What are Local Place Plans?
A Local Place Plan is a community-led document that clearly communicates proposals for the development or use of land and buildings in the local area.
Introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, Local Place Plans enable community councils or community-controlled bodies to engage with their communities, identify ways to improve their area, agree on priorities, and take action—often in partnership with others.
For the stages involved in preparing a Local Place Plan—from draft to proposed, finalised, and registered—please read our Local Place Plan Preparation Flow Chart.
To learn about the government requirements for Local Place Plans and the information we request for validation, see our Local Place Plan Template Guidance.
Read our latest Local Place Plan update
Submitting a Local Place Plan
You can submit a Local Place Plan at any time.
As we collect evidence for the Highland Local Development Plan (HLDP), the Scottish Government has set a deadline for registration to ensure Plans are considered in the HLDP process.
According to the current HLDP timetable outlined in the Development Plans Newsletter 2026, the following submission arrangements apply:
- Plans that pass the validation checks and are registered no later than 30 April 2026 will be taken into account in the preparation of the HLDP Evidence Report
- Plans that pass the validation checks and are registered between May and September 2026 are likely to be taken into account in the preparation of this HLDP from the outset
- Plans that are validated and registered after September 2026 will be taken into account at the next available opportunity in the local development plan cycle, which may include some consideration in the preparation of the HLDP Proposed Plan.