This Technical Note will be published on the Council’s website following circulation to Members. Its contents may be disclosed or shared outwith the Council.
Details
The purpose of this Technical Note is to inform Members of the outcome of the Gate Check assessment on the Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3) Evidence Report. The Council received the Reporter’s conclusions on 5 November 2025, which determined that the Evidence Report is currently insufficient to enable the planning authority to prepare its Local Development Plan. Importantly, the assessment identified that the areas of insufficiency are limited, and the Reporter has provided clear recommendations for addressing these specific evidence gaps
Background
The Council approved the LDP3 Evidence Report on 19 June 2025 and approved its submission to the Scottish Government Planning & Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) to commence the Gate Check process (Report Reference EDC/014/25/SMCN)
The finalised Evidence Report was submitted to DPEA on 18 August 2025. Following the DPEA’s assessment, the Reporter issued their decision on 5 November 2025
The Reporter concluded that the Evidence Report contains insufficient information in specific areas, requiring it to be revised and resubmitted
While the Reporter found that the Evidence Report provides a comprehensive summary of evidence gathered on topics relevant to the preparation of the next East Dunbartonshire Local Development Plan, an insufficiency of evidence was found in three specific areas: education and health care infrastructure and the indicative Local Housing Land Requirement
While this outcome is noted, it is nevertheless reassuring that the Reporter found the vast majority of the Evidence Report to be clear, robust and well-explained, with the insufficiency limited to these three specific areas
The majority of Evidence Reports submitted to DPEA to date have been found insufficient, with infrastructure and housing being common areas where additional evidence has been requested by Reporters. This context confirms that the issues raised are being encountered repeatedly across planning authorities
Officers are currently reviewing the Assessment Report and will determine the necessary steps to fully meet the Reporter’s recommendations. Given that a number of other planning authorities have also been found by the DPEA to have provided insufficient evidence on infrastructure and housing land requirements, officers will collaborate with colleagues in these authorities to determine how they have or intend to resolve evidence gaps in these areas. This approach will help ensure our resubmitted Evidence Report contains the necessary information and is deemed sufficient
Although preliminary work on the preparation of LDP3, including the Call for Ideas and Sites, is currently underway, the Council cannot proceed to the substantive preparation of the Proposed Plan until the revised Evidence Report is deemed sufficient. Priority will therefore be given to addressing the Reporter’s recommendations as rapidly as possible, and the revised Evidence Report will be reported to Council at the earliest opportunity.
