Planning Newsletter

If you would like to receive our regular Newsletter, which includes details of the preparation of the LDP please email the policy team at development.plan@eastdunbarton.gov.uk or call 0300 123 4510.

Issue 77 - February 2025

We are now in the final stages of the LDP3 evidence gathering stage, a key milestone towards the preparation of a Proposed Plan. Our focus is currently on finalising the Evidence Report ahead of its submission to the Scottish Government for a Gatecheck Review by an independent Reporter. The Evidence Report – and associated work – is expected to be presented to the Council for approval in spring 2025. The papers for the meeting will be available to view online via the Modern Gov platform, on the Council website, a few days prior to the meeting.

Subject to approval by the Council, the Evidence Report will be submitted as soon as possible to the Scottish Government, who will then initiate the Gatecheck process. It is expected that the Gatecheck will take approximately three months. Within this three-month period, the Council will begin preliminary work on the Proposed Plan.

We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the evidence-gathering process, including those who participated in the early public engagement exercise in November 2023-January 2024, and also those who attended the evidence topic groups in August/September 2024. We look forward to further engagement as work on the Proposed Plan progresses.

Consultation is taking place to help shape the new Economic Development Strategy, which aims to support jobs, productivity, investment, and access to goods and services, while creating wellbeing for the people of East Dunbartonshire.

The Council is asking residents, businesses and organisations to complete online surveys via the Economic Development Strategy Consultation web page – between 17 February and 31 March 2025.

The surveys aim to identify: everyday experiences and habits; main economic challenges, including local and global issues; support measures for enhancing the local economy; and community aspirations for the future.

A forum is also being held – on Monday 24 February 2025 in Bishopbriggs War Memorial Hall, 10am-1pm – bringing together community members, businesses and local organisations to share ideas, discuss challenges and help shape the future of the local economy. It’s an in-person event, however, registration is required due to venue capacity. Places are being allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please email development.plan@eastdunbarton.gov.uk to enquire about booking a place.

In addition, drop-in sessions are taking place – giving people the chance to speak to officers, access information, share their perspectives and provide feedback:

• Milngavie Library (36 Allander Road, Milngavie, G62 8PN) – Wednesday 5 March, 2-7pm
• Lennoxtown Library (46 Main Street, Lennoxtown, G66 7JJ) – Wednesday 19 March, 2-7pm
• Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre (Woodhead Park, Kirkintilloch, G66 3DD) – Wednesday 26 March, 2-7pm.

All responses and feedback will be used to create a foundation for developing the new Economic Development Strategy (EDS), ensuring that it reflects local priorities.

It is expected a draft EDS will be considered by elected members in autumn 2025, after which there will be further public consultation. It is hoped a finalised EDS will be in place by early 2026.

In November and December 2024, a public consultation exercise on updates to two pieces of planning guidance took place. These guidance documents related to the Historic Environment and Developer Contributions. The updates reflect the need to keep planning guidance up to date to better support the implementation of the LDP2 through the development management process and ensure that it conforms to national guidance. A summary of the updates to each guidance is provided below:

Historic Environment Planning Guidance

The guidance merges and updates the current Historic Environment and Archaeology guidance documents and, as with the approach taken with the Antonine Wall Supplementary Guidance, presents the information in a more user-friendly StoryMap format. View the Historic Environment Planning Guidance StoryMap. The guidance provides interactive mapping, with direct links to policy and other details on listed buildings, scheduled monuments, conservation areas, townscape protection areas, gardens and designed landscapes, and the Antonine Wall World Heritage Site. Information on Article 4 Directions, Tree Preservation Orders, the Buildings at Risk Register and a section with links to a range of resources – published by Historic Environment Scotland and other agencies – is also provided.

The guidance also incorporates detail on changes to permitted development rights which came into effect on 24 May 2024, which make it easier to alter and replace windows in conservation areas – subject to various stipulations, which are set out in explanatory text.

Developer Contributions Supplementary Guidance

Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on Developer Contributions was first published in 2018 to accompany LDP1, and subsequently updated in 2022 to support the adoption of LDP2. The SPG sets out the Council’s approach to seeking developer contributions as part of the planning application process.

One of the types of contributions that new development may be required to contribute to is providing additional education capacity where the development will either cause any catchment school to exceed 90% capacity or exacerbate the roll in a school already exceeding 90% capacity. Discussions with the Council’s Education Service raised the need to update the list of schools in the area for which contributions may be required. As a result, a number of schools across the local authority will now require developer contributions having not previously. A small number of other technical updates were also made.

One important consequence is that the school capacities tables from the main SPG document have been re-published as standalone non-statutory Planning Guidance, to be read in conjunction with the SPG. This approach will allow flexibility for further factual changes to be made to the information relating to school capacities.

Following a statutory period of scrutiny by the Scottish Government (28 days), the updated guidance has now been formally published for use - visit the Planning Guidance page.

We are pleased to confirm that the final Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) & Delivery Plan were both approved by Council on 19 December 2024. This means that the East Dunbartonshire LHEES is now formally in place. The LHEES is a locally-led, place-based approach to decarbonising heat in buildings and improving their energy efficiency in line with statutory duties under the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order 2022.

The Council also approved the Heat Network Zones Review Statement, which provides the rationale for proceeding with heat network feasibility studies within the next financial year.

Our focus will now be on implementing the Delivery Plan by working closely with all key partners who have a key role in achieving the approved actions within the agreed timescales. Further information on the LHEES and related work can be found on the LHEES web page.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the development of the LHEES and look forward to collaborating closely with all key partners in the upcoming years, to drive forward decarbonisation of buildings across East Dunbartonshire and the Council’s estate – supporting our net zero and fuel poverty alleviation targets.

Email:

Development.plan@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Postal Address:

Land Planning Policy
East Dunbartonshire Council
Southbank House
Strathkelvin Place
Kirkintilloch
G66 1XQ

Telephone (Council Customer Services): 0300 123 4510

The Council has a separate privacy notice for both Land Planning Policy (Planning) and Land Planning Policy (Transport and Economic Development Policy) which can be found on the main ‘Privacy Notices’ section of the Council website.