This page gives an update on the production of new-style Local Development Plans and our work to ensure that local people can be involved in the process. Find out on how to get involved in your LDP below.
What is a Local Development Plan?
A Local Development Plan (LDP) shows how local places will change into the future, including where development should and should not happen. They are prepared by the Planning Authority (usually a local Council).
Planning authorities must take into account the National Planning Framework and any registered local place plans for the area. Local Place Plans are a non-statutory plan which can be produced by local communities giving their views on how they would like to see their area develop in the future.
Local Development Plans become part of the statutory development plan, along with the National Planning Framework.
We believe that communities should be at the centre of Local Development Plans and the process should be made simple and straightforward for them to engage with, and that communities should be engaged proactively by the planning authorities.
Read some of our resources on Local Development Planning:
Local Development Plans: Evidence Report Engagement Checklist
Local Development Plans (LDP) help shape and guide decisions about how areas will change in the future, including where and
Community Guidance on LDPs
Local Development Plan guidance for communities Key points Background The Scottish Planning System The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 states that
We have teamed up with Planning Democracy to run a series of four webinars on different aspects of the new National Planning Framework 4 and the planning system.
How to have a say in the future of your area
Whether you would like more green spaces, cycling infrastructure, social housing, or public transport, getting it into your Local Development Plan (LDP) could be the best way to make it a reality. But what is a local development plan and how can you get involved?
Read our blog hereFind your Local Authority Planning Page
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
- Angus
- Argyll & Bute
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfries & Galloway
- Dundee
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Lothian
- East Renfrewshire
- Edinburgh
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Glasgow
- Highland
- Inverclyde
- Midlothian
- Moray
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Orkney
- Perth & Kinross
- Renfrewshire
- Scottish Borders
- Shetland
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- Stirling
- West Dunbartonshire
- West Lothian
- Western Isles
Timelines for LDPs
This document gives a summary about what we know about the timeline for each local authority’s development plan.
TimelineNews on How to get Involved
Select your local council for more information on how to input to your Local Development Plan. We also have a working document on LDPs by greenbelt.
Cairngorms National Park
Caringorms National Park will adopt their new Local Development Plan in 2027. They are currently gathering evidence and carrying out stakeholder engagement, including an interactive map to collect opinions of the area. More information on this can be accessed below. Local Place Plans, which will inform the Local Development Plan, can also be submitted by community groups until May 2024.
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
The next LDP for Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is currently in preparation. Consultation on the next plan will begin in 2024.
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire’s new Local Development Plan will be adopted in 2026, and are in the early engagement stage of its preparation. You can take part in several engagement surveys and sign up for updates through the council’s LDP3 engagement hub. Local Place Plans can also be submitted by community groups until June 2024, which will then inform the area’s Local Development Plan.
Highland Council
Highland Council are planning on adopting their new Local Development Plan in 2027. Early engagement consultations will be on the Council’s consultation page. A formal invitation for community groups to submit Local Place Plans was also issued in June 2023, and plans must be submitted by 28th June 2024 to be inform the Local Development Plan.
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire Council are planning on adopting their new Local Development Plan in 2027, and have launched an engagement hub with early surveys and information. Local community groups can also submit Local Place Plans to inform the Local Development plan until late 2024.
Fife
You can sign up for updates on Fife’s Local Development Plan through the link below.
Community groups can also contribute Local Place Plans which will inform the Local Development Plan. The deadline for submissions is January 2024.
East Lothian
East Lothian Council are currently running a public engagement exercise for the development of their evidence report, which will now runs until the 13th of October 2023 after being extended from 17th September 2023. They are also running a Play Sufficiency Assessment until 13th November 2023 to evaluate outdoor play opportunities for children. This aims to gather your views on issues and priorities for the area.
Community groups can also submit Local Place Plans to inform the Local Development Plan. These should be submitted by Spring 2024.
Midlothian
Midlothian Council have launched a Citizen Space page, which has information on ongoing activities for early engagement in Local Development Plan preparation. They will also shortly be issuing invitations to community groups to submit a Local Place Plan, which will then inform the Local Development Plan, more information on which can be found below.
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire Council launched an online survey to help understand potential issues in the area and develop a spatial strategy which addresses the issues that are important to the local community, which closed on August 8th and is currently being reviewed. Further engagement opportunities will be on the page below, including a call for ideas which is expected to begin in 2025. For community groups who wish to produce a local place plan, information and an expression of interest form can be found on the button below.
Stirling
The initial phase of establishing the new LDP concluded after Council’s June meeting, with the endorsement of the Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement.
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross Council are holding The Big Place Conversation which will form part of the evidence base of the next Local Development Plan and future council and community initiatives. We are talking about housing needs, public transport, walking and wheeling, greenspaces and access to nature, and what shops, facilities and places to work are like in your area.
To get involved, find out more information here The Big Place Conversation – Perth & Kinross Council (pkc.gov.uk)
West Lothian
West Lothian Council have launched this page for information and opportunities for public engagement. There are currently several open surveys, specifically aimed at engaging children and young people, adults, disabled persons, and businesses and organisations. They are also running a series of ‘drop-in’ events in ten towns during October. More information on this can be found through the button below. Community groups can also submit Local Place Plans until March 2024.
Falkirk
Falkirk Council have issued an invitation for community groups to submit Local Place Plans, as well as assistance in doing so. The deadline for community groups to submit a Local Place Plan for their area is April 2025. They are also running a play sufficiency assessment to inform the Evidence Report to look at the availability, accessibility, and quality of green and open spaces for children and young people. More information and the survey can be found through the link below.
Glasgow
Glasgow City Council has begun work on City Development Plan 2, the LDP for the area. As part of the evidence gathering stage, they are running a survey on various aspects of local areas, such as housing, open spaces, and local facilities. This survey will close on 1st February 2024. The Council are also running a series of drop-in events over the winter. More information on this, as well as the Place Standard Survey, can be found on City Development Plan 2 Information Hub.
Community groups considering preparing a local place plan can also fill out a pre-enquiry form through the link below.
Inverclyde
Inverclyde Council are preparing a new LDP to supersede the 2019 plan for the area. They published and consulted on the proposed plan in 2021 and are now collating responses. The new LDP will be introduced in the near future.
West Dunbartonshire
West Dunbartonshire Council decided not to implement the LDP they proposed in 2023 following the response from Scottish Ministers surrounding alterations to the plan. Currently the proposed plan is not part of the statutory development plan for the West Dunbartonshire planning authority area but is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications. More information on this can be found through the link below.
The Council recently opened a call for responses over their Participation Statement, which guides how they will consult the public and key agencies through the process of preparing the LDP. You can respond to this through the link below.
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire Council introduced their latest LDP in May 2023, and recently finished consulting on their Participation Statement for their next plan. More opportunities for engagement will likely arise soon.
Dundee
Dundee Council launched their current LDP in 2019. They are currently at the early stages of preparing a new plan, and opportunities for engagement will arise soon.
Angus
Oppertunities to participate in preparing the newest LDP for Angus should arise soon. You can recieve updates on this through their e-bulletin, which you can sign up to below.
Aberdeen City
Aberdeen City Council adopted their newest LDP in June 2023. Further information on this can be found through the link below, and you can also subscribe to updates by emailing ldp@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Moray
Moray Council are in the process of preparing their new LDP, which will likely be adopted in 2027. The consultation on the proposed plan will likely begin in 2025.
Local community groups can also register interest in preparing a Local Place Plan, more information on which can be found below.
Na h-Eileanan Iar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have a website for updates on their LDP process. You can also sign up to their newsletter by emailing localdevplan@cne-siar.gov.uk
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute Council have submitted their LDP to the Scottish Government for review, and the new plan will be adopted in the near future.
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire’s latest LDP was submitted to the Scottish Government in 2023 and will be implemented in the near future. Engagement on the next plan will begin soon.
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire introduced their current LDP in 2022. The Council will likely begin engagement and consultations on the next plan in late 2023.
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway Council plan to begin engagement for their next LDP in early 2024. You can sign up for updates on this through the link below.
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire are currently accepting comments on their draft Participation Statement, which outlines how they will engage with the public and key organisations throughout the LDP preparation process. You can have your say through the link below.
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders Council are due to publish their newest LDP soon. More information and updates can be found through the link below.
Orkney
Orkney Council are in the process of preparing their next LDP. You can be added to the mailing list for updates by emailing devplan@orkney.gov.uk
Shetland
Shetland Council are currently finalising their next LDP. You can be kept up to date by signing up to their email list by contacting Development.Plans@shetland.gov.uk.
Video Explainer – New Local Development Plans
This is an extract of a webinar we organised along with Planning Democracy on the new Local development plan process. Alasdair Edwards is a Principal Reporter at the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division of the Scottish Government (DPEA). The DPEA have a key role in the production of LDPs.
This presentation includes:
- How National Planning Framework 4 affects Local Development Plans.
- The LDP process – when you can get involved and how.
- Local place plans (how these might inform LDPs).
- Regional Spatial Strategies (how these fit into the new system).