Flood risk and water management - Engagement version

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity Ugh­dar­ras Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

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Top­ic: Flood risk and water management

Engage­ment ver­sion – August 2025

Require­ments addressed in this section

Table 1 Inform­a­tion required by the Town and Coun­try Plan­ning (Scot­land) Act 1997, as amended, regard­ing the issue addressed in this section.

Sec­tion	Require­ment
Sec­tion 15(2A)	A loc­al devel­op­ment plan is to include a state­ment of the plan­ning authority’s policies and pro­pos­als as to the pro­vi­sion of pub­lic conveniences.
Sec­tion 15(2B)	A loc­al devel­op­ment plan is to include a state­ment of the plan­ning authority’s policies and pro­pos­als as to the pro­vi­sion of water refill locations.
Sec­tion 15(5)(a)	the prin­cip­al [phys­ic­al], cul­tur­al, eco­nom­ic, social, built her­it­age and [envir­on­ment­al] char­ac­ter­ist­ics of the district.

Table 2 Inform­a­tion required by the Town and Coun­try Plan­ning (Devel­op­ment Plan­ning) (Scot­land) Reg­u­la­tions 2023, regard­ing the issue addressed in this section.

Reg­u­la­tion	Require­ment
Reg­u­la­tion 9(2)(e) (iv)	The inform­a­tion and con­sid­er­a­tions are-…
	The fol­low­ing plans and strategies, inso­far as relat­ing to the loc­al devel­op­ment plan area—
	any river basin man­age­ment plan,
Reg­u­la­tion 9(2)(e) (v)	The inform­a­tion and con­sid­er­a­tions are — …
	The fol­low­ing plans and strategies, inso­far as relat­ing to the loc­al devel­op­ment plan area—
	any flood risk man­age­ment plan,
Reg­u­la­tion 9(2) (e) (vi)	The inform­a­tion and con­sid­er­a­tions are — …

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Reg­u­la­tion	Require­ment
	The fol­low­ing plans and strategies, inso­far as relat­ing to the loc­al devel­op­ment plan area—
	any loc­al flood risk man­age­ment plan,

Links to evidence

• Water Frame­work Dir­ect­ive https://​envir​on​ment​.ec​.europa​.eu/​t​o​p​i​c​s​/​w​a​t​e​r​/​w​a​t​e​r​-​f​r​a​m​e​w​o​r​k​-​d​i​r​e​c​t​i​ve_en • Nation­al Parks Act (Scot­land) 2000 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​a​s​p​/​2​0​0​0​/​1​0​/​c​o​n​tents • Flood Risk Man­age­ment (Scot­land) Act 2009 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​a​s​p​/​2​0​0​9​/​6​/​c​o​n​tents • Town and Coun­try Plan­ning (Scot­land) Act 1997 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​u​k​p​g​a​/​1​9​9​7​/​8​/​c​o​n​tents • Envir­on­ment­al Pro­tec­tion Act 1990 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​u​k​p​g​a​/​1​9​9​0​/​4​3​/​c​o​n​tents • Water Resources (Scot­land) Act 2013 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​a​s​p​/​2​0​1​3​/​5​/​c​o​n​tents • Water Inten­ded for Human Con­sump­tion (Private Sup­plies) (Scot­land) Reg­u­la­tions 2017 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​s​s​i​/​2​0​1​7​/​2​8​2​/​c​o​n​tents • Dir­ect­ive 2000/60//EC of the European Par­lia­ment and if the Coun­cil of 23 Octo­ber 2000 estab­lish­ing a frame­work for Com­munity action in the field of water policy (Water Frame­work Dir­ect­ive) https://​eur​-lex​.europa​.eu/​r​e​s​o​u​r​c​e​.​h​t​m​l​?​u​r​i​=​c​e​l​l​a​r​:​5​c​8​3​5​a​f​b​-​2​e​c​6​-​4​5​7​7​-​bdf8- 756d3d694eeb.0004.02/DOC_1&format=PDF • Nation­al Plan­ning Frame­work 4 https://​www​.dpea​.scot​land​.gov​.uk/​L​i​b​r​a​r​y​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​.​a​s​p​x​?​i​d​=2094

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• Secur­ing a green recov­ery on a path to net zero: cli­mate change plan 2018 – 2032 – update https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy- plan/2020/12/se­cur­ing-green-recov­ery-path-net-zero-update-cli­mate-change-plan- 20182032/­doc­u­ment­s/up­date-cli­mate-change-plan-2018 – 2032-secur­ing-green- recov­ery-path-net-zer­o/up­date-cli­mate-change-plan-2018 – 2032-secur­ing-green- recovery-path-net-zero/govscot%3Adocument/update-climate-change-plan-2018- 2032-securing-green-recovery-path-net-zero.pdf • Scot­tish Nation­al Adapt­a­tion Plan 2024 – 2029 https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy- plan/2024/09/scot­tish-nation­al-adapt­a­tion-plan-2024 – 2029‑2/­doc­u­ment­s/scot­tish- nation­al-adapt­a­tion-plan-2024 – 2029/scot­tish-nation­al-adapt­a­tion-plan-2024- 2029/govscot%3Adocument/scottish-national-adaptation-plan-2024 – 2029.pdf • Water-Resi­li­ent Places: A Policy Frame­work for Sur­face Water Man­age­ment and Blue – Green Infra­struc­ture 2021 https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and- guid­ance/2021/02/wa­ter-resi­li­ent-places-policy-frame­work-sur­face-water- man­age­ment-blue-green-infra­struc­ture/­doc­u­ment­s/wa­ter-resi­li­ent-places-policy- frame­work-sur­face-water-man­age­ment-blue-green-infra­struc­ture/wa­ter-resi­li­ent- places-policy-frame­work-sur­face-water-man­age­ment-blue-green- infrastructure/govscot%3Adocument/water-resilient-places-policy-framework- surface-water-management-blue-green-infrastructure.pdf • A Nation­al Mis­sion with Loc­al Impact: Infra­struc­ture Invest­ment Plan for Scot­land 2021 – 2022 to 2025 – 2026 https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy- plan/2021/02/n­a­tion­al-mis­sion-loc­al-impact-infra­struc­ture-invest­ment-plan- scot­land-2021 – 22-2025 – 26/­doc­u­ment­s/n­a­tion­al-mis­sion-loc­al-impact- infra­struc­ture-invest­ment-plan-scot­land-2021 – 22-2025 – 26/n­a­tion­al-mis­sion-loc­al- impact-infra­struc­ture-invest­ment-plan-scot­land-2021 – 22-2025- 26/govscot%3Adocument/national-mission-local-impact-infrastructure-investment- plan-scot­land-2021 – 22-2025 – 26.pdf • Our Sus­tain­able Future Togeth­er: Long-Term Strategy https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Pub­lic­a­tion­s/Stra­tegic-Plan/Long-Term-Strategy/Our-Sus­tain­able-Future- Together_Scottish-Water-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf

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• Scot­tish Water Stra­tegic Plan – A sus­tain­able future togeth­er https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Publications/Strategic-Plan/030220StrategicPlanASustainableFutureTogether.pdf • Scot­tish Water Cli­mate Change Adapt­a­tion Plan 2024 https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Publications/Climate-Change/290224ScottishWaterAdaptationPlan.pdf • Scotland’s Nation­al Water Scarcity Plan 2020 https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​2​1​9​3​0​2​/​s​c​o​t​l​a​n​d​s​-​n​a​t​i​o​n​a​l​-​w​a​t​e​r​-​s​c​a​r​c​i​t​y​-​p​l​a​n.pdf • Scot­tish Biod­iversity Strategy to 2045: Tack­ling the Nature Emer­gency in Scot­land https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy- plan/2024/11/scot­tish-biod­iversity-strategy-2045/­doc­u­ment­s/scot­tish-biod­iversity- strategy-2045-tack­ling-nature-emer­gency-scot­land/scot­tish-biod­iversity-strategy- 2045-tackling-nature-emergency-scotland/govscot%3Adocument/scottish- biodiversity-strategy-2045-tackling-nature-emergency-scotland.pdf • Cairngorms Nation­al Park Part­ner­ship Plan 2022 – 2027 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​2​/​0​9​/​C​a​i​r​n​g​o​r​m​s​-​N​a​t​i​o​n​a​l​-​Park- Partnership-Plan-full-version-FINAL.pdf • Cairngorms Nation­al Park Loc­al Devel­op­ment Plan 2021 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​1​/​0​3​/​C​N​P​A​-​L​D​P​-​2​0​2​1​-​w​e​b.pdf • Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2019 – 2024 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/wp- content/uploads/2019/02/CairngormsNatureAction19_24PlanFinal.pdf • Guid­ance for plan­ning author­it­ies on Stra­tegic Flood Risk Assess­ment (2023) https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​3​p​s​d​f​w​c​e​/​s​f​r​a​-​g​u​i​d​a​n​c​e​-​f​o​r​-​p​l​a​n​ning- authorities.pdf • Nation­al Flood Risk Assess­ment 2024 https://​inform​at​ics​.sepa​.org​.uk/​N​F​R​A​2018/

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• Nation­al Flood Risk Assess­ment for Flood Risk Man­age­ment in Scot­land 2024: Review Sum­mary https://beta.sepa.scot/media/u12bwpdw/report-national-flood-risk-assessment- review-summary.pdf • Poten­tially Vul­ner­able Areas for Flood Risk Man­age­ment in Scot­land 2024: con­sulta­tion sum­mary report https://​con​sulta​tion​.sepa​.org​.uk/​e​v​i​d​e​n​c​e​-​a​n​d​-​f​l​o​o​d​i​n​g​/​p​o​t​e​n​t​i​a​l​l​y​-​v​u​l​n​e​r​able- areas/results/public_consultation_report_final.pdf • Assess­ment of Poten­tial Applic­a­tion of the Reser­voir Inund­a­tion Maps for Land Use Plan­ning Pur­poses Pos­i­tion State­ment https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​5​9​4​6​3​3​/​r​e​s​e​r​v​o​i​r​-​p​o​s​i​t​i​o​n​-​s​t​a​t​e​m​e​n​t.pdf • The River Basin Man­age­ment Plan for Scot­land 2021 – 2027 https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​5​9​4​0​8​8​/​2​1​1​2​2​2​-​f​i​n​a​l​-​r​b​m​p​3​-​s​c​o​t​l​a​n​d.pdf • Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan for the Find­horn, Nairn and Spey­side Loc­al Plan Dis­trict https://​www2​.sepa​.org​.uk/​f​r​m​p​l​a​n​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​l​p​d​5​-​f​i​n​d​h​o​r​n​-​n​a​i​r​n​-​a​n​d​-​s​p​e​y​side- frmp-2021.pdf • Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan for the North East Loc­al Plan Dis­trict 2021 https://​www2​.sepa​.org​.uk/​f​r​m​p​l​a​n​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​l​p​d​6​-​n​o​r​t​h​-​e​a​s​t​-​f​r​m​p​-​2​0​2​1.pdf • Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan for the Tay Loc­al Plan Dis­trict 2021 https://​www2​.sepa​.org​.uk/​f​r​m​p​l​a​n​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​l​p​d​8​-​t​a​y​-​f​r​m​p​-​2​0​2​1.pdf • Find­horn, Nairn and Spey­side Loc­al Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan 2022 – 2028 http://​www​.moray​.gov​.uk/​d​o​w​n​l​o​a​d​s​/​f​i​l​e​1​4​5​8​4​1.pdf • North East Loc­al Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan 2022 – 2028 https://​www​.aber​deen​shire​.gov​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​2​7​4​7​9​/​l​o​c​a​l​-​f​l​o​o​d​-​r​i​s​k​-​m​a​n​a​g​e​m​e​n​t​-​plan- 2022 – 2028.pdf • Tay Loc­al Flood Risk Man­age­ment Plan 2022 – 2028 https://​www​.pkc​.gov​.uk/​m​e​d​i​a​/​5​0​6​8​9​/​T​a​y​-​L​o​c​a​l​-FRM- Plan/pdf/Tay_Local_FRM_Plan_Final.pdf?m=638101523092000000

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• Dee Catch­ment Man­age­ment Plan Sum­mary https://​www​.deep​art​ner​ship​.org/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​0​/​0​6​/​DCMP- SummaryFORWEB.pdf • Dee Catch­ment Part­ner­ship Deliv­ery Plan 2022 – 2027 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​5​/​0​4​/​D​e​e​-​C​a​t​c​h​m​e​n​t​-​P​a​r​t​n​e​r​ship- Deliv­ery-Plan-2022 — -2027.pdf • Spey Catch­ment Man­age­ment Plan https://​speycatch​ment​.org/​s​p​e​y​-​c​a​t​c​h​m​e​n​t​-​m​a​n​a​g​e​m​e​n​t​-​plan/ • Aviemore, Rothiemurchus and Glen­more Com­munity Action Plan Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​A​v​i​e​m​o​r​e​-​R​o​t​h​i​e​m​u​r​c​h​u​s​-​G​l​e​n​more- Community-Action-Plan-2024.pdf • Bal­later and Crath­ie Com­munity Action Plan 2023 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​B​a​l​l​a​t​e​r​-​C​r​a​t​h​i​e​-​C​A​P​-​2​0​2​3​-​F​i​n​a​l.pdf • Blair Atholl Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​B​l​a​i​r​-​A​t​h​o​l​l​-​S​t​r​u​a​n​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​tion- Plan-2023-final.pdf • Breamar Com­munity Action Plan 2017 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​2​0​1​7​-​B​r​a​e​m​a​r​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​P​l​a​n.pdf • Car­rbridge Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​C​a​r​r​b​r​i​d​g​e​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​Plan- 2022.pdf • Crom­dale and Advie Com­munity Action Plan 2013 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​2​0​1​3​C​r​o​m​d​a​l​e​A​d​v​i​e​A​c​t​i​o​n​P​l​a​n.pdf • Dal­whin­nie Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​D​a​l​w​h​i​n​n​i​e​C​A​P​2​0​2​3​R​e​p​o​r​t.pdf

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• Dul­nain Bridge Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​D​u​l​n​a​i​n​-​B​r​i​d​g​e​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​tion- Plan-2024 – 1‑2.pdf • Kin­craig and loc­al­ity Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​K​i​n​c​r​a​i​g​-​a​n​d​-​l​o​c​a​l​i​t​y​-​C​o​m​m​u​nity- Action-Plan-2024.pdf • Lag­gan Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​L​a​g​g​a​n​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​Plan- 2022.pdf • Nethy Bridge Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​N​e​t​h​y​-​B​r​i​d​g​e​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​Plan- 2023.pdf • New­ton­more Com­munity Action Plan: Look­ing to 2030 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​N​e​w​t​o​n​m​o​r​e​-​C​o​m​m​u​n​i​t​y​-​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​Plan- 2022.pdf • Strath­don Area Com­munity Action Plan 2016 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​d​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​s​/​2​0​1​6​-​S​t​r​a​t​h​d​o​n​-​A​c​t​i​o​n​-​P​l​a​n.pdf • Cairngorms Nation­al Park Loc­al Devel­op­ment Plan 3: Stra­tegic flood risk assess­ment 2024 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​4​/​0​3​/​C​a​i​r​n​g​o​r​m​s​-​S​t​r​a​t​e​g​i​c​-​F​lood- Risk-Assessment-2024.pdf • PCS 20000559 Scot­tish Envir­on­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency response to Cairngorms Nation­al Park Author­ity draft Stra­tegic Flood Risk Assess­ment https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​5​/​0​4​/​P​C​S​-​2​0​0​0​0​5​5​9​-​SEPA- Response-to-CNPA-Draft-Stra­tegic-Flood-Risk-Assess­mentRedacted.pdf • Cairngorms evid­ence report – ver­sion 3.0 flood haz­ard maps cor­res­pond­ence https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​5​/​04/RE-Cairngorms-evid­ence- report-version-3_0-flood-hazard-maps.pdf

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• Scot­tish Envir­on­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency reser­voir inund­a­tion map https://​map​.sepa​.org​.uk/​r​e​s​e​r​v​o​i​r​s​f​l​o​o​d​m​a​p​/​M​a​p.htm • Cairngorms Nature Action Plan 2019 – 2024 https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/wp- content/uploads/2019/02/CairngormsNatureAction19_24PlanFinal.pdf • Upper Spey beaver trans­lo­ca­tion – mon­it­or­ing and mit­ig­a­tion plan https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​3​/​1​2​/​R​e​d​a​c​t​e​d​-​A​p​p​e​n​d​i​x-14- Monitoring-and-Mitigation-Plan-2023.pdf • Scot­tish Envir­on­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency water clas­si­fic­a­tion hub https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​d​a​t​a​-​v​i​s​u​a​l​i​s​a​t​i​o​n​/​w​a​t​e​r​-​c​l​a​s​s​i​f​i​c​a​t​i​o​n-hub • Scot­tish Envir­on­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency water envir­on­ment hub https://​www​.sepa​.org​.uk/​d​a​t​a​-​v​i​s​u​a​l​i​s​a​t​i​o​n​/​w​a​t​e​r​-​e​n​v​i​r​o​n​m​e​n​t-hub • Cairngorms Nation­al Park – Water­body inform­a­tion https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​4​/​1​2​/​C​a​i​r​n​g​o​r​m​s​-​N​a​t​i​o​n​a​l​-​Park- waterbody-information.pdf • Scot­tish Pol­lut­ant Release Invent­ory https://​inform​at​ics​.sepa​.org​.uk/​SPRI/ • Nitrate Vul­ner­able Zones: maps https://www.gov.scot/publications/nitrate-vulnerable-zones-maps/ • The Urb­an Waste Water Treat­ment (Scot­land) Reg­u­la­tions 1994 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​u​k​s​i​/​1​9​9​4​/​2​8​4​2​/​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​s​/made • Urb­an Waste Water Treat­ment Dir­ect­ive Sens­it­ive Areas 2024 https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/map/2016/0 1/urb­an-waste-water-treat­ment-sens­it­ive-areas-map/­doc­u­ment­s/urb­an-waste- water-treat­ment-sens­it­ive-areas-map- 2019/urb­an-waste-water-treat­ment- sens­it­ive-areas-map- 2019/govscot%3Adocument/UWWT%2BSA%2BMap%2B2024.pdf • Loch Mor­lich bathing water inform­a­tion https://bathingwaters.sepa.scot/locations-and-results/results/?location=366986

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• Cairngorms Nation­al Park – Pro­tec­ted site inform­a­tion https://​cairngorms​.co​.uk/​w​p​-​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​/​u​p​l​o​a​d​s​/​2​0​2​5​/​0​1​/​C​a​i​r​n​g​o​r​m​s​-​N​a​t​i​o​n​a​l​-​Park- protected-site-information.pdf • Scot­tish Envir­on­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency Plan­ning Advice Note for Plan­ning Author­it­ies: Loc­al Devel­op­ment Plan Evid­ence Gath­er­ing: Water Scarcity https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/op5dcbka/pan-for-water-scarcity-evidence‑3.docx • Cli­mate Crisis: Inform­ing Scotland’s action­able mit­ig­a­tion and adapt­a­tion response to water scarcity https://​www​.crew​.ac​.uk/​s​i​t​e​s​/​w​w​w​.​c​r​e​w​.​a​c​.​u​k​/​f​i​l​e​s​/​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​t​i​o​n​/​C​R​W​2​0​22_07 M ain%20report%20and%20appendices_2024_04_15_V3_FINAL.pdf • Cli­mate Crisis: Inform­ing Scotland’s action­able mit­ig­a­tion and adapt­a­tion response to water scarcity https://​www​.crew​.ac​.uk/​s​i​t​e​s​/​w​w​w​.​c​r​e​w​.​a​c​.​u​k​/​f​i​l​e​s​/​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​t​i​o​n​/​C​R​W​2​0​22_07 M ain%20report%20and%20appendices_2024_04_15_V3_FINAL.pdf • Water scarcity in Scot­land https://​storymaps​.arc​gis​.com/​s​t​o​r​i​e​s​/​f​9​b​c​4​4​9​1​b​0​a​6​4​0​9​a​a​7​c​d​1​a​a​7​5​7​b​ac6cb • Future pre­dic­tions of water scarcity in Scot­land: impact on dis­til­ler­ies and agri­cul­tur­al abstract­ors https://​www​.crew​.ac​.uk/​s​i​t​e​s​/​w​w​w​.​c​r​e​w​.​a​c​.​u​k​/​f​i​l​e​s​/​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​t​i​o​n​/​C​R​W​2​0​2​3​_​0​5​_​Main_ report_and_appendices_FINAL_V2.pdf • Drought Risk Assess­ment Tool https://​www2​.sepa​.org​.uk/​d​r​o​u​g​h​t​-​r​i​s​k​-​a​s​s​e​s​s​m​e​n​t​-tool • 8010 – River Spey at Grant­own river mon­it­or­ing data https://​nrfa​.ceh​.ac​.uk/​d​a​t​a​/​s​t​a​t​i​o​n​/​i​n​f​o​/8010 • 12003 — River Dee at Pol­hol­lick river mon­it­or­ing data https://​nrfa​.ceh​.ac​.uk/​d​a​t​a​/​s​t​a​t​i​o​n​/​i​n​f​o​/​12003 • Scot­tish Water guide to liv­ing or work­ing in a drink­ing water pro­tec­ted area https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Pub­lic­a­tion­s/En­ergy-and-Sus­tain­ab­il­ity/Sus­tain­able-Land- Management/200320SWProtectedDrinkingWaterV4Lrweb.pdf

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• Pub­lic Water Sup­plies (Scot­land) Reg­u­la­tions 2014 https://​www​.legis​la​tion​.gov​.uk/​s​d​s​i​/​2​0​1​4​/​9​7​8​0​1​1​1​0​2​4​7​8​2​/​c​o​n​tents • Drink­ing water pro­tec­ted areas Scot­land river basin dis­trict: maps https://www.gov.scot/publications/drinking-water-protected-areas-scotland-river- basin-dis­trict-maps/ • Scot­tish Water List of Pre­cau­tions for Drink­ing Water and Assets – Gen­er­al https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Pub­lic­a­tion­s/En­ergy-and-Sus­tain­ab­il­ity/Sus­tain­able-Land- Management/​091120SWListOfPrecautionsForDrinkingWaterAndAssetsGeneralEdD. pdf • Scot­tish Water List of Pre­cau­tions for Drink­ing Water and Assets – Hous­ing and mixed use https://​www​.scot​tish​wa​ter​.co​.uk/​-​/​m​e​d​i​a​/​S​c​o​t​t​i​s​h​W​a​t​e​r​/​D​o​c​u​m​e​n​t​-​H​u​b​/Key- Pub­lic­a­tion­s/En­ergy-and-Sus­tain­ab­il­ity/Sus­tain­able-Land- Management/​131120SWListofPrecautionsforDrinkingWaterandAssetsHousingand mixeduseEdE.pdf • Private water sup­plies https://data.spatialhub.scot/dataset/private_water_supply_properties-is • Private Water Sup­plies and Cli­mate Change: The likely impacts of cli­mate change (amount, fre­quency and dis­tri­bu­tion of pre­cip­it­a­tion), and the resi­li­ence of private water sup­plies https://​www​.crew​.ac​.uk/​s​i​t​e​s​/​w​w​w​.​c​r​e​w​.​a​c​.​u​k​/​f​i​l​e​s​/​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​t​i​o​n​/​C​R​W​2​0​1​8​_​0​5​_​r​eport _FINAL.pdf • Sep­tic tanks https://data.spatialhub.scot/dataset/septic_tanks-is • Scot­tish Water Top up Taps https://​www​.your​wa​tery​ourlife​.co​.uk/​f​i​n​d​-​m​y​-​n​e​a​r​e​s​t​-tap/

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Sum­mary of Evidence

Policy Con­text

Nation­al Plan­ning Frame­work 4

Nation­al Plan­ning Frame­work 4’s policy 1 Tack­ling the cli­mate and nature crises states that loc­al devel­op­ment plans must address the glob­al cli­mate emer­gency and nature crisis by ensur­ing the spa­tial strategy will reduce emis­sions and adapt to cur­rent and future risks of cli­mate change by pro­mot­ing nature recov­ery and res­tor­a­tion in the area.

Policy 2 Cli­mate mit­ig­a­tion and adapt­a­tion states that loc­al devel­op­ment plans should sup­port adapt­a­tion to the cur­rent and future impacts of cli­mate change by tak­ing into account cli­mate risks, guid­ing devel­op­ment away from vul­ner­able areas, and enabling places to adapt to those risks.

The risks asso­ci­ated with the require­ments of these two policies include those from flood­ing and water scarcity.

Policy 22 Flood risk and water man­age­ment aims to strengthen resi­li­ence to flood risk by pro­mot­ing avoid­ance as a first prin­ciple and redu­cing the vul­ner­ab­il­ity of exist­ing and future devel­op­ment to flood­ing. For plan­ning pur­poses, at risk of flood­ing or in a flood risk area means land or built form with an annu­al prob­ab­il­ity of being flooded of great­er than 0.5% which must include an appro­pri­ate allow­ance for future cli­mate change.

It sets out that loc­al devel­op­ment plans should strengthen com­munity resi­li­ence to the cur­rent and future impacts of cli­mate change, by avoid­ing devel­op­ment in areas at flood risk as a first prin­ciple. Resi­li­ence should also be sup­por­ted by man­aging the need to bring pre­vi­ously used sites in built up areas into pos­it­ive use; plan­ning for adapt­a­tion meas­ures; and identi­fy­ing oppor­tun­it­ies to imple­ment improve­ments to the water envir­on­ment through nat­ur­al flood risk man­age­ment and blue green infrastructure.

Nation­al Plan­ning Frame­work 4 states that loc­al devel­op­ment plans should take into account the prob­ab­il­ity of flood­ing from all sources and make use of rel­ev­ant flood risk and river basin man­age­ment plans for the area. A pre­cau­tion­ary approach should be taken, regard­ing the cal­cu­lated prob­ab­il­ity of flood­ing as a best estim­ate, not a pre­cise fore­cast. For areas where cli­mate change is likely to res­ult in increased flood expos­ure that becomes unman­age­able, con­sid­er­a­tion should be giv­en to altern­at­ive sus­tain­able land use.

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Policy 18 Infra­struc­ture first sets out the require­ments for all types of infra­struc­ture, includ­ing water sup­ply and water waste man­age­ment infra­struc­ture. It states that for loc­al devel­op­ment plans and deliv­ery pro­grammes should be based on an integ­rated infra­struc­ture first approach. Loc­al devel­op­ment plans should: • Be informed by evid­ence on infra­struc­ture capa­city, con­di­tion, needs and deliv­er­ab­il­ity with­in the plan area, includ­ing cross bound­ary infra­struc­ture. • Set out the infra­struc­ture require­ments to deliv­er the spa­tial strategy, informed by the evid­ence base, identi­fy­ing the infra­struc­ture pri­or­it­ies, and where, how, when and by whom they will be delivered. • Indic­ate the type, level (or meth­od of cal­cu­la­tion) and loc­a­tion of the fin­an­cial or in- kind con­tri­bu­tions, and the types of devel­op­ment from which they will be required.

Loc­al devel­op­ment plans should align with rel­ev­ant nation­al, region­al and loc­al infra­struc­ture plans and policies and take account of the Scot­tish Gov­ern­ment infra­struc­ture invest­ment hier­archy and sus­tain­able travel and invest­ment hier­arch­ies in devel­op­ing the spa­tial strategy.

Nation­al Plan­ning Frame­work 4 also encour­ages con­sist­ent early engage­ment and col­lab­or­a­tion between rel­ev­ant stake­hold­ers to bet­ter inform decisions on land use and investment.

Policy 20 Blue and green infra­struc­ture have spa­tial strategies that identi­fy and pro­tect blue and green infra­struc­ture. These may have bene­fits for nat­ur­al flood man­age­ment. Detail on blue and green infra­struc­ture will be covered in a sep­ar­ate evid­ence paper to be engaged on later in 2025.

Policy 10 states that the spa­tial strategies of loc­al devel­op­ment plans should con­sider how to adapt coast­lines to the impacts of cli­mate change. This should recog­nise that rising sea levels and more extreme weath­er events res­ult­ing from cli­mate change will poten­tially have a sig­ni­fic­ant impact on coastal and islands areas, and take a pre­cau­tion­ary approach to flood risk includ­ing by inund­a­tion. The Cairngorms Nation­al Park does not have a coast­line and there­fore the require­ments of policy 8 do not apply.

Policy 32 states that loc­al devel­op­ment plans should guide new aquacul­ture devel­op­ment in line with Nation­al and Region­al Mar­ine Plan­ning. Since the Cairngorms Nation­al Park lacks a coast­line, this ele­ment of the policy does not apply. Due to the lack of a coast­line, or large fresh­wa­ter lochs, the Nation­al Park does not have any pres­sure for aquacul­ture devel­op­ments and there­fore there are no implic­a­tions for the loc­al devel­op­ment plan’s spa­tial strategy in this regard, either.

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Where the loc­al devel­op­ment plan may sup­port the policy, is through the safe­guard­ing of migrat­ory fish spe­cies. It is noted that bar­ri­ers to fish migra­tion is the most com­mon pres­sure respons­ible for water­bod­ies not achiev­ing over­all good status in the Cairngorms Nation­al Park (see Fig­ure 14). This is mostly related to hydro­elec­tri­city gen­er­a­tion (see Table 6). While the Pro­posed Plan can do little about exist­ing schemes, it should ensure that pro­pos­als for new hydro­elec­tric schemes and asso­ci­ated works do not neg­at­ively impact migrat­ory fish.

It is also noted that Atlantic sal­mon are a qual­i­fy­ing fea­ture of both the River Dee and River Spey Spe­cial Areas of Con­ser­va­tion and the Pro­posed Plan will need to take account of this spe­cies in the pre­par­a­tion of its spa­tial strategy and assess­ment of alloc­a­tions. This will be assessed through the hab­it­ats reg­u­la­tions apprais­al pro­cess in con­sulta­tion with NatureScot. Fur­ther inform­a­tion on pro­tec­ted sites and their qual­i­fy­ing fea­tures is provided in the Nat­ur­al her­it­age evid­ence paper: • https://​cairngormsldp​.com​mon​place​.is/​e​n​-​G​B​/​p​r​o​p​o​s​a​l​s​/​v​3​/​n​a​t​u​r​a​l​-​h​e​r​i​tage- survey?step=step1

Nation­al Parks Act (Scot­land) 2000

The Nation­al Park has four dis­tinct aims as set out in The Nation­al Parks (Scot­land) Act 2000). All four are of rel­ev­ance to the mat­ters dis­cussed in this paper: • To con­serve and enhance the nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al her­it­age of the area. • To pro­mote sus­tain­able use of the nat­ur­al resources of the area. • To pro­mote under­stand­ing and enjoy­ment (includ­ing enjoy­ment in the form of recre­ation) of the spe­cial qual­it­ies of the area by the pub­lic, and • To pro­mote sus­tain­able eco­nom­ic and social devel­op­ment of the area’s communities.

The aims are all to be pur­sued col­lect­ively. How­ever, if there is con­flict between the first aim and any of the oth­ers, great­er weight is giv­en to the first aim (as set out in Sec­tion 9(6) of the 2000 Act).

Secur­ing a green recov­ery on a path to net zero: cli­mate change plan 2018 — 2032 – update

The doc­u­ment provides an update to the 2018 Cli­mate Change Plan. Since that Plan Scot­tish Gov­ern­ment have set new ambi­tious tar­gets to end its con­tri­bu­tion to cli­mate change by 2045. Scot­tish Gov­ern­ment have com­mit­ted to reduce emis­sions by 75% by 2030 (com­pared with 1990) and to net zero by 2045. As Scot­land emerged from COV­ID-19 the Gov­ern­ment iden­ti­fied an oppor­tun­ity to rebuild the eco­nomy in a

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way that deliv­ers a green­er, fairer and more equal soci­ety. This Plan sets out the Gov­ern­ments approach to deliv­er­ing a green recov­ery and sets out a path­way to deliv­er its cli­mate change tar­gets. In line with the 2018 plan, the focus is on the peri­od up to 2032.

The Plan sees nature-based solu­tions, such as nat­ur­al flood risk man­age­ment, as a key ele­ment in Scotland’s response to cli­mate change and pri­or­it­ises its deliv­ery under the land use, land use change and forestry theme. The Plan also recog­nises the import­ance of nature-based solu­tions in achiev­ing bet­ter water security.

Scot­tish Nation­al Adapt­a­tion Plan 2024 – 2029

The Scot­tish Nation­al Adapt­a­tion Plan sets out actions to build Scotland’s resi­li­ence to cli­mate change. The Adapt­a­tion Plan sets out a long-term vis­ion and defines Scotland’s pri­or­it­ies for action over the years 2024 – 2029.

Scot­tish Government’s vis­ion is for a resi­li­ent, inclus­ive and well-adap­ted Scot­land as the cli­mate con­tin­ues to change. The Plan con­tains five out­comes, of which the fol­low­ing four are of dir­ect rel­ev­ance to flood risk and water man­age­ment: • Out­come One: Nature Con­nects (NC) • Out­come Two: Com­munit­ies © • Out­come Three: Pub­lic Ser­vices and Infra­struc­ture (PS) • Out­come Four: Eco­nomy, Busi­ness and Industry (B)

Out­come One: Nature Con­nects (NC) sup­por­ted by six object­ives, of which the rel­ev­ant ones are sum­mar­ised here:

Object­ive: Nature-based solu­tions (NC1)

Action to increase resi­li­ence to the impacts of cli­mate change is delivered through nature-based solu­tions includ­ing street trees, parks, raingar­dens, green roofs, improved walk­ing, wheel­ing and cyc­ling and water ways. Water resource plan­ning to sup­port drought and flood­ing resi­li­ence, improve water qual­ity and quant­ity, and pro­tect biod­iversity is a key part of improv­ing nature-based solu­tions. Actions include: • Invest­ment in blue and green infra­struc­ture. • A review of water industry policy, and a con­tinu­al assess­ment on how water, sew­er­age and drain­age ser­vices can adapt to the impacts of cli­mate change to avoid water scarcity through future legis­la­tion (This is linked to Object­ive PS3). • The pre­par­a­tion of a Scot­tish Flood Resi­li­ence Strategy (see page 20), that will set out what needs to be done to make Scotland’s places more resi­li­ent to warm­er, wet­ter win­ters and increased instances of storms and flash flood­ing. The Strategy

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will encour­age deliv­ery part­ners to take a whole catch­ment approach and sup­port inter­ven­tions to increase resi­li­ence to river, coastal and sur­face water flood­ing. The Strategy will also out a role for nature-based solu­tions in help­ing to cre­ate flood resi­li­ent places.

Object­ive: Land­scape scale approaches (NC2)

Work­ing for cli­mate resi­li­ence at a land­scape scale involves land man­age­ment. It in