Plotting a map to the future – our new Local Development Plan
Through the National Park Partnership Plan you helped us shape a vision for the future of the National Park as ‘a thriving place that’s nature positive and carbon negative by 2045’.
On this page…
The new Local Development Plan will plot a course to help get us there by mapping out where things should and shouldn’t happen in the National Park in terms of both development and how land is used.
The new Local Development Plan will steer what new development is needed – such as new homes, land for businesses or tourist accommodation – as well as highlighting places of value that should be protected.
For the first time, the new Local Development Plan will also set out to influence how land is used and valued, to strengthen our collective work to tackle the climate and nature crises.
Gatecheck Submission 29 January 2026
On the 10th of November 2025, the full Evidence Report was approved by the National Park Authority. Following Board approval, we submitted our Evidence Report to the Scottish Government on the 18th of December 2025 and formally requested that they undertake a Gatecheck review. This is an independent assessment of whether we have sufficient information to prepare the plan. This marks a key milestone in the Development Plan making process. Whilst the Gatecheck process is underway we cannot begin any formal preparation of the new plan and must wait until the Gatecheck assessment has been successfully completed.
In the meantime, we are preparing to launch a Call for Land, Sites and Ideas at the end of January 2026. Further information on the Call for Land, Sites and Ideas can be viewed here.
Previous Updates
Evidence Report Published 3 November 2025
Earlier this year, we published a set of topic papers that form the basis of our Evidence Base for preparing the next Local Development Plan. These summarised the relevant key information, data, and policy implications for planning, development and land use in the National Park. We also produced six map-based area summaries that provided summaries and local contextual evidence, highlighting key opportunities and challenges for each area.
We undertook engagement on this evidence base over the summer to check its sufficiency. This included discussions with key agencies, a series of in-person workshops and online surveys, allowing us to gather a wide range of detailed and valuable feedback. Following this engagement we have carefully reviewed and incorporated feedback into an overall Evidence Report.
The Evidence Report will be published today ahead of consideration by the National Park Authority Board, who are being asked to review and approve it before submission to the Scottish Government for the ‘Gate Check’ assessment on the sufficiency of the evidence and stakeholder agreement on this.
We have also published an updated Development Plan Scheme which outlines the programme for preparing and reviewing the new Local Development Plan. This provides high-level information on the key stages of plan preparation, anticipated timescales, and opportunities for engagement.
We wish to thank everyone who took the time to contribute and help shape this important stage of the process and are looking forward to continuing to work together as we move into the next stages of preparing the new Local Development Plan. Further information will be provided soon on more details of the next stages which will include a Call for Sites and Ideas.
Latest Update 11th July 2025
We’re currently in the ‘Evidence Gathering’ stage of preparing our new Local Development Plan. This first stage of the Local Development Plan preparation is all about collating relevant information for an Evidence Report, which has to be submitted to the Scottish Government for review that is called a ‘gate check’. This is to ensure that sufficient information is available to start preparing a new Local Development Plan.
We’ve just completed a phase of public engagement, which has involved a series of in-person workshops across the National Park, as well as having online surveys for people to provide further feedback on our Evidence. Whilst the online surveys are now closed, you can still read all our Evidence in the form of our Topic Papers and Area Summaries here.
We’re now reviewing all of the responses we have received. We will be making changes to the Topic Papers as required and then will collate these into the full Evidence Report, which will also summarise the outcomes of our engagement. It is this full – finalised – Evidence Report that the Park Authority Board will need to approve before it can be submitted to the Scottish Government for review at the ‘gate check’.
We will update this page with the Evidence Report once it is completed.
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The Local Development Plan maps out where things should and shouldn’t happen in the National Park in terms of development and investment.
It steers what the National Park will be like in years to come, by guiding what development there should be – such as new homes, land for businesses and tourist accommodation – as well as highlighting places of value that should be protected.
For the first time, the next Local Development Plan will set out priorities and opportunities for how land could be used in the National Park as well as setting out the new development (the buildings and services) needed.
It is a tool for delivering on the vision set out in the National Park Partnership Plan and will be shaped by the priorities and actions identified by our communities in their Local Place Plans. There will also be the opportunity of all with an interest to contribute their views.
The Local Development Plan is important because it guides the future of the Park and impacts on everyone who lives, works and visits here.
Every planning authority in Scotland (mostly councils and the National Park Authorities) must have a Local Development Plan.
Together with the National Planning Framework for Scotland (NPF4), the LDP forms the development plan for the area and will be used to make planning decisions and deliver the requirements of NP4 for the National Park.
It is no longer enough to do what we have always done. The National Park Partnership Plan sets out some major challenges facing the National Park and how we will tackle these to create a ‘thriving place that’s carbon negative and nature positive’.
This vision means a Park where local communities and businesses prosper in a sustainable way and where visitors from all parts of society can enjoy and learn from our shared natural and cultural heritage.
It means a Park which is more resilient to climate change, is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions alongside storing huge volume of these gases, including carbon, in its landscapes. It also means a Park where we see the ongoing decline in nature slow and then reverse, with biodiversity increasing in abundance over the coming years.
That’s why we’re bringing land use into the Local Development Plan, because in a primarily rural place like the National Park, the way land is used plays a crucial role in supporting our environment, communities and economy. Our goal is that the National Park is an exemplar of regenerative land use delivering a wide range of private, public and community benefits. The Local Development Plan provides us an opportunity to explore how we get there across the Park, and share aspirations of what this might look like and what we need to make that happen.
National Planning Framework 4 recognises that the National Park is a landscape that can better restore nature and help respond to climate change at scale, through things like woodland creation, peatland restoration, regenerative farming practices and natural flood risk management.
Land being used for things like agriculture, recreation, forestry and tourism, also drives the need for development such as workspace for businesses, housing, tourist accommodation, car parks and footpaths.
It makes sense to set out these priorities together in one Plan to map out opportunities, guide decisions and influence investment over the next few years.
The Plan will be used by the National Park Authority when making planning decisions as well as to guide investment and land use projects.
It is also for communities, to help provide clarity on development and land use priorities in their areas and support the delivery of their Local Place Plans.
It shows developers places where there are potential opportunities for new services and buildings that will meet the needs of communities and support the rural economy.
It is for partner organisations and stakeholders to show them what services and infrastructure are needed where in the Park that they could help create or support.
It is for landowners and managers to see where and how they can help better protect and restore the National Park’s valuable natural environment.
It is for businesses and landowners to show how investing in activities including tourism and commercial development can in turn help fund nature restoration projects and actions to address climate change.
We are now in the second phase of preparing our new Local Development and Land Use Plan. There are specific stages in this process, set out by the Scottish Government, which must be followed, and the full preparation of the plan can take up to four years.
This current phase focuses on gathering early views and information to help shape the direction of the new plan. An Evidence Report has been prepared and submitted to the Scottish Government as the first formal step in the process, setting out the key issues and opportunities that the plan will need to address.
During the Proposed Plan stage, we will be developing the plan’s emerging spatial strategy, which will set out how land use and development should be managed across the National Park over the plan period. A key part of this stage is the Call for Land, Sites and Ideas, which invites early suggestions on potential development and land use opportunities, as well as ideas for land restoration and change.
Information gathered through this process will help inform the preparation of the Proposed Plan, which will then be published for public consultation, allowing communities, stakeholders and individuals to comment before the plan is finalised.
What Happens Next:
The Topic Papers form a key part of the Evidence Report that has been submitted to the Scottish Government and is currently going through a process known as Gatecheck, which confirms whether we have sufficient evidence to help inform the Proposed Plan.
While we await the outcome of Gatecheck, we are beginning work on the preparation of the Proposed Plan, including early development of the plan’s spatial strategy.
Once a full draft Proposed Plan is ready, it will be published for public consultation. This will be the main opportunity for communities, stakeholders and individuals to provide feedback on the plan.
Following the consultation, a final version of the Local Development and Land Use Plan will be prepared, taking account of the feedback received. This will then be presented to the National Park Authority Board for approval before being formally adopted as the new Local Development and Land Use Plan.
As the Planning Authority for the area, the National Park Authority is responsible for creating the Local Development Plan and using it to guide planning decisions.
In creating the Local Development Plan, we must take into account the National Planning Framework that covers the whole of Scotland, and Local Place Plans created within the National Park area.
It’s important that we listen to a broad range of voices when developing the Local Development Plan by involving community members and community groups, businesses, land managers partner organisations and other people who will be affected by the Plan.
