Short guide to preparing local place plans

At the start of the process, the community body should:

• Make sure that they are properly constituted as a community body (either a Community Council or a ‘community-controlled body’ (as defined by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 – we can help advise on this if you are unsure)
• Decide what area the Local Place Plan will cover
• Think about the intended scope of the plan
• Arrange a team or steering group, and identify a work programme and budget. Please see pages 22-27 of the Draft How to Guide for further advice

This stage involves gathering information to understand the characteristics of the local area and the needs and issues it faces - pages 31-34 of the Draft How to Guide include an information checklist of potential information sources. Our Useful links page will also direct you to information.

A good community plan is based on good quality community engagement. We advise that you aim to meet the National Standards for Community Engagement. There are many options you might want to consider for engaging your community set out within pages 34-38 of the Draft How to Guide.

When preparing Local Place Plans, community bodies must be aware of and follow:

• The Local Development Plan (FIFEplan covers all of Fife)
• The National Planning Framework
• Any Locality Plan published for the area (there are many Locality Plans covering parts of Fife, these are usually referred to as Neighbourhood Plans – we can advise whether any are relevant to your area

We recommend that you consider whether any other plans are likely to be relevant, such as existing community action plans – the Let’s Talk Local pages on Fife’s Community Portal list existing plans for each of Fife’s seven committee areas.

There is flexibility around the format and content of Local Place Plans. To meet legislative requirements, they must contain the following as a minimum:

• Identify the community body who prepared the Local Place Plan
• A map clearly defining the boundaries of the Local Place Plan area
• A statement setting out the community body’s proposals as to the development or use of land

Where Local Place Plans contain proposals that relate to a specific area of land or particular building, or identify land or buildings considered to be of particular significance, the location of these should be identified on a map.

Paragraphs 36-47 of the Circular provide further guidance on the form and content of plans.

The community body carries out consultation on the proposed Local Place Plan before its submission to the Council, for validation and registration. There is flexibility about what form the consultation takes at this stage, As a minimum, however, the community body must consult:

• each Councillor for the Local Place Plan area, and
• any community council within or adjoining the Local Place Plan area

They must send a copy of the proposed Local Place Plan, with an information notice that contains a brief description of the content and purpose of the proposed Local Place Plan. There should be information how and where to send any comments, and the date by which they should be made. The consultation period must be a minimum of 28 days.

Although not a legal requirement, it is recommended that the community body consult the local community and other relevant stakeholders again at this stage.

Following consultation, the community body finalises the Local Place Plan. It should be sent to LPP@fife.gov.uk for validation and registration. The submission must include the following information:

• A copy of the written constitution of the community body.
• Contact details (including email address) for Fife Council to contact the community body.
• Evidence of meeting the requirements for consulting on the proposed Local Place Plan. This should include a list of the councillors and community councils consulted, a copy of the Proposed Local Place Plan and a copy of the information notice.
• A statement explaining how the community body has given regard to the existing Local Development Plan, National Planning Framework, and if applicable, any locality plan for the Local Place Plan area, in preparing the Local Place Plan.
• A statement setting out the community body’s view of the level and nature of support for the Local Place Plan, explaining how it has reached that view, including a description of any consultation carried out on the Proposed Local Place Plan.
• A copy of any document referred to in the Local Place Plan, unless it is a council document. We will accept electronic copies, or hyperlinks to documents on the web.
• If the community body considers that the Local Development Plan should be amended as a result of the Local Place Plan, a statement should be included setting out the reasons of the community body for the amendments it suggests.

The Council will assess Local Place Plan submissions to check that they meet all the relevant requirements set out in the legislation. It will then notify the community body whether or not it has been validated. Validated Local Place Plans will be placed in a public register.

The community body will have ownership of the delivery of the Local Place Plan. This can take many forms, for example:

• influencing other plans and strategies
• community-led delivery of projects
• acquiring land/buildings through community asset transfer

Section 4 of the Draft How to Guide includes advice on delivery.