Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2017 Archive

The Proposed Aberdeen Local Development Plan (as Modified) was approved by Council on Wednesday 14 December 2016 and submitted to Scottish Ministers on Friday 16 December 2016 to notify of our intention to adopt. Scottish Ministers extended the period for the consideration of the documents for an additional 14 days.

Aberdeen City Council adopted the Local Development Plan on 20 January 2017.

• Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2017 Written Statement

• Proposals Map 2017

• Constraints Map 2017

• City Centre Map 2017

• Environmental Report

• Post Adoption Statement

• Press Advert

You can find the superceded Supplementary Guidance at the following link:

• Supplementary Guidance and Technical Advice Notes

The appeal lodged by Combined Corp BVI Ltd against the adoption of the Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2017 has been withdrawn. The final court order confirming that the appeal has been withdrawn has now been received by the Council.

The appellant sought to quash that part of the Plan which incorporated the recommendations made by the Reporter in relation to Issue 11 – Allocated Sites and General Area Strategy; Deeside and Issue 12 – Alternative Sites; Deeside.

In the absence of an appeal, the planning authority can now operate as normal in the determination of all planning applications, including any previously affected by the appeal.

The Reporters Report recommended a number of modifications to the Proposed Plan that was approved by Full Council in January 2015. You can view the modifications below:

• Modifications
• Modified Plan with tracked changes
• Modified Plan with tracked changes accepted
• Proposals Map
• Constraints Map
• City Centre Map

On 23 September 2016, the Scottish Government Reporters issued the Aberdeen Local Development Plan Examination Report. You can download the report below:

• Reporters Report : Letter
• Reporters Report : Contents
• Reporters Report : Report of Conformity
• Reporters Report : Issues 1 - 10
• Reporters Report : Issues 11 - 19
• Reporters Report : Issues 20 - 28
• Reporters Report : Issues 29 - 44
• Reporters Report : Reporters Recommendations by Issue

An examination is a review of the unresolved representations made on the Aberdeen Local Development Plan Proposed Plan. The examination is undertaken by a person(s) appointed by Scottish Ministers called a reporter. The administration of the examination process is undertaken by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA). The examination of the Local Development Plan by Scottish Ministers allows for independent scrutiny of unresolved objections. The examination process is on issues, not individual representations.

Case update: 13 May 2016

The reporters have completed their programme of site inspections, and have issued 14 requests for further information. It is not expected that any oral process will be required. The process of writing up the reporters' conclusions is well underway, and the reporters remain confident that the report will be submitted to the council in Summer 2016, within the timescale envisioned by the Scottish Ministers.

Case update: 8 April 2016

The reporters have now largely completed their programme of site inspections, and have issued a number of further information requests resulting from these. Further requests for written information may be forthcoming, especially on policy matters, but it now appears unlikely that any oral sessions will be required. The reporters remain confident that the examination will conclude within the target period identified by the Scottish Ministers.

Case update: February 2016

The lead reporter, Mr Stephen Hall BA (Hons) BPI MRTPI,  has completed his examination of the council's report of conformity with its participation statement, and is now proceeding to examine the issues raised in representations. An additional reporter, Michael Cunliffe BSc(Hons) MSc MCIWEM, has been appointed to the examination. The reporters remain confident that the examination will be completed within the timeframe envisaged by Scottish Ministers.

23 February 2016

An additional reporter Michael Cunliffe BSc(Hons) MSc MCIWEM has been appointed to assist with the examination of the Proposed Aberdeen Local Development Plan.

08 February 2016

The Reporter has completed his examination of the council's report of conformity with its participation statement, and is now proceeding to examine the issues raised in representations. The expectation is that additional reporters will be appointed to assist in the examination, but this is yet to be confirmed. The Reporter remains confident that the examination will be completed within the timeframe envisaged by Scottish Ministers.

 16 November 2015

Aberdeen City Council submitted the Aberdeen Local Development Plan Proposed Plan 2015 to Scottish Ministers for examination. The Scottish Ministers appointed Mr Stephen Hall BA (Hons) BPI MRTPI to carry out the examination of the Proposed Aberdeen Local Development Plan in accordance with Section 19 of the amended Town and Country Planning Scotland Act 1997. Additional Reporters may be appointed to support the delivery of the report

• Public Notice - Notification of Reporters
• Notice of Appointment of Reporters to Aberdeen City Council

A  list of information requested by the DPEA and responses will be published below.

Please note some of the files are large and will take some time to open.

Aberdeen Local Development Plan - List of Issues

Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Schedule 4: Issue 1 - 2

Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Schedule 4: Issue 3 - 17

Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Schedule 4: Issue 18 - 44

During the 10 week consultation period 187 representations were received to the Proposed Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2015. You can find the representations below. Some of the PDFs are large files which will take time to open.

The Proposed Plan, Proposed Action Programme and associated background documents were presented to Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday 28 October 2014. It was agreed the Proposed Plan and Proposed Action Programme would be published for consultation. On 13 January 2015, at the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee, further text was agreed to be added to the Proposed Plan describing in detail the Supplementary Guidance. This was also agreed for consultation. Please see below the Proposed Plan and associated documents. Please be aware these are large PDF documents and may take some time to open.

• Proposed Plan
• Proposed Plan City Centre Map
• Proposed Local Development Plan Citywide Proposals Map
• Proposed Local Development Plan Constraints Map
• Proposed Plan Action Programme
• Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report  

 The Main Changes between the Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2012 and the Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Proposed Plan 2015 have been outlined in the two documents below:

• Site Changes
• Policy Changes

The Proposed Plan and associated background documents were presented to Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday 28 October 2014. It was agreed the Proposed Plan and Action Programme would be published for consultation. The associated background documents are the background papers used to inform the development of the Proposed Plan. The following documents are the background papers used to inform the development of the Proposed Plan:

• Publicity and Consultation
  The document outlines the publicity measures and consultation events which have taken place during the Pre-MIR and MIR process
• Schedule 4 Forms (Response to Representations)
  The Schedule 4 forms are the response to representations received during the MIR consultation. 
• Pre-MIR Development Options Assessments
  The report shows the assessment of sites submitted against a set criteria.
• Post MIR - Development Options Assessments
• Proposed Plan Site Assessment Report
  The report shows the assessment of new sites submitted during the MIR consultation against a set criteria.
• Brownfield Urban Capacity Study
  In order to meet the Strategic Development  Plan requirements for housing on brownfield sites the Brownfield Urban Potential Study was updated in 2014.
• Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
  A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment has been undertaken to satisfy the requirements placed on local authorities under section 1 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. This requires local authorities to exercise their flood risk related functions with a view to reducing overall flood risk and promoting sustainable flood risk management. The Assessment looks at a number of potential sources of flood risk which may be relevant for development in Aberdeen.
• Monitoring Statement
  This forms part of the evidence base for the plan. The current Local Development Plan was adopted in 2012 and is fairly up to date, the Monitoring Statement concentrates on the policy changes required by the new Aberdeen Local Development Plan.
• Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Retail Study
  The Strategic Development Planning Authority, in partnership with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils commissioned an Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Retail Study to examine the future retail potential in the region. This made a number of recommendations on potential retail sites and policy and has been used to inform the contents of the City Centre and Retail sections in the Main Issues Report.
• Onshore Wind Spatial Framework
  An Onshore Wind Spatial Framework has been prepared to assess the opportunities for identifying areas suitable for wind turbine developments. The countryside surrounding Aberdeen within the local authority boundary is limited to a small area and together with the presence of Aberdeen Airport there is not the scope to identify suitable sites for large scale wind farms.
• Environmental Report and Habitats Regulations Assessment
  The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of all plans, programmes and strategies to be undertaken . The Strategic Environmental  Report provides an assessment of the impact of the sites and policies on the environment. For any identified impacts on the environment mitigation measures have been proposed, and a framework of how these impacts will be monitored is included in the Environmental Report. Under Article 6 (3 and 4) of the European Habitats Directive, any plan, project or strategy (PPS) likely to have a significant effect on a Natura 2000 site, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, must undergo a Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) to determine its implications for the site.
• Equalities and Human Rights Impact Assessment
  This is an assessment of the potential equalities and human impacts that the Plan could have on the citizens of Aberdeen. It helps us to explain the measures the Council will take throughout the Local Development Plan process to minimise these impacts on the community.

The public consultation ran for a period of 10 weeks between Friday 20th March 2015 and Monday 1st June 2015. Comments could be submitted on the Proposed Plan, the Proposed Action Programme, Proposed Supplementary Guidance and a Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report. We provided a response form to make comments on. An advice note was also prepared for further guidance. Drop-in events were organised in different neighbourhoods across the city. These are outlined in the table below:

 The purpose of the Main Issues Report is to front load effective engagement on the preparation of the plan. The Main Issues Report is not a draft version of the plan, but represents a preferred option and reasonable alternatives for development, informed by a sound evidence base. The publication of the Main Issues report should come before the planning authority has reached a firm view as to the strategy that should be followed. The Main Issues Report and the background documents prepared to support them and inform the report are outlined below:

Please note some of the PDF files below are large and may take time to open.

• Main Issues Report 

The following documents have informed and assisted in the production of the main issues report.

• Pre-main issues consultation summary

The pre-Main Issues consultation summary gathers together the main themes outlined from the pre-main issues consultation.

• Development Options Assessment Report

• MIR Development Options Assessment Report

The report shows the assessment of sites against a set criteria.

• Monitoring Statement

This forms part of the evidence base for the plan. The current Local Development Plan was adopted in 2012 and is fairly up to date, the Monitoring Statement concentrates on the policy changes required by the new Aberdeen Local Development Plan.

• Brownfield Urban Capacity Study

In order to meet the Structure Plan requirements for housing on brownfield sites the Brownfield Urban Potential Study was updated in 2013.

• Environmental Report

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of all plans, programmes and strategies to be undertaken . The Strategic  Environmental  Report provides an assessment of the impact of the sites and policies on the environment. For any identified impacts on the environment mitigation measures have been proposed, and a framework of how these impacts will be monitored is included in the Environmental Report.

• Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment has been undertaken to satisfy the requirements placed on local authorities under section 1 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. This requires local authorities to exercise their flood risk related functions with a view to reducing overall flood risk and promoting sustainable flood risk management. The Assessment looks at a number of potential sources of flood risk which may be relevant for development in Aberdeen.

• Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Retail Study

The Strategic Development Planning Authority, in partnership with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils commissioned an Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Retail Study to examine the future retail potential in the region. This made a number of recommendations on potential retail sites and policy and has been used to inform the contents of the City Centre and Retail sections in the Main Issues Report.

• Equalities and Human Rights Impact Assessment

This is an assessment of the potential equalities and human impacts that the Plan could have on the citizens of Aberdeen. It helps us to explain the measures the Council will take throughout the Local Development Plan process to minimise these impacts on the community.

• Onshore Wind Spatial Framework

An Onshore Wind Spatial Framework has been prepared to assess the opportunities for identifying areas suitable for wind turbine developments. The countryside surrounding Aberdeen within the local authority boundary is limited to a small area and together with the presence of Aberdeen Airport there is not the scope to identify suitable sites for large scale wind farms.

Consultation on the Main Issues Report ran from 13 January to March 2014. You can see the representations received from the consultation at the following link:

• Main Issues Report Responses

A workshop focussing on retail in the City Centre was held in Marischal College on 15 January 2014 with Councillors, members of the City Centre business community and City Centre community groups invited. The session consisted of a presentation outlining the Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Main Issues Report by a member of the Local Development Plan team and then a presentation by Keith Hargest on the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Retail Study (2013) and its implications for Aberdeen City Centre. The presentations were then followed by facilitated workshops. It should be noted that this is not a minute of the workshop but a summary of points raised by each group.

• Presentation Slides
• Meeting Note

The Aberdeen Local Development Plan Youth Engagement Programme was undertaken at both Main Issues Report Stage and Pre-Main Issues Report Stage. You can see information on the youth engagement process and the award won at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2014 at the following link:

• Youth Engagement

The consultation on the Main Issues Report ran from 13 January 2014 to 24 March 2014. A number of consultation events were held across the city.

The review of the Plan started with a non-statutory Pre-Main Issues Report consultation period that ran from 15 April - 14 June 2013. This consultation exercise helped us prepare our Main Issues Report and it's associated supporting documents such as the Strategic Environmental Assessment. These documents, along with copies of all representations that we received during this consultation period were presented to the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee in November 2013.

During the consultation period we also ran a number of workshops across the city and a drop in session during the day-time at Marischal College. Please use the links below to view or download the officer notes taken at each meeting.

• Kingswells Community Centre
• Bucksburn Academy
• Cults Academy
• Northfield Academy (please note that no one attended this workshop)
• Hazlehead Academy
• Altens Community Centre
• Bridge of Don Academy
• Marischal College

Our Planning Toolkits were designed to give Community Councils the chance to record the main planning issues affecting their local area. We were encouraged by approaches taken by other local authorities in Scotland (such as North Ayrshire Council) who in the past have successfully used Toolkits to engage with Community Councils.

You can read a report summarising what we did and what we found can on the link below:

• Community Council Planning Toolkits Report - August 2013

In addition, you can view the original response we received from each of the Community Councils using the links below:

• Ashley and Broomhill
• Bridge of Don
• Bucksburn and Newhills
• Cove and Altens
• Craigiebuckler and Seafield
• Culter
• Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber and Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber CC Main Issues Comments
• George Street
• Kincorth and Leggart
• Nigg
• Northfield
• Old Aberdeen
• Queen's Cross and Harlaw
• Rosemount and Mile End
• Tillydrone
• Torry

The Aberdeen Local Development Plan Youth Engagement Programme was undertaken at both Main Issues Report Stage and Pre-Main Issues Report Stage. You can view information on the youth engagement process and the award won at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2014 at the following link:

• Youth Engagement

Paper and online questionnaires were made available for people to submit their representations. We received 59 representations. Please use the links below to view the representations we received.

A total number of 83 development bids were received from developers and landowners to have sites included in the Main Issues Report.

The Key Map shows the development options received, with the whole of Aberdeen City as an A3 base map. The development options are ordered by Electoral Ward (1 to 13, listed below). There is an A3 map for each Ward showing the development options received in that area. Each site is labelled with a reference number (for example "B0910"). Use that number to find the relevant development option submission listed below the map for each ward.

Please note, these maps simply show all of the Development Bids we received and do not indicate which are preferred and alternative options. Options were discussed in the Main Issues Report. It should also be noted that these maps do not show existing Local Development Plan allocations.

Many of the PDFs are large files and will take some time to open.

Ward 1 Map - Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone

Ward 2 Map - Bridge of Don

Ward 3 Map - Kingswells/Sheddocksley

Ward 4 Map - Northfield
No bids received for this ward

Ward 5 Map - Hilton/Stockethill
No bids received for this ward

Ward 6 Map - Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen

Ward 7 Map - Midstocket/Rosemount
No bids received for this ward

Ward 8 Map - George Street/Harbour
No bids received for this ward

Ward 9 Map - Lower Deeside

Ward 10 Map - Hazlehead/Ashley/Queen's Cross

Ward 11 Map - Airyhall/Broomhill/Garthdee
No bids received for this ward

Ward 12 Map - Torry/Ferryhill

Ward 13 Map - Kincorth/Loirston

• Pre-MIR Development Options Assessment Report

• Newsletter - September 2016
• Newsletter - February 2016
• Newsletter - October 2015 (currently unavailable) 
• Newsletter - March 2015
• Newsletter - January 2014
• Newsletter - November 2013
• Newsletter - August 2013
• Newsletter - May 2013
• Newsletter - March 2013
• Newsletter - January 2013
• Newsletter - November 2012

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