Item 6 - Development Plan Scheme 2026
West Dunbartonshire Council · 5 August 2026
Back to Planning Committee — 5 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager Planning Committee: 5th August 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement 2026 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the 2026 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement in relation to a new West Dunbartonshire Local Development Plan (LDP3). 2. Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that Planning Committee approves the 2026 Development Plan Scheme (DPS) and Participation Statement, as set out in Appendix 1. Once approved, the DPS and Participation Statement will be submitted to Scottish Ministers and published on the Council’s website. 3. Background 3.1 The development planning system in Scotland has changed with the introduction of the development planning provisions of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. The Development Plan Scheme is produced annually and acts as a communication tool for letting stakeholders know when and how they can get involved in the local development plan. It sets out the timetable for the preparation of the local development plan and what is involved at each stage of the process. The Participation Statement section of the document sets out how stakeholders are to be involved in the preparation of the local development plan. The Statement should include targeted methods to reach under-represented groups, help to make public participation inclusive, ensure that wider public engagement directly feeds into the preparation of the local development plan, and promote proactive engagement at all stages of the plan’s preparation. 4. Main Issues Development Plan Scheme 4.1 The previous Development Plan Scheme, containing the Participation Statement, was approved by Planning Committee on the 10th September 2025. Appendix 1 contains the updated Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement for 2026. . 4.2 The most significant change to the updated Development Plan Scheme is the expected timescales for each stage of plan preparation and adoption of the ITEM 6
Page 2
plan. The updated scheme incorporates approximately an additional six months to prepare the Evidence Report and consequential delay to later stages. Unfortunately, since the approval of the 2025 Development Plan Scheme, it has not been possible to meet the previous estimated date for Gate Check due to the scale and complexity of the work required to ensure it is robust. The gathering evidence stage to inform the Evidence Report is progressing well, however more time is required to ensure it is sufficient for Gate Check. The table below shows the key milestones of plan preparation, the timetable in the previous and updated development plan schemes. Key LDP3 Milestones Previous Estimated Dates Updated latest Estimated Dates Publication of Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement Quarter 2, 2025/26 (September 2025) Quarter 2 2026/27 (August 2026) Publication of Evidence Report and submission for Gate Check Quarter 1, 2026/27 (June 2026) Quarter 4 2026/27 (March 2027) Call for Sites and Ideas Quarter 2 2026/27 (August 2026) Quarter 1 2027/28 (May 2027) Publication of Proposed Plan and Draft Delivery Programme for consultation Quarter 1, 2027/28 (June 2027) Quarter 4 2027/28 (February 2028) Submission of Proposed Plan to the Scottish Ministers for Examination Quarter 4, 2027/28 (February 2028) Quarter 3 2028/29 (October 2028) Expected adoption of Local Development Plan Quarter 3, 2028/29 (December 2028) Quarter 2 2029/30 (August 2029) 4.3 The change to the timetable allows further time to prepare the evidence report, however it is possible that estimated dates for later stages in the plan preparation process could be brought forward. The majority of the Development Plan Scheme remains unchanged as it still serves its purpose in explaining the development plan process. 4.4 The additional time is required to ensure that the evidence report is robust and to carry out further consultation with key stakeholders. The additional time is also required due to a workload pressure within the Development Planning team due to staff resource constraints. However, since the approval of the 2025 Development Plan Scheme, the service has been successful in securing funding for additional officer for a temporary period of 18 months. This post is currently going the through the recruitment process. Once appointed the additional resource is expected to stabilise the project plan against further delay and may potentially allow acceleration of future stages. Should this be the case, this will be reflected in later Development Plan Schemes.
Page 3
4.5 The amendments made to the programme delays the date of anticipated adoption of LDP3 from December 2028 to August 2029. The anticipated date of adoption goes beyond the required 5-year period of the publishing of the regulations, i.e. May 2028. However, it is fundamental that the timetable is revised to ensure that the LDP3 spatial strategy and policy framework is informed by robust evidence to allow for approval at the Gate Check stage. This will provide the development planning and place team sufficient time to do so. Participation Statement 4.6 The Participation Statement has been updated to state the engagement the Development Planning and Place team has undertaken so far. No other changes have been proposed to future activities or engagement types. Key actions include: • Undertaking an evidence audit and engaging stakeholders through a Call for Evidence consultation. • Carrying out a Place Standard survey to enable communities to provide feedback about places they live, work and visit. • Publication of an Easy Read Guide to preparing local place plans. • Engagement with young people in a number of schools with a focus on place. • Undertaking a play sufficiency assessment of all play spaces in West Dunbartonshire. 4.7 The following actions are ongoing to engage stakeholders: • Analysing the results of the Call for Evidence, Tell Us About Your Place consultations and the play sufficiency assessment. The results will be published in due course. • Following up internal and external stakeholders for further discussions about evidence. Local Place Plans (LPP) 4.8 The invitation to prepare Local Place Plans was issued to organisations and individuals in the Local Development Plan participant database on 16 October 2023. A public notice was also placed in the Clydebank Post and Lennox Herald on 25 October and 31 October 2023 respectively. A Local Place Plan webpage has also been created at https://www.west- dunbarton.gov.uk/council/key-council-documents/local-development- planning/local-place-plans. 4.9 Old Kilpatrick community council, Alexandria community council and Balloch and Haldane community council expressed interest in preparing a LPP. To date, they have all prepared LPPs, with the Old Kilpatrick LPP and Alexandria LPP having been validated by the Council in October 2025 and January 2026 respectively. These are available to view on the Council’s website. The
Page 4
Balloch and Haldane Local Place Plan has been prepared and will be considered for validation as a separate item for the Planning Committee. 4.10 Through previous community engagement, Dumbarton East community council and Dumbarton West community council (via the Corra Foundation) had indicated interest in preparing a Local Place Plan. Kilmaronock community council has produced a draft Local Place Plan in response to the National Park Authority invitation to prepare Local Place Plans, and this has been validated by the National Park Authority. The Kilmaronock Local Place Plan does not contain proposals relating to West Dunbartonshire council’s planning authority, and the community council have not requested that it be validated by the council. The Local Place Plan has been shared with other council services for noting. 4.11 Although they can be prepared at any time prior to the preparation of the Proposed Plan, West Dunbartonshire Council advised that Local Place Plans be submitted to the Council for validation by the end of June 2026. This will allow the Local Place Plans to be considered in the preparation of the new Local Development Plan. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications associated with this report. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 There are no financial or procurement implications associated with this report. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 By finalising the 2026 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement and submitting it to the Scottish Ministers, the Council is meeting its statutory requirements and setting out its timeline for preparing a new Local Development Plan. Not having an up-to-date local development plan may have an impact on planning decisions taken by the Council and could result in appeal decisions being upheld. The adopted Local Plan is over 16 years old and Local Development Plan 1 and Local Development Plan 2 have not been adopted. 7.2 The proposed timeline also allows the authority to comply with the terms of the Local Development Planning Guidance (2023) as closely as possible. The guidance sets out the Scottish Government’s expectation that ‘new style’ Development Plans are in place within 5 years of the adoption of the regulations. It is also a requirement of Section 16(1)(a) of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 to as soon as practicable to prepare a Local Development Plan(s) for all parts of the district. Failure to comply with Section 16 (1)(a) may result in Scottish Ministers directing the authority to submit a report to them as to the reasons for such failure.
Page 5
8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 The Equality Impact Assessments for the Development Plan Scheme/Participation Statement and the Council’s approach to Local Place plans were reported to the Planning Committee dated 20 September 2023. 9. Consultation 9.1 Regulations require communities to have input to the Participation Statement. This update contains no changes to the engagement methods, or groups to be engaged, so no additional consultation was required. However, the Participation Statement does provide updates as to what engagement has taken place, and what has still to be undertaken. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 The new Local Development is considered to be relevant to, and will help deliver, all of the council’s strategic priorities: • Our Communities – Resilient and Thriving • Our Environment – A Greener Future • Our Economy – Strong and Flourishing • Our Council – Inclusive and Adaptable Michael Mulgrew Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager Date: 5th August 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Michael Mulgrew, Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager, Michael.mulgrew@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Clare Laurenson, Principal Officer Development Planning & Place clare.laurenson@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1: Finalised 2026 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement Background Papers: None Wards Affected: All