Local Place Plans

Guidance on creating Local Place Plans

What advice and help can the Council give regarding Local Place Plans?

The information on this page should provide general advice and guidance towards the preparation of Local Place Plans, alongside some external guidance links at the bottom of the page.

The Council have created a basic Local Place Plan Template to guide groups on the structure and content of the plans. The Council can also provide basic mapping and information on the area that the Local Place Plan is being developed for.

Should a community group wish to discuss how the Council can further help, please contact us at: ldp@angus.gov.uk

What are Local Place Plans?

Local Place Plans are documents put together by Community Councils or other constituted community groups to express their aspirations, wants, and needs for future development in their area by presenting different ideas and proposals for the use of land. These plans were introduced by the 2019 amendments to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, aiming to give communities the opportunity to have more influence on Local Development Plans.

Local Place Plans are entirely voluntary, but the aim is to enhance engagement in development planning, effectively empowering communities to play a proactive role in defining the future of their places.

Who can prepare a Local Place Plan?

Any Community Council formed in accordance with Part 4 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 or any community group which falls under the definition of ‘community-controlled body’ in section 19 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 (see Local Place Plan Information Sheet for more detail around these definitions/requirements).

Why prepare a Local Place Plan?

Preparing a Local Place Plan allows your community to have a greater say in the future development of your area. These plans will allow the Council to better understand the lived experiences of communities throughout Angus and implement more effective actions to target any issues or opportunities.

Once a Local Place Plan has been registered by the Council it will be a material consideration in planning application decisions.

If a Local Place Plan is submitted and registered in time to be considered in the next Local Development Plan, the proposed Local Development Plan will give due consideration to the proposals from the Local Place Plan when preparing the next Local Development Plan.

What area can Local Place Plans cover?

Local Place Plans should relate to a certain area or community, but this can take many shapes and forms depending on the nature of the aspirations, proposals, and the group(s) involved. For example, this could include:

Community Council Boundaries
Towns or villages
Individual neighbourhoods within settlements
Any other geography a community self-defines itself by

A map of the area referred to throughout the plan will be required for the Local Place Plan to be valid for submission.

What should be included in a Local Place Plan?

Local Place Plans should focus on the development or use of land in the area it is referring to and can also identify land and buildings that the community regard as important for the Council to consider in the next Local Development Plan.

For example, Local Place Plans can contain a variety of proposals, from physical proposals like improvements to community facilities, new homes, and better streets and public spaces.

Proposals within the Local Place Plan need to be able to identify how they will be delivered or taken forward, i.e. if the community put forward a need for more housing, the Local Place Plan should show where they could go and what types of homes are needed. Engagement and discussions with members of the community (including least heard voices) must be undertaken to inform the proposals and actions presented in Local Place Plans as they are to be representative of the community’s wants, needs, and desires for their area.

The legal requirements of Local Place Plans are set out below, alongside a checklist at the end of the Local Place Plan Template to ensure the plan meets these requirements.

Legal Status and Requirements of Local Place Plans

A Local Place Plan will be valid if the requirements under paragraphs 1(4) and 2(1) of Schedule 19 of the 1997 Act and the content of the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 are complied with. Essentially, these requirements include:

Information of the community body and its status
A clear map of the area being referred to in the Local Place Plan
A statement of your desired development proposals or use of land within the area with corresponding map(s)
Clear consideration of National Planning Framework, Local Development Plan, and any relevant Locality Plans
A statement on your view of the level and nature of community support for the Local Place Plan
A statement setting out the reasons (if any) for amending the Angus Local Development Plan

Once completed and then registered by the Council, Local Place Plans are legally required to be considered in the preparation of the next Local Development Plan if provided by the date that the Council sets in its Invitation to prepare a Local Place. For the preparation of the next Local Development Plan for Angus, Local Place Plans must be submitted to the Council no later than the 31st December 2025.

In order for a Local Place Plan to be registered, the submission must come from a community group which is either an established Community Council or a community body with a written constitution (set out in section 19 of Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015).

Are you?

A community council established in accordance with Part 4 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Or are you?

A community-controlled body defined within section 19 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015:

You have a written constitution that:

Defines a geographic community and states your organisation’s aims and purposes as including the promotion of a benefit for that community;
Guarantees membership of your organisation is open to any member of your community;
Requires that a majority of your members come from your community; AND that these ordinary members have majority control of your organisation;
States that surplus funds or assets from your organisation are applied to the benefit of your community

If your group can answer ‘Yes’ either of these questions, they meet the legal requirements to prepare a Local Place Plan. If your group does meet these definitions and you are interested in creating a Local Place Plan, you may want to consider becoming a constituted community group or working with an existing Community Body – e.g. your local Community Council.

Before submitting to the Council, the community group are required to send a copy of the proposed Local Place Plan and a notice to each Councillor for the area of the Local Place Plan, alongside any community council of whose area is within, or adjoins, the Local Place Plan area. This notice must contain information about the content and purpose of their Local Place plan, alongside details regarding how, when, and to whom any representations or comments should be made.

When should Local Place Plans be prepared in Angus?

Local Place Plans should be prepared as soon as possible to ensure they are considered in the next Local Development Plan. Angus Council have set the 31st December 2025 as the cut off for receiving Local Place Plans which will be considered for inclusion, where appropriate, within the next Local Development Plan in Angus.

What consultation must be included in Local Place Plans?

Before submitting your Local Place Plan to the Council, a copy must be sent to each relevant Councillor for the area the Local Place Plan covers, and any community council(s) whose area is within or adjoins the area.

Engagement with the wider community must be undertaken to ensure the plan is representative of the views of the community as a whole. A statement of this engagement must be included within the Local Place Plan to provide evidence of their support for the content and proposals included in the Local Place Plan.

This statement must also include a brief description of what methods of engagement/consultation were carried out, who these activities reached, rough estimates of how many individuals or groups were involved, and a summary of the views of support (or opposition) to the Local Place Plan in question.

Engagement Resources

Can a Local Place Plan be prepared collectively by more than one community body?

While the legislation does not stop multiple Local Place Plans being created for the same area, the Scottish Government encourages a collaborative approach between people and organisations wherever possible when creating a Local Place Plan. You will be required to submit a map of the area that your Local Place Plan covers.

What other plans or legislation must be considered in the preparation of Local Place Plans?

When preparing a Local Place Plan, the community body must have regard to the following plans:

National Planning Framework (NPF4) (Adopted 23 February 2023)
Angus Local Development Plan (2016) (Adopted 23 September 2016)

Any Locality Plans for the area included in the Local Place Plans must also be considered as there may be an opportunity to link up similar priorities and actions, avoiding duplication. Angus Locality Plans (2017) are available here:

Though not a legal requirement, the Community Body may want to refer to other documents which can provide context and evidence for the Local Place Plan. Such documents (not an exhaustive list) might include:

Community-led plans which have been previously prepared
Where no Locality Plan is in place, the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (2017-2030)
Other national/regional plans and strategies which may be relevant, such as the Cairngorms National Park Plan (Adopted 26 March 2021)
Planning permissions which may have a significant impact on the Local Place Plan area (Angus Council’s Planning Simple Search Portal can be used to view publicly available planning applications and associated documents).

What is the difference between Local Place Plans and other community-led plans?

The main difference between Local Place Plans and other community-led plans is the place-based aspect of Local Place Plans. They are to focus on land allocation for development or improvements and bring forward specific proposals for the use (or protection) of land within the area, alongside visions and priorities. Many other plans, such as the Council’s Locality Plans from 2017 were instead focussed on strategic priorities without specific consideration to the land or area in which these should be implemented.

Can a previous community-led plan be submitted?

To submit a previous community led plan as a Local Place Plan, it must fit the criteria and requirements set out under paragraphs 1(4) and 2(1) of Schedule 19 of the 1997 Act. As long as the plan meets these requirements, is place-based, and provides evidence of community consultation and engagement, then alterations to a previously submitted or prepared plan may be valid.

What issues cannot be covered in the Local Place Plan?

Certain issues or aspiration that communities may have for their area may not be considered as development, therefore, they would not be covered in Local Place Plan, for example:

Litter management and dog fouling
Certain issues with public transport (routes and timetables) that would be dealt with by the public transport organisation itself (i.e. Stagecoach)
Proposals which do not impact on the long-term use of land, such as occasional activities/events using existing facilities, spaces, and places.

Community bodies may, however, wish to consider how these important issues can be appropriately represented and addressed in a separate or specific part of the Local Place Plan.

If you have any questions about Local Place Plans, please contact us at LDP@angus.gov.uk

Next: Guidance from Scottish Government and other organisations