Highland-wide LDP: Important legislative information regarding

The Town and Country Planning (Continuation in force of Local Plans) (Highland) (Scotland) Order 2012: 


The Order was laid before Parliament on March 16, 2012. The Order sets out which provisions of the existing eight local plans in Highland shall be continued in force following the adoption of the Highland-wide Local Development Plan. The intention is that these provisions will continue in force until Area Local Development Plans in the Highland Council are adopted.


Historically I believe relates to the following from the examination of the HwLDP last year, link here:


Extracts from letter from Reporters' Unit to Highland Council at link here



...The reporters request confirmation of what the council is envisaging in relation to the existing adopted local plans. Is it the council’s intention that these plans, or parts of them, will continue in force after adoption of the Highland-wide Local Development Plan?




...If the answer to question 1 is ‘yes’, it appears to the reporters essential that there be no doubt as to what parts of the existing plans are to continue in force, what parts are to be amended and what parts are to be superseded.



Item 2 - If the answer to the question in item 1 is ‘yes’, the council is asked 

produce a document that specifies (with reference to individual 

paragraphs, policies, proposals, proposal maps, etc) precisely which 

parts of each of the existing adopted local plans are to be: superseded; 

retained but updated; and retained without alteration.

Please clarify what is envisaged by “updated”. What process will be 

used to implement updating? How will users of the plans know which 

parts have been updated?

It would be helpful if any document produced in response to this request 

were to be in a form which could be attached as an appendix to the 

Highland-wide Local Development Plan.

Item 3 - Is it the intention of the council to seek a direction in terms of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, so that existing local plans, or parts of them, may continue in force after adoption of the Highland-wide Local Development Plan? If the council is intending to seek a direction, when will the request for a direction be made?"

Highland Council's letter of response is at link here


1.3 THC wishes to retain parts of its old local plans pending preparation and constitution of its three “area” local development plans for Highland. These will fill in the “local detail” for almost all parts of Highland. THC is discussing with the Scottish Government the procedural mechanism to achieve this aim. Our discussion with Scottish Government is ongoing and THC will provide the Reporters with further information when we are in a position to do so but we do not currently envisage the formal direction being required until at or just before the Intention to Adopt draft of the HwLDP.



1.4 The information provided in this response to the Reporters therefore sets out THC’s current thinking about which parts of the existing local plans should be retained, but on the basis of the above would be checked and if necessary amended in the light of any Reporter-recommended modifications to the HwLDP before submission by the Council of any request to Scottish Ministers for a direction in respect of retention.