Item 8 - Local Development Plan and Local Place Plan Update
West Dunbartonshire Council · 11 December 2024
Back to Planning Committee — 11 December 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager Planning Committee: 11th December 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Local Development Plan and Local Place Plan Update 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the 2023 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement in relation to a new Local Development Plan (LDP3). 2. Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee approves the updated Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement set out in Appendix 1 and note that once approved it will be submitted to the 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 part of the document sets out how stakeholders are to be involved in the preparation of the local development plan. It is to 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. ITEM 8
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4. Main Issues Development Plan Scheme 4.1 The previous Development Plan Scheme, containing the Participation Statement, was approved by planning committee on the 6th of December 2023 which was then published on the Council website and submitted to Scottish Ministers. Appendix 1 contains the updated Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement for 2024 . 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 plan. The updated scheme incorporates an additional seven months to prepare the Evidence Report and consequential delay to later stages. The table below shows the key stages of plan preparation, the timetable in the previous and updated development plan schemes. Action 2023 timeline Proposed 2024 timeline Publication of finalised/updated Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement Quarter 3, 2023/24 (December 2023) Quarter 3, 2024/25 (December 2024) Publication of Evidence Report and submission for Gatecheck Quarter 3, 2024/25 (December 2024) Quarter 2, 2025/26 (July 2025) Publication of Proposed Plan and draft Delivery Programme Quarter 4, 2025/26 (January 2026) Quarter 2, 2026/27 (August 2026) Submission of Proposed Plan to the Scottish Ministers for Examination Quarter 3, 2026/27 (October 2026) Quarter 1, 2027/28 (May 2027) Expected adoption of Local Development Plan Quarter 2, 2027/28 (September 2027) Quarter 1, 2028/29 (April 2028) 4.3 The change to the timetable allows further time to prepare the evidence report. 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 to due a workload pressure within the Development Planning Team arising from an existing and upcoming vacancy that will reduce capacity in the team by 66% in the short term until recruitment is undertaken.
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4.5 The 7-month delay to the programme is significant, and pushes the date of adoption from September 2027 to April 2028. However, the anticipated date of adoption is still within the required 5 year period of the publishing of the regulations, i.e. May 2028. 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. Published An Easy Read Guide to preparing local place plans. 4.6 The following actions are ongoing to engage stakeholders Analysing the results of the Call for Evidence and Tell Us About Your Place consultations. The results will be published in due course. Following up internal and external stakeholders for further discussions about evidence Engaging children and young people Engaging with the gypsie and traveller community Local Place Plans 4.7 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 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. The work to prepare a West Dunbartonshire focussed ‘How-to’ guide to encourage and assist local communities to prepare a Local Place Plan. was completed in June. The guide was launched at an online webinar which was attended by community councillors, and the guidance is available to view on the above Local Place Plans page. 4.8 To date, Old Kilpatrick Community Council and the community in Dumbarton West (via the Corra Foundation) have expressed an interest in preparing a Local Place Plan. Previous community engagement in Dumbarton East and Alexandria also 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..
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4.9 Although they can be prepared at any time, West Dunbartonshire Council has advised that Local Place Plans should be submitted to the Council for validation by 30 June 2025 if they are to be taken into account 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 2024 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 14 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) which sets out Scottish Government 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. 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 20 September 2023 Planning Committee. 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. 11. Strategic Assessment
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11.1 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: 11th December 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Michael Mulgrew, Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager, Michael.Mulgrew@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Cameron Clow, Development Planning & Place Officer cameron.clow@west-dunbabarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1: Finalised 2023 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement Background Papers: None Wards Affected: All