Evidence Report engagement

The Evidence Report is the first formal stage in preparing the next Local Development Plan (LDP2). As a key part of the production of the Evidence Report, the Council undertook a public engagement exercise to gather the views of the communities and other interested groups. This engagement focused on the types of evidence or information we need to produce the next Local Development Plan(LDP), and to identify the issues that the next LDP could try to address.

This consultation has now closed and we are assessing all the comments recieved. 

Section 16A of the Planning (Scotland) Act, 2019, requires the Planning authority to publish information about its arrangements to promote and facilitate participation by children and young people in preparing the Local Development Plan.  The information published must be kept up to date.

To meet the requirements of Section 16A of the above Act, the Council engaged with children and young people (up to 25 years old):

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MONTH

AGE GROUP

ACTIVITY

FACILITATOR

COVERAGE

April 2023

5 – 12 year olds

Place Standard tool

Play Scotland

Facilitated session. Small groups in 4 primary schools

April 2023

5 – 12 year olds

Facilitators pack, including Place standard based questions

East Lothian Council (ELC) Teacher led (information from Play Scotland)

All ELC primary and secondary schools – Play Needs / Play Opportunities

June 2023

Youth Parliament (secondary age or above)

Initial dialogue – briefing on Sept engagement.

ELC

East Lothian youth parliament representatives

July /Aug 2023

Age 5 - 12

Summer play programme

East Lothian Play Association

Various towns across East Lothian – See: www.elpa.org.uk/news

September 2023

Youth Parliament

Focus group

Place Standard

ELC

East Lothian Youth Parliament representatives

September 2023

5 – 12 year olds

Creative engagement sessions in school

East Lothian Play Association / ELC

Facilitated session Small group of children within 10 primary schools. Full day of small group work.

September 2023

12 – 18 year olds

Place Standard tool

Play Scotland

Facilitated session Small group of children from each school – cover all 7 Secondary schools.

September 2023

12-18 year olds

Place based questionnaire

ELC

All East Lothian secondary school pupils.

Prize draw

September 2023

16 – 25 year olds

General public consultation storyboard / questionnaire

Place Standard tool

ELC

Targeted to young people aged 25 and under through QMU / East Lothian Works

Housing Land Requirement

Following on from the summer engagement, a public consultation was held on the Council’s preferred approach to the future levels of housing in LDP2 (the Housing Land Requirement). Thank you for participating in the public consultation. Responses are now being analysed.

Factsheets

A series of factsheets have been prepared for the public consultation. These provide more detailed and technical information on aspects of planning in East Lothian.  

Evidence Report

The Evidence Report is the first formal stage in preparing the next Local Development Plan (LDP2). This will set out the council’s view on a wide range of matters related to the development and use of land in East Lothian. The Evidence Report will be approved by East Lothian Council and then sent to Scottish Ministers for approval as part of the Gate Check process. They will appoint an independent assessor to determine whether the report has sufficient information to enable the planning authority to prepare a draft LDP.

The starting point for the preparation of the Evidence Report and subsequent LDP2 will be the policy approaches being proposed through NPF4 and other national strategies. The council already has commitments to address issues like health, the nature crisis and climate change, and these known challenges will provide the context for the discussions on issues that the LDP should address. There will be general public consultation seeking to identify what the issues residents feel are affecting their area and therefore should be highlighted in the Evidence Report and addressed in the Proposed LDP.