Planning Guidance - November 2021

This document contains non-statutory guidance for Policy 2, Supporting Economic Growth, of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It explains how development should support sustainable economic growth within the Cairngorms National Park, emphasizing the importance of town centres, tourism, leisure, and existing economic activities. The guidance provides considerations for planning applications with potential economic impacts, encouraging proposals that align with the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan and Economic Action Plan, and which are compatible with local priorities and existing businesses. It also highlights the need to protect existing economic activity and offers sources of advice and information for businesses.

This document contains non-statutory planning guidance for Policy 3, Sustainable Design, within the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan. It provides detailed information on how to comply with the policy, covering aspects like minimising climate change effects, using local materials, promoting sustainable transport, improving open space, protecting neighbors, and enhancing biodiversity. The guidance emphasizes sustainable design principles for new developments and alterations and the importance of incorporating measures for energy efficiency, waste reduction, and community well-being. The document also explains the need to consider the impact of development on existing paths and access routes, which are there to encourage a transport network that includes personal transport.

This document contains non-statutory guidance for Policy 4, Natural Heritage, within the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It provides information on how to safeguard natural heritage interests when planning developments, including considering the potential effects on habitats and wildlife. The guidance outlines a mitigation hierarchy, which prioritizes avoiding negative impacts, then minimizing them, and finally mitigating or compensating for any remaining effects. It also emphasizes the importance of ecological surveys and provides sources of advice and information for developers to ensure their proposals comply with Policy 4.

This document contains non-statutory guidance that forms part of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It applies to all planning applications within the Cairngorms National Park and should be used when preparing and assessing these applications to ensure that Policy 5, which focuses on landscape, is followed. The guidance offers advice on considering the landscape, including special landscape qualities, National Scenic Areas (NSAs), and Wild Land Areas (WLAs), and it highlights the need to avoid adverse effects on the landscape by using a mitigation hierarchy. It also covers private roads and ways and the assessment of development effects on the landscape, providing links to other useful information sources and guidance for different steps in landscape assessment and design.

This document contains non-statutory guidance from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) regarding Policy 7 of the Local Development Plan 2021, which focuses on renewable energy. The guidance aims to support planning applications that incorporate renewable energy systems within the Cairngorms National Park and outlines considerations for various renewable energy proposals, including hydro-electricity, wind energy, biomass, energy from waste, solar power, and heat pumps; it emphasizes minimizing adverse impacts on the environment, landscape, community, and cultural heritage and directs readers to relevant resources from NatureScot and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The document offers specific guidance for different types of renewable energy systems, encompassing site selection, potential impacts, and necessary assessments, and stresses the importance of early engagement with relevant authorities and adherence to the mitigation hierarchy to minimize adverse effects.

This document contains non-statutory planning guidance related to Policy 8, which focuses on sport and recreation, within the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan. It provides details on how to comply with Policy 8 in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland. The guidance outlines policy requirements and information needed for new developments or extensions to existing facilities, as well as reductions of facilities or opportunities. It also addresses considerations for the re-development of sports and recreation facilities, emphasizing the importance of protecting public access routes and ensuring community benefits.

This document contains non-statutory guidance for Policy 9, Cultural Heritage, of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It applies to all planning applications within the Cairngorms National Park and should be used during the preparation and assessment of planning applications to ensure that the requirements of Policy 9 are met. The document outlines general principles for safeguarding cultural heritage, including repair and restoration, re-purposing, and replacement, and addresses specific cultural heritage interests in the Park, such as scheduled monuments, conservation areas, listed buildings, planned towns, inventory gardens and designed landscapes, battlefields, and archaeological sites. It also provides guidance on supporting information for planning applications and other considerations, such as the potential impact on protected species.

This document contains non-statutory guidance for Policy 10 Resources within the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It gives direction on how to support the conservation, extraction, and use of resources in a sustainable way, while also supporting the aims of the National Park. The guidance covers water resources, including managing water quantity and quality, drainage requirements, and flood risk. It also addresses waste management, encouraging waste minimisation and sustainable practices. The document details considerations for developments affecting mineral reserves, carbon sinks and stores (like peat and soil), and contaminated land, emphasizing the importance of minimizing environmental impact and ensuring proper restoration. It also provides information on useful resources and contacts for further guidance.

This document contains supplementary guidance for Policy 11 - Developer Contributions, as part of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan. It explains how developers can contribute to the community to offset the impact of new developments. This can include things like improving local schools, libraries, healthcare, recycling, and transport. The document highlights that contributions are used if the development increases pressure on local services and facilities and the amount will vary depending on the scale and impact of the proposal.