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Item 7 - Balloch and Haldane Local Place Plan

West Dunbartonshire Council · 5 August 2026
Back to Planning Committee — 5 August 2026 and its agenda

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Official Official
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL 
Report by the Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health
Manager 
Planning Committee: 5th August 2026
___________________________________________________________________ 
Subject: Local Place Plan Validation – Balloch & Haldane Place Plan 
1. Purpose 
1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval to validate and register the
Balloch & Haldane Place Plan. 
2. Recommendation  
2.1 It is recommended that Planning Committee approves the validation of the
Balloch & Haldane Place Plan, as set out in Appendix 1. Once approved, the
Balloch & Haldane Place Plan will be placed on the Register of Local Place
Plans. 
3. Background 
3.1 The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 gave new powers to communities to
prepare Local Place Plans for their area, as well as placing associated duties
on Planning Authorities, and amends The Town and Country Planning
(Scotland) Act 1997. Local Place Plans are community led plans which set out
proposals for the development and use of land. A Local Place Plan must be
prepared by a Community Council or another Community Controlled Body, as
defined by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. 
3.2 Planning Committee approved an approach to local place plans and a
package of measures to support communities prepare them on 20th of
September 2023. This included giving officers authority to issue the invitation
to prepare Local Place Plans to communities which took place in October
2023. This approach to Local Place Plans set out that officers would submit
recommendations in relation to validation of a Local Place Plan to Planning
Committee 
3.3 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. 
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Official Official
3.4 Although they can be prepared at any time prior to the preparation of the
Proposed Plan, West Dunbartonshire Council has advised that Local Place
Plans should be submitted for validation by the end of June 2026. This will
allow the Local Place Plans to be taken into account in the preparation of the
new Local Development Plan. 
3.5 Balloch & Haldane Place Plan has been prepared by Balloch & Haldane
Community Council and other partner organisations for the Balloch & Haldane
Community Council area. 
4. Main Issues 
4.1 The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 sets out the requirement
for the Council, as Planning Authority, to validate and register Local Place
Plans which meet paragraphs 1(4) and 2(1) of Schedule 19 of the Act. This
requirement is further expanded upon by The Town and Country Planning
(Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. The validation only
considers the requirements of legislation and is not an assessment of the
proposals within the Local Place Plans, therefore no consideration can be
given to the content of proposals within the Local Place Plan. The proposals
within a registered local place plan will be reviewed as part of the Local
Development Plan process. 
4.2 Officers have worked with Balloch & Haldane Community Council’s consultant
to ensure that requirements of validation have been met prior to submission.
This includes ensuring that the plan contains information, such as a statement
of the community body’s proposals and relevant mapping; evidence that the
community body has taken the required notification requirements before
submitting the Local Place Plan; and that required additional information, such
as contact details have been provided as set out in the submission statement,
Appendix 2. Appendix 3 sets out the Validation Assessment of the Balloch &
Haldane Place Plan in line with the requirements of the Act and regulations
referred to in Section 4.1 of this report. It is recommended that Members
agree to validate the Local Place Plan in line with the assessment. 
4.3 Validated Local Place Plans are registered and published. They are a key part
of early engagement in the Local Development Plan process and will inform
the preparation of Local Development Plan 3. They may also be material
considerations in the assessment of planning applications. Circular 1/2022:
Local Place Plans advises community bodies may wish to consider whether
proposals contained within a local place plan could form part of
representations on individual planning applications. 
4.4 Balloch and Haldane Community Council has areas within both West
Dunbartonshire Council and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park’s
planning authorities. This validation only applies to the parts within the West
Dunbartonshire Council Planning authority. The local place plan has been
submitted to the National Park for validation also.

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Official Official
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 If the Council decides not to register a Local Place Plan on the basis that it is
not valid in terms of The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as
amended,  and The Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans)
(Scotland) Regulations 2021, the authority must give their reasons for
reaching that view to the Community Body that submitted the Local Place
Plan. Planning Authorities are encouraged to provide clear reasons behind
the decision, so that the Community Body can rectify any issues and re-
submit the Local Place Plan. 
8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 
8.1 The Equality Impact Assessments for the Council’s approach to Local Place
plans were reported to the Planning Committee dated 20 September 2023. 
9. Consultation 
9.1 The Balloch & Haldane Place Plan has been prepared by Balloch & Haldane
Community Council in consultation with the local community. Balloch &
Haldane Community Council has submitted evidence that neighbouring
Community Councils and local Councillors have been notified of the
publication of the Local Place Plan and given a period of 28 days within which
to respond. 
9.2 On registration, officers will circulate the Balloch & Haldane Place Plan to
other services for noting. 
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

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Official Official
Michael Mulgrew
Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager
Date: 5 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: Balloch & Haldane Place Plan 
Appendix 2: Submission Statement
Appendix 3: Validation Assessment 
Background Papers: Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997
The Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans)
(Scotland) Regulations 2021
Circular 1/2022: Local Place Plans 
Wards Affected: Lomond