PUBLIC engagement for Argyll and Bute Council’s third Local Development Plan is set to be extended until the end of April.
An email to community councils, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, has said that the online engagement period to assist the council in putting Local Development Plan 3 together will continue until Thursday, April 30.
This includes the place standard tool on general life in Argyll and Bute, the play sufficiency survey, and five evidence report topic papers.
The consultation period had been due to end on Monday, April 13, but the authority has now told community councils it will be extended.
Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3) is expected to be implemented from 2029, providing the local planning framework for Argyll and Bute except the area covered by Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
A statement on the council’s website said: “We are currently working on the evidence report stage which must contain sufficient information to enable us to prepare LDP3.
“The purpose of the evidence report is to support the quality and effectiveness of the LDP. The aim is to front-load the work and use the evidence to clearly inform what to plan for, before the proposed plan looks at where development should take place.
“The evidence report is not expected to contain all the detail of evidence, but should provide a summary of what the evidence means for the plan.”
It said of the place standard tool: “Where we spend our time has an important effect on our lives and our wellbeing. Improving the quality of places and the opportunities that we have access to can help to tackle inequalities.
“The place standard is a simple tool to consider the qualities of a place. It helps people to think about both the physical and social aspects of places, and the important relationship between them.
“It has 14 themes, each with a main question and further prompts to help considerations and identify issues for improvement.”
On the play sufficiency assessment, the authority added: “The play survey will assess outdoor play opportunities for children and this includes formal playparks and other informal outdoor places such as beaches, woodlands or sports pitches.
“To help with this assessment we are carrying out two surveys, one aimed at children (anyone under 18-years-old) and one aimed at parents, carers and other adults.”
All of the surveys can be found on the council website at argyll-bute.gov.uk
