Development Planning

Home > Services > Environment and Planning > Planning > Local Plan and Structure Plan

The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 is introducing major changes to the way in which the development plan for the area is prepared. Further information on the changes to the planning system in Scotland is available from the Scottish Government website.

At present, the development plan comprises the Renfrewshire Local Plan and the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Structure Plan. Further information on these is available on this website.

These will remain in force until superseded by the new forms of development plan, the Local Development Plan and the Strategic Development Plan.

Under the new system, Renfrewshire Council will be responsible for prepairing a Local Development Plan which will replace the Renfrewshire Local Plan and the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Planning Authority will be responsible for the preparation of the Strategic Development plan for the area which will replace the Approved Structure Plan.

As part of this new planning system each planning authority and strategic planning authority is required to produce a Development Plan Scheme on at least an annual basis. The purpose of the Development Plan Scheme is to set out proposals for preparing and reviewing the Development Plan. Renfrewshire Council's current Development Plan Scheme (pdf 139 KB) was approved by the Planning and Economic Development Policy Board on the 2 March 2010. More detailed information is available on the Council's New Development Plan Page. The development plan scheme for the Strategic Development Plan is available from the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Planning Authority.

Under the superseded Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 councils in Scotland prepared structure and local plans for their area. Together, these two plans are referred to as the 'development plan'. The structure plan and local plan show how much development may take place, where it will take place and where it is unlikely to be allowed. They form the basis for decisions on planning applications and contain policies for future development and land use in an area. The plans cover a wide range of issues including:

• housing
• transport
• employment
• shopping
• recreation
• conserving and protecting the countryside.

Back to Top

Structure Plan

The structure plan covering Renfrewshire is the 'Glasgow and Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000'. This plan is prepared by the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Planning Authority, a committee which comprises eight councils covering west central Scotland. Renfrewshire Council works jointly with the seven other councils to prepare the structure plan. The structure plan takes a long-term view of development, considering its general scale and broadly where it should be located. The structure plan is submitted to the Scottish Government Ministers for their approval. The Third Alteration to the Structure Plan 2006 was approved by the Scottish Ministers and became operative on 29 April 2008. On 12 December 2008 the Fourth Alteration was submitted to Scottish Government for Ministerial Approval. More detailed information is available on the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Planning Authority website and on the Council's Structure Plan page.

Local Plan

The local plan was prepared by Renfrewshire Council and covers the whole of the council's area. The current plan, the 'Renfrewshire Local Plan', was adopted in March 2006. It sets out more detailed policies and proposals to guide development and has to conform to the structure plan. The local plan provides the basis for decision making on development proposals in Renfrewshire. More information is available on the page How the Local Plan was prepared.

Local Plan Alteration No.1

On 12 August 2008, Renfrewshire Council adopted the Renfrewshire Local Plan Alteration No 1 Adjustment to Green Belt boundary at Lochwinnoch on Proposal Map F. Alteration affects a small area of land at Gates Road, Lochwinnoch. The Notice of Adoption was published on 27 August 2008 and 3 September 2008 in local newspapers, and a period of 6 weeks followed from 27 August for anyone aggrieved by the Alteration to seek legal challenge through the Court of Session. No such legal challenge was made. You can download a copy of the Alteration from this link.

Renfrewshire Local Plan Alteration No 1 (pdf - 309KB)

Local Plan update report

The purpose of the Update Report is to provide an annual examination into any new planning policy issues or progress on projects identified in the Local Plan since its publication. The most recent Update Report was approved by the Planning and Economic Development Board in March 2010.

Renfrewshire Local Plan Update Report 2009/10 (pdf 316KB)

Previous Annual Update Reports

Renfrewshire Local Plan Update Report 2008/09 (pdf - 2.53MB)

Renfrewshire Local Plan Update Report 2007/08 (pdf 559KB)

You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these documents. Download Acrobat Reader here.

For further information please:

• email : pt@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• phone: 0141 842 5811/5822
• fax: 0141 842 5040
• write to:
  Planning and Transport
  Renfrewshire House
  Cotton Street
  PAISLEY
  PA1 1LL