Local Development Plan supplementary and non-statutory guidance

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 guidance related to Policy 3, Design and Placemaking of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021. It gives guidance to those planning developments in the Cairngorms National Park, making sure that new construction respects the special environment of the park. It also stresses the importance of community engagement, and using site analysis to inform design. The document presents six qualities for successful places; distinctive, safe and pleasant, welcoming, adaptable, resource efficient and easy to move around and beyond, and considers sustainable drainage systems, as well as offering various case studies.

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 guidance for Policy 8 of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021, focusing on open space, sport, and recreation. It provides direction for planning applications to protect and enhance these assets, aligning with the goal of promoting active and healthy lifestyles. The guidance outlines criteria for new developments and redevelopments, emphasizing sustainable design, community needs, and access to path networks. It also stresses the importance of considering the impact on local communities and the need for alternatives if facilities are reduced, directing people to the Cairngorms Core Paths Plan for information on public access rights.

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 of the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan (LDP) 2021, which focuses on developer obligations. This guidance is used to assess planning applications and determine necessary contributions from developers to lessen the impact of new developments on local infrastructure and facilities. These contributions, secured through legal agreements or planning conditions, ensure that infrastructure and services can meet the increased needs from new developments, and can be put towards things like education, healthcare, community facilities, transport, and natural heritage. The level and type of contributions depend on the development's scale, location, and potential impact, and this document provides information on how these contributions are calculated by the five local authorities within the National Park.