Overview of the Act Local place plans Section 14: Local place plans
84.Section 14 of the Act inserts schedule 19 into the 1997 Act. This provides that a community body may prepare a local place plan, and sets out details about their preparation and submission and keeping a register and map of local place plans within a local authority area.
85.Section 14(2) of the Act inserts a new section 15A into the 1997 Act. This requires a planning authority, before preparing a local development plan, to publish an invitation to local communities to prepare local place plans, with information on the assistance available to do so, and on the manner in which and date by which local place plans must be prepared in order to be taken into account in the preparation of the local development plan.
86.Section 14(3) of the Act inserts a new section 15B into the 1997 Act, which requires the Scottish Ministers to carry out a review of local place plans within 7 years after the Act receives Royal Assent (by 25 July 2026). The review must cover: the number of local place plans submitted to and registered by planning authorities, with the names of the bodies that submitted them; a summary of the people who participated in preparing local place plans; the support given to community bodies; and assessments of how local place plans have influenced local development plans and planning decisions, and of their impact and effectiveness and whether further support is needed. The Scottish Ministers may require planning authorities to provide information for the report. The conclusions of the review must be set out in a report which is published and laid before the Scottish Parliament.
87.Section 14(4) of the Act amends section 16 of the 1997 Act to provide that where a planning authority are preparing their local development plan, they must take account of any registered local place plans within their district. Section 14(5) makes provision in case amendments made to section 16 of the 1997 Act by different parts of the Act come into force at different times. Section 14(6) of the Act amends section 20AA of the 1997 Act, inserted by section 11(3) of the Act, to provide that local place plans must be taken into account when a planning authority is amending its local development plan. Section 14(7) of the Act inserts schedule 19 (local place plans) into the 1997 Act.