to the conversation about place, and to channel their views meaningfully to planning authorities. To support this, the Scottish Government has sponsored the development of the PlaceBuilder product. PlaceBuilder is a flexible digital tool focused at early-stage citizen participation and data-driven actionable solutions, helping communities engage on issues relating to Local Place Plans. It also facilitates data and information from community-level engagement to channel to planning authorities as part of the LDP process.

57. Consultation would ideally include those who are impacted / affected by the proposals, we are therefore considering how public authorities, developers, businesses, and landowners can be actively and collaboratively engaged. We are already aware of examples such as in Alloa where the local Business Improvement District body played an active part in a Place Standard analysis of the town centre^[50].

58. Drawing on experience so far and with the range of different tools and options available, there is therefore an argument that introducing a prescriptive legal requirement to engage isn't currently necessary. If not, good practice and options could be explained in guidance, including the 'How to' Guide.

59. Provisions within the Act provide for a review of LPPs and for Ministers to prepare a report on the review and lay it in Parliament. The provisions also require Ministers to undertake the review as soon as practicable 7 years after Royal Assent, namely July 2026. This review would provide another opportunity to consider whether a statutory provision was necessary based on practical experience.

60. However, there is also an argument that it is counter-intuitive not to place a basic requirement on the community body to undertake some form of engagement. The very nature of requiring engagement in the early stages of preparing an LPP will provide a clear steer to community bodies of the importance of ensuring that the LPP is based on a robust evidence base of the wider community's aspirations, including those who are not generally heard or whose voices can be ignored.

61. Evidence shows that people are keen to be involved in decisions about their local places. Inserting a requirement to engage provides an opportunity to capture that aspiration. Additionally, not providing a statutory link could provoke concerns that the community body may not be acting in a transparent or representative manner.

62. We therefore want to seek your views on whether we should set out statutory requirements on community bodies to engage with their local communities in preparing the LPP, or if engagement options could be better explained in guidance instead. Should a legal requirement be put in place, we are also keen to hear your thoughts as to what the minimum requirements should be.

4. Do you think a requirement for the community body to engage and seek the views of people to assist in the preparation of an LPP should be set out in law?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer

63. As noted above there are a wide range of guidance and tools available, or are emerging, which support community focused engagement in planning. We see the value in the community body itself using the tools which fit best for the circumstances of its place, and community. However, following the 2019 Planning Act new duties are to be placed on planning authorities to engage with the public at large and particular societal groups such as children and young people, disabled people, Gypsies and Travellers but also including community councils. A key element of these provisions is for the planning authority to set out how it has taken onboard people's views.

64. These new duties do not extend to suggesting a particular method for engagement though work will begin on the development of effective community engagement guidance for LDPs in due course. We would be interested in your thoughts as to any minimum requirement on engagement or reporting.

5. If a requirement to seek the views of people is put into law, what should any minimum requirement be?

Submission of Local Place Plans

65. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 19 requires that the community body must comply with some actions in submitting a final version of its LPP to the planning authority. The precise requirements would need to be set out in regulations, as to:

(a) steps which must be taken before submitting a local place plan;

(b) how the views of councillors for the area to which the local place plan relates are to be taken into account in the preparation of the local place plan, and

(c) information which must be submitted alongside a local place plan.

66. A potential range of actions that the community body might need to take was described in the Planning Bill Delegated Powers Memorandum.^[51] It noted that steps to be taken may include further consultation on, or publicity about, the LPP after it has been drafted. Additional information may include supporting information on the form of the community body's consultation activity in preparing the plan and how it has considered responses, including those on environmental matters too. Additionally, it may also include a statement as to how the community body has taken into account the statutory requirements in preparing the plan.

Steps which must be taken before submitting a completed Local Place Plan

67. This step in the development of the LPP is an opportunity for the community body to publicise to the wider community what proposals it has developed to form the LPP based on the evidence gathered. This could also include an element of consultation and sense-checking by the community. A clear endorsement from across the community and different interests should add weight to the proposals when they are being taken into account by the planning authority.

68. In line with our thoughts on prescribing engagement activity, we are minded to keep this requirement light-touch. We currently consider that community bodies are well placed to decide how an LPP is to be prepared. However as this is a key stage in the LPPs development, we are considering whether some form of consultation on the proposals that have been worked up into the LPP should be included at this stage, and therefore are considering the form of any such requirement.

69. We already plan to provide guidance, with a 'How to' Guide linking best practice examples of developing community led plans. However, we are keen to hear your thoughts on this suggestion.

6. Do you agree with the proposal that there should be a minimum statutory requirement on the community body to consult the community once a draft LPP has been prepared and before submitting an LPP?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

70. It should be remembered that at this point in the process, the community body will have prepared its proposals. It should be able to provide evidence of the wider community's views and aspirations plus how it has considered representations and evidence, including how it has had regard to the NPF, LDP and any other prescribed matters.

71. It may be difficult to set out in legislation exactly how any consultation should be undertaken on the ground in a way that can account for the circumstances and contexts of different communities. We would want to retain flexibility for community bodies. However, we are keen to hear your thoughts on what might be a minimum requirement.

72. Responses to this question will help us frame any legal requirement plus associated guidance on consultation.

7. If a requirement to consult across the community on the content of a draft LPP is to be put into law, what should any minimum requirement be?

Taking the views of councillors into account

73. A community body must comply with any prescribed requirements as to 'how the views of councillors for the area to which the local place plan relates are to be taken into account in the preparation of the local place plan'.

74. Each council is made up of councillors who are directly elected by the residents of the area they represent. There are 1,227 elected councillors in Scotland, who are normally elected every five years. Councillors have an important role in the planning system, their roles can include:

a key role in establishing planning policies for their area / agreeing the local development plan;

becoming involved in local cases as a ward representative;

decision making as a member of the planning committee; and

acting as a member of the Local Review Body.

75. Local councillors might be able to draw on their experiences of representing people in the area, or act as important intermediaries for community bodies as they seek to prepare or garner support for their local place plans. They may also be residents within a community.

76. Whilst we are not currently proposing a wider requirement to consult in advance of preparing the LPP, we can see the value in a community body specifically seeking the views of the ward councillors for the area of the LPP. It would be for the parties to build on that relationship as the LPP is being developed. We would however be interested in your views as to how the community body should take such views into account when developing or preparing the LPP – for example how they can subsequently be set out?

77. A consultation on a possible revision of the Councillors' Code of Conduct^[52] was completed in February 2021. In drawing up any provisions, we will be mindful of the outcomes of this consultation.

8. Do you agree with the proposal that the community body should seek the views of ward councillors when preparing the LPP?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer - particularly if you do not agree or have a view as to how ward councillors' views should be taken into account or reported?

Information to submit alongside a local place plan

78. With regard to additional information that should be submitted alongside an LPP, a minimum requirement could be that the Community Body provides evidence that it has complied with the statutory requirements for preparing the plan. This would assist the planning authority in registering the LPP as being 'valid'. It would therefore contain evidence that:

- the body preparing the LPP is a Community Body

- there has been compliance with the specific requirements to be set out in the regulations.

79. Under the proposals described in this consultation paper above, these requirements would be:

- how the community body has had regard to the NPF, LDP and, if one is in place, the relevant Locality Plan;

- set out the reasons for considering that the local development plan should be amended;

- in preparing the LPP, it has sought the views of local ward councillors for the area;

- evidence that it has complied with any prescribed requirements as to the form and content of the LPP; and

- evidence that the community body has complied with any legal requirement to consult the community after preparing the LPP.

80. We have considered whether there are other matters which could be included. For example, as to providing a description of the Community Body's evidence base gathered in preparing the plan and how it has reflected on it, including environmental matters. The Community Body may also want to set out how its proposals are to be delivered, by whom and what timeframe. Delivery may be linked to a particular development or decision and by setting out this information, the community body will be able to express to the wider community the value of the LPP.

81. Whilst we are not proposing that these additional matters should be included in the legislation, we will however, consider through guidance how this information can help provide a compelling context to the LPP in order to secure wider support for its delivery.

82. We would be interested in your thoughts as to whether the information (in all, or in part) summarised in paragraph 80 above should form a part of the additional information required in legislation to be submitted to the planning authority.

9. Do you agree that, alongside the LPP itself, the community body should submit a statement on how it has complied with the legal requirements?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

83. It has been suggested that planning authorities would benefit from a validation framework to support their evaluation of Local Place Plans. Such a framework would act as a guide to what planning authorities look for in terms of supporting documentation as part of the LPP submission. We will therefore work with planning authorities and communities to investigate the value for such a framework for LPPs.

Register and map of Local Place Plans

84. Planning authorities are required to maintain a register of LPPs. When a valid LPP (that is, one in relation to which all statutory requirements have been complied with) is submitted to them, a planning authority must include it in their register and inform the community body that it has been registered. Under paragraph 3(3), if the planning authority consider the LPP is not valid and therefore decide not to register it, they must give their reasons to the community body.

85. Providing a register of LPPs for a local authority area, with a map of the areas the plans cover, may assist community bodies in defining the boundaries of their LPPs so they don't overlap, and provide potential developers with a source of information on the community's aspirations for its future development.

86. Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision about:

(a) the manner in which a register must be—

(i) kept, and

(ii) made available to the public,

(b) the information about a local place plan that must be included in a register,

(c) when a planning authority may, or must, remove a local place plan from their register, causing it to cease to be a registered local place plan.

87. The Act also requires that every planning authority must make publicly available, in the manner prescribed, a map of their district that shows the land to which the local place plans in their register relate.

88. Transforming Places Together: digital strategy for planning^[53] sets out the Government's intention to develop an online central register of Local Place Plans, as part of the end to end planning system. We want to seek views as to how that work can be shaped.

The manner a register must be kept and made available

89. Planning authorities currently have experience of maintaining a planning register for development management purposes. The schedule to the Development Management Regulations^[54], includes at paragraphs 6 and 7 provisions applicable to registers generally. It sets out that the register for a planning authority's district is to be kept at the office of the planning authority. Where the register kept by a planning authority is kept using electronic storage, the authority may make the register available for inspection by the public on a website maintained by the authority for that purpose. We are interested in views as to whether similar provisions would be suitable for the register of LPPs.

10. Do you agree the requirements planning authorities have to keep the register of local place plans should be aligned to the existing arrangements for registers?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

Information about an LPP to include on the register

90. The planning authority must place a valid LPP on its register. In order to provide a more complete picture of the development of the LPP, we consider this could be supplemented by any additional information submitted by the Community Body alongside the LPP. There is a question as to whether this should include all additional information being maintained on the register, or only the additional information which is required by law. We would be interested in consultees' views on this matter.

11. Do you agree that the additional information provided by the community body alongside the LPP should be kept on the register of local place plans?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

12. Please provide your views on the level and content of information to be placed on the register.

Removal of the LPP from the register

91. Over a period of time, the register will contain LPPs which have been: submitted ready for the next LDP cycle; already taken into account through the LDP process; or potentially partly taken into account through an amendment of the LDP. The Act provides that Ministers may set out in regulations when a planning authority may, or must, remove a local place plan from their register, causing it to cease to be a registered local place plan.

92. There may be value in a planning authority being able to remove LPPs after a particular point in the cycle of LDP preparation. We can see the potential value of LPPs being removed from the register in a range of circumstances:

- once the LPP has been taken into account in the LDP, and the final 'adopted' LDP has been published;

- where there has been an amendment to the LDP to which the LPP relates, and the whole of the LPP has been taken into account;

- where the Community Body which prepared the LPP requests its removal, or the LPP is superseded; and

- in preparation for a new LDP being prepared by the planning authority.

93. We do not wish to be overly prescriptive and wish to retain some flexibility for planning authorities and communities. We therefore propose that a planning authority may remove a LPP from the register once it has been taken into account, or when requested to do so by the community body.

94. The planning authority will have the opportunity to retain any LPP should it wish to and could consider this in light of further engagement with the community body. For the community body, it may wish to prepare a new LPP in light of changing local circumstances, and so we consider there may be scope in giving the community an opportunity to have the LPP removed from the register.

13. Do you agree with the proposal that a planning authority may remove an LPP from the register once it has been taken into account in the LDP, and must do so when requested by the community body that prepared it?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

Making the Local Place Plan map available

95. The Act also requires that every planning authority must make publicly available, as to be set out in regulations, a map of registered local place plans in its area. The map of LPPs should be of value to community bodies as they will be able to access information on LPPs which are currently registered for (or adjacent to) their local area, including the boundaries of such LPPs.

96. The Schedule to the Development Management Regulationsnotes that every register must include an index, which must be in the form of a map. We are interested in views as to whether similar provisions would be suitable for the map of LPPs.

14. Do you agree the requirements planning authorities have for making the map of local place plans available should be aligned to the existing arrangements for registers?

• Yes
• No
• No view

Please comment on your answer (particularly if you do not agree)

Impact Assessments

97. Included with this consultation paper are partial versions of the following assessments:

• Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (Annex A);
• Equalities Impact Assessment (combining Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment) (Annex B);
• Island Communities Impact Assessment (Annex C).

15. Please give us any views you have on the content of these partial assessments.

16. Do you have or can you direct us to any information that would assist in finalising these assessments?

98. We have also included initial assessments screening out requirements to undertake assessments on the Fairer Scotland Duty (Annex D) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (Annex E). Based on the information we have identified, we do not consider there is a requirement to undertake full assessments in these cases.

17. Please give us your views on the Fairer Scotland Duty and Strategic Environmental Assessment screening documents and our conclusion that full assessments are not required.

18. If you consider that full assessments are required, please suggest any information sources that could help inform these assessments?