Information on Local place plans

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced Local Place Plans (LPPs). LPPs allow a community to play a proactive role in the planning process by producing a formal document about how that area’s land should be used and submitting it to the Planning Authority to inform the preparation of any new Local Development Plan.

A community can use a local place plan to:

• set out its vision for the development of a single place, building, or wider geographical area;
• highlight issues that are specific to that area, suggest ways they can be addressed through the planning process, and
• request changes to the local development plan.

Only community bodies that meet the following may produce local place plans:

• a community council, as established by a local authority under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
• a community-controlled body, as defined by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

For communities without an established community body, the Council will support efforts to bring interested members together to develop a Local Place Plan, ensuring they have the best opportunity to proactively plan their place.

How to participate in the local development plan process if your community is not represented by a community body

Alternatively, anyone interested in the Local Development Plan can contribute to its preparation as an individual, a business, or an organisation, including community councils, by participating in public consultations and engagement sessions held by the Council at key stages of the process.

LPPs must be prepared under the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. 

The following guidance has also been published to support communities in preparing LPPs.

• Our Place website
• planning circular 1/2022: local place plans

LPPs have an important role in shaping the preparation of local development plans and provide communities with the ability to shape the appearance, form, and function of the places in which they live.

They can also identify issues experienced in a community and explore actions to improve them, which may help direct investment and services to where it is most needed.

They allow individuals within communities to collaborate with one another and with other organisations to shape their future place, building community bonds and a sense of community spirit.

Formal invitations to prepare LPPs have been issued and communities can now prepare and submit their Local Place Plan for validation and registration.

A LPP can be submitted to the planning authority for validation and registration at any time. However, to ensure it is taken into account in preparing the next Local Development Plan (LDP3) it must be submitted by Wednesday 1 October 2025.

LPPs registered after the deadline are unlikely to be considered in the preparation of LDP3; they will instead be considered during the next Local Development Plan cycle. However, there are various ways for individuals and communities to participate in the preparation of LDP3 as set out in the Stirling Local Development Plan Scheme.

Sometimes places need to change, adapt, and grow through development activities such as the construction of new buildings and changes to the use or appearance of existing buildings and land.

The statutory development plan plays an important role in decisions about the future development of buildings and land in our cities, towns, and countryside by identifying circumstances in which new development will be supported or not; in the interests of people, climate, environment, and the economy.

The guidance contained within circular 1/2022 Local Place Plans provides additional information on development and land use.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is part of the statutory ‘development plan’ for Stirling. It sets out the Scottish Ministers’ policies and proposals for the development and use of land.

A good starting point would be to consider the six spatial principles in NPF4 – Just transition; Conserving and recycling assets; Local living; Compact urban growth; Rebalanced development, and Rural revitalisation – can help support the planning and delivery of a place that is sustainable, liveable and productive in line with the national spatial strategy.

Only plans that have been prepared in accordance with the legislative requirements set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 can be validated and registered.

Existing community plans, such as Locality Plans, are a great place from which to start identifying community aspirations and actions that could be turned into proposals for development.

Local Place Plans registered by Stirling Council will not be part of the statutory development plan as defined by the Planning Act but will inform the preparation of future Local Development Plans.

Registered Local Place Plans may be material considerations in planning application decisions with the weight to be applied to the relevant considerations determined on a case-by-case basis.