Elected Member Briefing - LDP3 Topics

About this Briefing Note

Report by: David Littlejohn, Strategic Lead for Economy, Development and Planning

Date: 8 July 2024

Subject: Local Development Plan 3 - consultation on Topic Papers informing the Evidence Report

Responsible Officer: Brenda Murray, Development Plan Team Leader  

Details

Purpose

This Briefing Note is to update Elected Members on the next key stage in the Local Development Plan review process ("LDP3" - expected adoption 2027). Officers are undertaking public consultation, via Consultation Hub, on Topic Papers which inform the Evidence Report. 

Links to related information are included throughout the note, and a list of related/ further reading is included at the end of the note

Briefing Information

Background/ Process 

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and associated Regulations introduced a number of changes to the key steps for preparing a Local Development Plan (LDP); the process for the Council's LDP3 may therefore seem different to LDP1 and LDP2 (currently adopted). 

Preparation of a new-style LDP will include:  

• Evidence gathering and early community and stakeholder engagement leading to an Evidence Report.  
• Submission of the Evidence Report to Scottish Ministers for an independent Gate Check. 
• Collaborative plan preparation, leading to publication of the Proposed Plan for consultation.  
• Submission of the Proposed Plan to Scottish Ministers for an independent examination of outstanding issues.  
• Adoption of the Local Development Plan 

The Development Plan Scheme (DPS) is a Council's programme for preparing their LDP. Perth and Kinross Council's DPS was last updated in November 2023.  

An Elected Member Briefing Note was published in November 2022 outlining the first stage of the LDP programme of engagement, called the Big Place Conversation. That took place in 2023 across Perth and Kinross to find out what communities like about their place, and what could be improved. 

The next stage in the process is the preparation and submission of the Evidence Report. The Evidence Report will be informed by a range of topic papers that we are consulting interested parties on. 

Topic Papers 

The new procedures for LDPs require local authorities to submit an Evidence Report to Scottish Ministers. This report will identify and summarise the evidence to be used to help prepare the Proposed Plan (sometimes referred to as the "Draft LDP").  

A series of topic papers (around 30 in total) have been prepared by officers in the Development Plans Team, with input from other Council services and agencies.  

These topic papers cover a wide range of matters, as required by the Regulations, and broadly follow the policy structure of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).  A full list of the topic papers is appended. 

Members are invited to review the topic papers and provide any comments, wherever relevant. For enquiries relating to any specific topic paper/s, the Development Plans Team can be contacted to discuss further. 

Consultation is being carried out with stakeholders until 18th August 2024 to determine the suitability of the data sources to be used for the Evidence Report, or whether there may be gaps in the evidence.   

Next Stage - Evidence Report 

Following this consultation on the topic papers, officers will prepare the Evidence Report. This is to be presented at Full Council later this year (30 October 2024). The Evidence Report requires approval of Council before it is submitted to Scottish Ministers. Please note the DPS predicted that the Evidence Report would be presented to Members at the Council meeting in September, however, the October meeting (and its associated deadlines) align more appropriately with the consultation timescales. 

The Evidence Report is required to be submitted to the Scottish Government for the 'Gate check' process before the LDP can progress to the next stages. A Reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) is appointed to assess the Evidence Report, and there may be requests for further information and/or hearings, if required.  

If the Evidence Report is found to be satisfactory by Scottish Ministers, work on LDP3 Proposed Plan can begin.  

Further Reading & Key Links 

• Adopted Local Development Plan LDP2 (2019) 
• National Planning Framework NPF4 (2023) 
• Scottish Government's LDP planning guidance 
• Latest PKC LDP updates  
• The Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2023