Process to review Highland-wide Local Development Plan begins
The first formal stage in reviewing the Highland-wide Local Development Plan (HwLDP) was approved yesterday by members of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee providing the go-ahead for a Main Issues Report to go out for public consultation.
The HwLPD is the council’s main document for assessing planning applications and was adopted in 2012. The Main Issues Report approved for consultation today sets out options for reviewing the HwLDP and proposes that it becomes a policy only plan, leaving the Area Local Development Plans to focus on where development can be delivered in each part of Highland.
The Main Issues Report sets out a new vision for the whole of Highland, and has been prepared to reflect community priorities from the Highland Single Outcome Agreement. It seeks to deliver outcomes that benefit people who live, work and visit the Highlands, as well as those who invest in it.
The Main Issues Report covers four main themes for planning policies:
- Where we
Guide Development – A network of successful, sustainable communities where
people want to live, which provide the most convienient services, educaton and
employment within a strong and diverse economy with a wide labour market that
is competative, adaptable and prosperous.
- Placemaking,
Design and Travel – Healthy sustainable places to live and work that
integrate high standards of design and green infrastructure and prioritise easy
access to serivces by active travel and public transport.
- Resource
Management – World class energy and resource management which
strikes a balance between secure energy supplies, maximising the responsible
use of our resources and protecting and celebrating our outstanding natural,
historic and cultural assets, resulting in lasting economic and environmental
benefits for all communities.
- Delivering Development and Supporting Infrastructure – Provision of services and resilient infrastructure that enables development to happen with constraints being overcome through the integration of community and development initiatives.
Chair of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Audrey Sinclair is encouraging members of the public and communities to get involved and have their say. She said: “A considerable amount of work has been done to align the Main Issues Report with community priorities. The Plan is very important as it sets out how land can be used by developers for the next 20 years. This consultation is going to be the first opportunity people have to comment on the Main Issues Report which is why we want communities, businesses, agencies and the public to actively take part in the consultation.”
The 12 week public consultation will begin in the Autumn and full details of how people can take part and get involved will be promoted shortly. Feedback received during the consultation will be reported to a future meeting of the Committee.