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Local Place Plan Advice

Statutory Requirements

A Local Place Plan must fulfil the following criteria. It must:

  • be prepared by a Community Body;
  • be a proposal as to the development or use of land; and
  • fulfil the legal requirements set out in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) Scotland Regulations 2021.

Definition of a Community Body

(a) a community-controlled body within the definition given in section 19 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, or

(b) a community council established in accordance with Part 4 of the Local

Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Broadly speaking, the definition covers established community councils, and bodies which must have a written constitution, but may not necessarily be incorporated. Please use the additional support form below to let us know if your group requires assistance with forming a community controlled body.

Proposal as to the development or use of land

‘Development’ includes the change in use and appearance of existing buildings and land as well as new buildings. Local Place Plan proposals must relate to this ‘development’ process.

It is recognised that other matters, which are not defined as ‘development’ will be important to communities. Communities will want to consider how these are expressed within the Local Place Plan. These cannot be considered as part of the Local Development Plan process. Validated Local Place Plans will however be shared with relevant services across the Council for their consideration.

Fulfilling the legal requirements

Local Place Plans must be prepared in accordance with Schedule 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (legislation.gov.uk) and The Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk). The Council can provide further guidance and assistance in relation to these requirements.

Circular 1/2022: Local Place Plans Circular 1/2022 Local Place Plans (www.gov.scot) gives further advice on meeting all of the above requirements.

Assistance Available

How to guide

The Council has prepared a How To Guide to assist communities to prepare a Local Place Plan. Thank you to all of the community groups who contributed to its preparation.

Start-Up Meeting

Officers from the Development Planning and Place team are available to meet with community groups at the start of their Local Place Plan process to discuss the statutory requirements, explain the support that is on offer and discuss any further assistance.

Mapping

Please use the communities map to view a number of different services and facilities within Community Council areas across West Dunbartonshire. WDC Map

Further online mapping facilities are under development and will be shared with groups preparing Local Place Plans and on this page.

Key Documents

Local Place Plans are required to have regard to the following documents:

The current adopted plan is Local Plan 2010. Local Place Plans may also wish to consider the Proposed Local Development Plan (as modified) 2020 which is not adopted, but represents the Council’s most recent spatial strategy.

A Local Place Plan which relates to an area where a Locality Plan has been published must have regard to that Locality Plan. The Locality Plans have been published for the Clydebank Waterfront, Dumbarton and Leven Localities.

For information on Locality Planning in West Dunbartonshire or to view the adopted locality plans please see our Plan for Place.

Stakeholder Engagement

When your community group has a draft Local Place Plan for consultation, the Development Planning and Place Team will provide a response on the draft and will coordinate responses on the draft from relevant Council services.

Pre-validation check

A final meeting is available to communities to give the opportunity to undertake any outstanding processes which would be required to ensure a Local Place Plan is valid prior to formal submission.

Additional Support

The Council may be able to offer other assistance to groups, however due to resource implications, and dependent on the level of interest, these may not all be available to every group. Interested groups are asked to submit an expression of interest for further support using the form below. There will be an opportunity to discuss additional support at your start-up meeting. We may be able to offer assistance with the below:

  • Start-up funding (Essential expenses may be made available to support any ancillary, administrative costs associated with the volunteer work and publication of the Local Place Plan, including costs of hiring venues, providing catering, materials and publication).
  • Support to form a “community-controlled body” as defined by the Community Empowerment Act.
  • Printed mapping and materials
  • Subscriptions to Online platforms such as Community Map Scotland.
  • Training in for example facilitation, engagement or the Place Standard.
  • Assistance to apply for funding opportunities for professional/consultancy support

Other Resources

The below links and information may be of assistance and interest as you move towards preparing a Local Place Plan.

  • Planning circular 1/2022: Local Place Plans provides guidance to communities and planning authorities on the preparation, submission and registration of Local Place Plans. Planning circular 1/2022: Local Place Plans - scot (www.gov.scot)
  • The Scottish Government have prepared a Draft How to Guide to support the preparation of Local Place Plans. Although this was prepared before the regulations were finalised, it is a useful resource on the process.
  • The Draft How To Guide was accompanied by a Literature Review and Research Report, which includes details of a number of community led plans across Scotland. Local place plans: literature review and final report - scot (www.gov.scot)
  • Place.Scot is a site which includes a wide range of information, tools and resources to support place and place-based working. Local Place Plans | Our Place
  • Planning Aid Scotland have prepared a Guide for Community Delivery of Local Place Plans. Resources - Planning Aid Scotland
  • The Council’s has prepared a How To Guide to assist communities to prepare a Local Place Plan. Thank you to all the community groups who contributed to its preparation.

Contact Us

Please contact us if you are considering preparing a Local Place Plan, or have any questions on the process at: LDP@west-dunbarton.gov.uk.