Key Agencies Group Collaborative Local Development Plan Offer

National Planning Framework 4 recognises that Scotland in 2045 will be different. We must embrace and deliver radical change so we can tackle and adapt to climate change, restore biodiversity loss, improve health and wellbeing, reduce inequalities, build a wellbeing economy and create great places.

The Key Agencies Group are committed to rising to this challenge by building upon work undertaken to date through the Green Recovery Offer promoting a more collaborative approach to engagement in the planning system in line with the Place Principle.

Agencies recognise the scale of the challenges ahead for all involved to deliver on national policy ambitions at a local level. To support our local authority partners in this, we are now refreshing our offer to work in this way with a focus on supporting a collaborative, whole system, place-based approach to the new local development plan process.

The Key Agencies’ collective potential to support partners in shaping places for the long-term public interest is significant and essential in the delivery of sustainable, liveable and productive places.

The Key Agencies Group are pleased to invite expressions of interest throughout February 2023 from planning authorities interested in working with KAG to further develop this collective approach as part of development plan preparations in 2023-2024.

The main requirement of the offer is that partners are committed to working with KAG in the spirit of the Place Principle to maximise collective impact.

In addition to this basic requirement, we will be looking for partners to embrace the need for a radical change in approach to Local Development Plan preparation to deliver on NPF4 policies in support of:

• sustainable places, where we reduce emissions, increase resilience to climate change, restore and better connect biodiversity and protect and enhance our historic environment assets and places
• liveable places, where we can all live better, healthier and more equal lives
• productive places, where we have a greener, fairer and more inclusive wellbeing economy

And to inform a local development plan based on overarching spatial principles of:

• Just transition
• conserving and recycling assets
• local living
• compact urban growth
• rebalanced development 
• rural revitalisation

Why take this approach?

Our work with partner authorities through the Green Recovery Offer tells us there is great value and benefit to taking such a place-based collaborative approach. It can:

• support place leadership by planning, promoting a corporate and collaborative approach to plan-making and helping overcome organisational and sectoral boundaries
• enable development of collective understanding of place needs and opportunities
• inform development of shared ambition and outcomes for places, helping relevant strategies and investment decisions become more aligned in the long-term public interest
• establish the culture and processes needed for later work on spatial strategy and place briefs as part of place-based, people centred, delivery focussed development plan

Key Agency and Local Authority partners will be committed to working in the following ways:

Place leadership

• commit to taking a place leadership role by advocating a corporate approach to place decisions beyond planning and across local authority services and agency remits
• commit to working in the spirit of the Place Principle to maximise collective impact
• secure early willingness from corporate directors to work in this way

Project management 

• develop a shared scope of support for collective work on evidence gathering and reporting
• agree a schedule with key milestones to allow for meaningful engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders including key agencies, council services, local communities, the development community and other communities of interest
• demonstrate resources and capacity are available to deliver on the agreed scope of support and programme
• meet regularly around programming and delivery of the support

Systemic barriers 

• help break down silo working by identifying and addressing systemic barriers towards a collaborative approach being an everyday occurrence in Place decisions

Share learning 

• commit to sharing experiences of applying a whole place collaborative approach through learning pieces and advocating the benefits of the approach
• provide regular feedback on the outputs and outcomes of the collective approach undertaken

Local Authorities entering this evidence report partnership work would be considered for a future support offer at proposed plan stage.

The Key Agencies Group are pleased to invite expressions of interest throughout February 2023 from planning authorities interested in piloting this approach as part of development plan preparations in 2023-2024.