Local Place Plans
What are Local Place Plans?
A Local Place Plan is a community-led document that aims to easily convey a community’s proposals for the development or use of land and buildings in their local area.
Introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, Local Place Plans are a way for community councils or community-controlled bodies to engage with their local community, to think about how to make their place better, to agree priorities, and to take action (often working with others).
For information on the stages of Local Place Plan preparation, from draft, to proposed, to finalised, and then to registered, read our Local Place Plan Preparation Flow Chart.
For information on the Government requirements for Local Place Plans, plus the things that we ask for to aid the Local Place Plan validation process, read our Local Place Plan Template Guidance.
Read our latest Local Place Plan update.
Local Place Plan submission
Local Place Plans can be submitted at any time.
As we are currently gathering evidence for the new Highland Local Development Plan (HLDP), the Scottish Government has required us to establish a deadline for registering Local Place Plans so they can be fully considered as evidence for the HLDP.
Based on the current HLDP preparation programme outlined in the Development Plans Newsletter 2025, the following submission arrangements for Local Place Plans now apply.
Local Place Plan submissions that:
- pass the validation check by Friday 27 June 2025 will be registered and taken into account in the preparation of this HLDP
- pass the validation check by Friday 12 December 2025 will be registered and are likely to be taken into account in the preparation of this HLDP
- are validated and registered after Friday 12 December 2025 will be taken into account at the next available opportunity in the local development plan cycle
The role of Local Place Plans
In the Local Development Plan
Local Place Plans can play a part in shaping the Local Development Plan for a region.
Registered Local Place Plans will not be part of the Local Development Plan but inform the preparation of it. Registered Local Place Plans are considered to supplement, rather than replace, existing means of community engagement.
Local Place Plans registered by ourselves within the set timeframe, will be taken into account in preparing the new Local Development Plan from the outset of its preparation.
Local Place Plans registered outwith the set timeframe will be taken into account at the next opportunity presented by the programme for Local Development Plan preparation.
As part of our review of the evidence for the new Local Development Plan, we will show how elements in the registered Local Place Plans have been taken into account and why they have or have not been accepted.
In planning applications
All Local Place Plans registered by us can be a material consideration when planning applications are being considered by our Planning Authority.
Highland Local Place Plans Learning Events
We held a learning event about Local Place Plans with communities in Highland on 28 May 2024.
We held a learning event about Local Place Plans and Climate Change in Highland on 22 August 2024.
Further advice on the preparation of local place plans