Development Plan Scheme

The Comhairle is required to publish a Development Plan Scheme (DPS) to set out the stages, programme and consultation arrangements for preparing the new Plan. The DPS is reviewed annually to reflect progress with the Plan preparation.

The Comhairle is publishing a draft DPS 2023 due to changes in Planning Legislation that require public consultation on the Participation Statement element of the DPS.  The finalised version of the DPS will be republished in due course.

Draft Development Plan Scheme (2023) (589.4kB) (Opens in a new window or downloads a file)

View Previous Reviews of the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan – Development Plan Scheme

Participation Statement

The participation statement below is in draft format and is subject to public consultation and anticipated further guidance on community engagement. When engaging with stakeholders and the general public the National Standards for Community Engagement will be taken into account. The Comhairle welcomes your views on the content of the Participation Statement. Please respond to: localdevplan@cne-siar.gov.uk by 18th August 2023.

Community Engagement

The Comhairle is committed to meaningful community engagement. It seeks to:

• involve a range of interests, build on early engagement, particularly with communities, key agencies, identified groups of people and other stakeholders, to inform the shape of plans, proposals and guidance;
• take into account the National Standards for Community Engagement;
• tailor consultation to different plan stages, document types and/or interest groups;
• provide communications/documents that are easily accessible and easy to understand;
• listen and to fully consider representations; and maintain an open and transparent consultation process.

As work progresses on the reviewed and new Supplementary Guidance's, consultation with communities, relevant interest groups, Key Agencies and stakeholders will take place. This, along with national policy changes, will inform these documents, and will apply to any planning briefs prepared for housing or development sites.

Consultation Methods

A range of methods will be utilised to effectively engage with agencies and the public. In light of Covid 19, subsequent legislation and guidance issued, consultations methods have evolved. The methods used will vary and will be tailored to the different interest groups to make the best use of resources, maximising participation and inclusion. These are outlined in Diagram 2 and 3 and include:

• Advertisements and media articles in local and community papers;
• Comhairle website and Social-Media (including potentially Facebook and Twitter, Instagram); to publicise current progress and information on how to become involved;
• Meetings, particularly with agencies and with other bodies, utilising video and conference calls as necessary;
• Use of Storymap when presenting documents online and for interactive consultation and engagement;
• Consultation response forms to encourage input, whilst promoting use of online form platforms;
• Place Standard Tool - different versions of the tool will be used as required to engage with different audiences;
• Building Standards and Planning Service Stakeholder Newsletter is published regularly and provides updates on the LDP and wider Development Plan activities to stakeholders. This promotes awareness and provides an opportunity for wider engagement at key Plan milestone.

 

For Correspondence

Please e-mail:  localdevplan@cne-siar.gov.uk

or send by post to:

Local Development Plan
Chief Executives Department
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Sandwick Road, Stornoway
Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW

Contact

For further information on the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan please contact the Development Plan team by e-mail localdevplan@cne-siar.gov.uk