Local Development Plan 3 Evidence Report

The Evidence Report (ER) is a new requirement of the Local Development Plan preparation process and forms part of the  Planning (Scotland) Act 2019  and associated  Development Planning Regulations  &  Local Development Planning Guidance . The purpose of the ER is to improve the quality and effectiveness of a Proposed Local Development Plan through the provision of a range of data captured from a wide variety of sources, analysed to best inform the production of LDP content and strategy. The ER should provide a summary and analysis of what the assembled evidence means for the Plan. There is no maximum or upper limit to the breadth of evidence to be included in the ER. A robust ER should make it easier to prepare a strong, place-based, people-focused and deliverable LDP that is rooted in an Infrastructure First approach. Taking time to get this stage of development planning right is very important.

In preparing the ER, the Planning Authority (PA) must engage those who would be affected by or could influence the Plan. These include key agencies, children and young people, Gypsies & Travellers, older people and disabled people, the ‘public at large’ and other stakeholders. The ER should be of relevance to the aforementioned groups and must cover issues and interests relevant to them.

The position of the ER within the new LDP preparation process under the 2019 Act and regulations is as follows:

The purpose of the ER is to provide an evidence base to establish what to plan for.  Site specific matters should not be included in the Evidence Report, but it is expected to include spatial information, such as baseline mapping, which supports an understanding of the place(s), its characteristics, and needs. Detailed site appraisal will not be appropriate at the ER stage; however, the authority should establish a site appraisal methodology that will be used to inform Proposed Plan allocations.

The ER must set out the following:

• The PA’s view on the matters to which the Local Development Plan will relate
• A summary of action taken by the PA to support and promote the construction and adaptation of housing to meet the housing needs of older people and disabled people, as well as an analysis of the extent to which the action has helped to meet those needs
• A summary of the action taken by the PA to meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers in the Authority’s area, as well as an analysis of the extent to which the action has helped to meet those needs
• How the PA has invited local communities to prepare Local Place Plans and the assistance provided to local communities to assist them to prepare Local Place Plans
• The steps taken by the PA in preparing the report to seek the views of the public at large, including in particular the views of disabled persons, Gypsies & Travellers and children and young people
• The steps taken by the PA in preparing the report to seek the views of community councils
• The extent to which the views expressed by disabled persons, Gypsies & Travellers, children and young people and community councils have been taken into account in the ER

The process to be taken in the preparation of the ER is outlined as follows:

Scoping should establish the matters to be addressed in the ER. This should as a minimum include the following aspects:

Scoping may also give consideration to the stakeholders to be involved in collating and reviewing evidence and must establish the process and proposed timescales for preparation of the ER itself. The PA must evaluate whether the previous LDP has delivered on its outcomes, identify any lessons for the preparation of the new LDP and consider the appropriateness of the previous LDP Spatial Strategy.

The ER should consider local, regional and national strategies and policy priorities that could impact the direction and subsequent implementation of the LDP, and which will shape the requirements of the evidence base. Other types of data and information likely to be needed to inform the ER could include:

The ER provides an opportunity to support the Infrastructure First approach by frontloading infrastructure considerations in the preparation of LDPs and undertaking an audit of infrastructure and services. Collation of the evidence will involve a range of stakeholders to provide information and inform an assessment of its sufficiency to inform the Plan. This will include the views of key agencies, young people, children and the public at large. The aim should be to resolve any issues raised by stakeholders on the sufficiency of the evidence. Secondary data will suffice in most cases, however, where required, steps should be taken to address any gaps in evidence identified.

A suggested template is set out in the LDP Regulations and is similar in format to the schedule for the summary of unresolved issues used for examination. The ER should be collated around issues or topics in order to provide Planning Authorities with the flexibility to determine the matters that are relevant to them.

The ER should employ the same summary headings from each topic so that connections can be made across issues. Authorities should take a proportionate approach to the preparation of the ER with respect to the depth of evidence presented. The ER should be accessible to any reader and should avoid technical jargon.

To assist in the Gate Check process, the PA should identify where there are any potential gaps in the evidence gathered, or uncertainty in data and evidence within the ER, together with an explanation on the PA’s reasoning for accepting this evidence and including it in the ER. The PA should draw conclusions from and analyse the evidence gathered to allow for a consideration of the implications of the evidence on the forthcoming preparation of the Proposed Plan, the future Spatial Strategy and the Delivery Programme (DP).

The PA is expected to undertake early and proactive engagement with stakeholders, including key agencies, to ensure collaborative and transparent evidence gathering. Innovative approaches to engagement, tailored to the unique circumstances and reflecting a broad range of interests, are encouraged. The Place Standard Tool can be used to stimulate early engagement on the challenges and opportunities of the plan area and inform the ER.

The ER should include information about the lived experience of those who live and work in a place, alongside technical data. Forthcoming Scottish Government guidance on Community Engagement should inform the approach taken to engaging the public in the preparation of the ER. Close engagement with community groups, for example Community Planning Partnerships and community councils will help to ensure that the ER provides a strong foundation for the LDP.

Preparation of the ER should encourage a corporate approach across Local Authorities by bringing relevant Council departments into the process early. Within Local Authorities, reporting to relevant Committees will also help to build corporate consensus for the Proposed Plan. The finalised ER must be approved by full Council.

The ER should highlight areas where stakeholders are in agreement or in dispute, and the reasons for these. The aim is to have minimal areas of dispute outstanding so the PA can progress to preparing the Proposed Plan quickly. Highlighting remaining areas of dispute in the ER will enable those assessing it at the Gate Check to focus their attention on the issue, with a view to potential requests for information or recommendations for improving the ER.

Authorities are not starting with a blank sheet. Existing LDPs have been prepared on the basis of available evidence that is monitored over time, and all authorities also have an existing Spatial Strategy. The ER aims to improve the consistency in the approach to evidence and plan making. By showing the evidence that the plan is based on and what it means for the future of a place, the process can be more transparent and supported by a stronger DP.

ER preparation should be aligned with the scoping requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The ER must set out the PA’s view on ‘environmental characteristics’. In the preparation of the SEA, there is a need to identify and consider existing environmental problems relevant to the Plan and to manage environmental sensitivities. The material that informs the scoping report and the ER can be similar. This provides an opportunity for SEA to be aligned with and influence Plan preparation, ensuring the evidence used is not contradictory, and potential aspects of the environment where thresholds could be exceeded are identified, or to consider different approaches. The relevant environmental indicators are likely to vary from authority to authority. The views of key agencies should be sought as part of SEA preparation.

Including scoping report material as part of the evidence base can offer benefits, particularly around the identification of reasonable alternatives for the Spatial Strategy, early identification of sensitivities or mitigation measures to avoid adverse effects, and links to the DP. This allows an early opportunity to gain views from the consultation authorities prior to finalising the ER.

The ER must be submitted to Scottish Ministers for assessment after approval at Council. The SG-appointed Reporter may decide there is sufficient information in the ER, and the PA may then move to prepare and publish their Proposed Plan. Where the Reporter is not satisfied that there is sufficient information, they must prepare an ‘assessment report’ which sets out the reasons for not being satisfied and recommendations for improving the ER. A copy of the assessment report must be sent to the PA and Scottish Ministers. On receiving an assessment report a PA must revise its ER, and resubmit it to the Scottish Ministers. The same process as above is then followed again.  It is anticipated that the Gate Check process will reduce the level of debate arising at the Examination stage and end of the Plan preparation period.

Local Authorities were required by Planning Circular 6/2013: Development Planning to prepare a Monitoring Statement (MS) to support the preparation of any new Local Development Plan (LDP), and to publish a MS together with a Main Issues Report (MIR).

These requirements no longer form part of the Plan preparation process and have been superseded by the more detailed and ordered requirements and processes of ER. The differences between the MS and the ER are summarised as follows:

The ER therefore constitutes a significant improvement from the MS, in terms of information required, the level of engagement necessary and the extent of scrutiny by parties outside the Planning Authority. It is hoped, therefore, that the quality of the information presented will be high and that the extent to which that information will be subject to objection upon Examination will be reduced.

The ER must be accessible to a range of different stakeholders and in this respect should, for example, be of relevance to the general public and the development industry in equal measure. The presentation of the ER will therefore require considerable thought and discussion to ensure that its format is of use to all those who would have an interest in the preparation of the Local Development Plan. A principal consideration will be the need to ensure that the ER is in the first instance an easily accessible, interesting and engaging resource to be understood by the public at large. Any additional information could, for example, be presented in ever increasing detail, to suit the needs of the user.