A new plan for the Highlands
We are preparing a new Local Development Plan for the Highlands.
Local development plans shape how places change in the future, including where development should and should not happen.
We are gathering the evidence we need to write the Highland Local Development Plan (HLDP).
Evidence report
We have drafted our formal Evidence Report, which has been approved by Full Council 25 June 2026 and submitted to Scottish Ministers in July 2026.
Call for ideas
We are currently inviting ideas from community, residents and businesses on how land and buildings within Highland could be used, improved, protected or developed in the future. Ideas submitted will help to inform the new Highland Local Development Plan.
The call for ideas is open from 7 July 2026 - 18 September 2026.
Submit an idea with Highland Engage
Call for development sites
We ran a call for development sites between 31 January and 2 May 2025. Landowners, developers and others suggested sites for us to consider for inclusion in the new HLDP.
We will consider all sites, but we will not decide which sites to include until early to mid-2027. Sites included in the proposed plan will then be subject to a statutory public consultation and objection process.
View suggested sites
There is no statutory opportunity to comment on any submission at this stage in the plan process
Early evidence consultation for Highland Local Development Plan
We also consulted on earlier iterations of Evidence Papers over the same period, which were taken forward in the preparation of the Evidence Report.
View our early evidence papers
The evidence documents contained a few factual errors. A list of the corrected errors is available.
We took the early feedback received on this evidence into account when preparing the formal Evidence Report.
National context
The national context for the new HLDP is set out in National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).
As required by NPF4, we are aiming for the HLDP to be:
- place-based, so that it is relevant, accessible, and useful to people with an interest in their place
- developed in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders
- based on robust evidence, so that it is deliverable
Local Place Plans
We have prepared advice and guidance for community bodies preparing Local Place Plans, and we continue to check and register these plans.
Development Plans Newsletter
Our Development Plans Newsletter gives future HLDP stages and timescales.
Further engagement opportunities will be announced on this page.