In the last few months, New Practice have been busy supporting a variety of community groups and local authorities in Scotland, both in urban and rural locations, in the planning and delivery of Local Place Plans for their areas.

Local Place Plans were introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 with aims to increase community participation in the new Scottish planning system; they give communities the opportunity to have their say on what development within their local area could look like.

Developing a Local Place Plan is a process that encourages communities within an area to work together, understanding their priorities while supporting the building of a collective identity. The final document communicates the community’s aspirations for their area, made for and with local people. Every Local Place Plan is different, and can include specific proposals for the development and use of land, to a more general set of principles and aims for an area’s future, alongside recommendations for changes to local planning policy.

In our supporting role, we work closely with local groups to plan and deliver engagement programmes which aim at facilitating conversations with communities, stakeholders and duty-bearers, to understand the different needs and desires across the local population. A key focus for a robust Place Plan lies in efforts to bring less-heard voices into the process, ensuring a vision that goes beyond ‘usual suspects’ and incorporates the desires and needs of a diverse and rich cross section of its respective community.

We look forward to continuing our work in this rewarding process, and to ‘handing over’ a number of these Local Place Plans to their communities!

Who is involved in the making of Local Place Plans?

List of current clients:

• Dumfries and Galloway Council

• Peebles Placemaking Team

• Broomhill Community Council