The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) has published its Consultative Draft Local Plan for the Park. When it’s eventually finalised and adopted, the Cairngorms National Park Local Plan will outline how the area will be developed over the next five years.
Norman Brockie of the CNPA’s Planning team said: “This Consultative Draft is a working document which people can still comment on and contribute towards.
“Many people have been attending Local Plan meetings throughout the Park where they have seen a preview of the Consultative Draft Local Plan. If anyone hasn’t had the opportunity to attend a meeting, or would like to spend more time studying the contents, they can view the Consultative Draft Local Plan then send their comments to us by post or online.
“So it’s still not too late to have your say. Comments received at this stage of the process will feed into the Finalised Draft Local Plan which will go out for consultation next year.”
The Consultative Draft Local Plan document contains detailed information and maps showing how land-use development will occur in communities over the next five years. The document allocates areas for housing, tourism or business developments; areas of land which should be kept for community facilities or for general amenity and which parts should have environmental protection. It also contains some general planning policies for the whole Park in relation to a wide variety of issues such as nature conservation and town-centre retail.
The Consultative Draft Local Plan is also accompanied by an Environment Report of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, which is an appraisal of the policies and proposals in the Plan in relation to their environmental impact.
Feedback from members of the public and interested parties over the course of the past year has been invaluable in helping the Park Authority’s planning team develop the draft plan.
Head of Planning Development and Control at the CNPA, Don McKee explained: “We have taken quite an innovative approach to the development of the Local Plan. Most planning authorities would produce a draft Local Plan and put it out for consultation but we didn’t write a word of ours until everyone living in the Park had been given the opportunity to have their say.
“This was done initially by sending questionnaires to every household in the Park then followed up with a series of community meetings.”
The Cairngorms National Park Local Plan will replace those currently in existence for the four local authority areas of the National Park – Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Angus.
The Consultative Draft Local Plan can be viewed at the CNPA offices in Grantown and Ballater; local authority service points; libraries and on the CNPA website.
Or, to obtain your own copy, please contact the CNPA’s Ballater office on tel: 013397 53601 / email: [email protected]. The Consultative Draft Local Plan is available in hard copy at a cost of £30 or free on CD.