Effective community engagement in local development planning guidance: we asked, you said, we did statement

We did

We considered all the written representations and information received from other engagement about the consultation draft guidance. We reviewed the draft guidance in light of the comments and the themes presented by the engagement.

Adjustments have been made to the presentation of the final guidance and the language used where possible to make the guidance more accessible to a range of users. The descriptions of the individual levels of engagement have been adjusted where necessary to better manage expectations that result from them.

The main changes have been to the introductory part of the guidance. Information has been provided to set out the purpose of engagement in the local development plan, some matters to consider when preparing engagement, and the links between engagement and reinforcing people's rights. The guidance signposts other sources of information about engagement practice and methods.

Financial resources for local authorities generally, for engagement, or for the preparation of local place plans by community bodies are not addressed through the guidance. The guidance has been strengthened in its message that engagement should be appropriate to the people being engaged and the context of the engagement. It is also clear that planning authorities should work across local authority services and with external organisations, including making use of community engagement happening anyway. As well as creating efficiencies, this could also help to reduce consultation fatigue. More broadly, the Scottish Government has consulted on proposals around resourcing the planning system and will set out wider actions to improve capacity in the system.

The final guidance has been published, alongside the final impact assessments. We anticipate that it will inform the approach to engagement taken by planning authorities in the making of their local development plans, as well as building relationships between stakeholders to achieve better outcomes.