If you would like to receive our regular Newsletter, which includes details of the preparation of the LDP please email the policy team at development.plan@eastdunbarton.gov.uk or call 0300 123 4510.
Issue 73 - October 2023
Local Development Plan 3 – Evidence and Data Gathering
Work towards a new Local Development Plan for East Dunbartonshire – LDP3 – is now underway. The timetable is set out in our recently publish Development Plan Scheme (2023) which was approved at the Council meeting on 28 September 2023 and is available to view on the Council website.
The first step in this process is the preparation of an Evidence Report, which will inform and provide a foundation for a future Proposed LDP3. Evidence Reports are a new requirement in the Local Development Plan (LDP) preparation process introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and associated Development Planning (Scotland) Regulations 2023.
The purpose of an Evidence Report is to improve the quality and effectiveness of a Proposed LDP through the provision of a range of data captured from a wide variety of sources, analysed to best inform the production of LDP content and strategy. It must contain sufficient information to enable the planning authority to prepare an LDP that is place-based, people-focused and deliverable. Taking time to get this stage of development planning right is therefore very important.
In preparing the Evidence Report, the Planning Authority must engage those who would be affected by or could influence the Plan. This includes the public-at-large, Community Councils, key agencies, children and young people, minority groups and other stakeholders.
As part of gathering evidence and data for the Evidence Report, the Council will soon be commencing a series of public engagement and consultation events, likely to take place in late 2023 and early 2024. Information on how you can get involved will be set out in our next Newsletter so please watch this space.
YOUR Budget Priorities – Tell us your views and be in with a chance to win a £80 voucher
Each year the Council must set a balanced budget and in recent years this has become increasingly difficult. One of the biggest challenges is that the cost of delivering Council services and the demand for these services have both increased, while funding levels have not risen to meet these pressures.
The cost of ensuring these services continue to be provided for residents in East Dunbartonshire each year is approximately £322 million, and current predictions suggest that the funding gap for 2024/25 is about £20 million. This means that ways to make savings or to increase income must be found.
Your councillors will make the decisions in February, but we would like your views on what YOUR Budget priorities are, to inform these decisions and ensure what matters most to local people is considered.
Those who complete the survey can enter into a draw to win food store vouchers. The five winners – each receiving an £80 voucher – will be notified following the draw which takes place when the consultation closes and will receive their prize in time to spend towards Christmas celebrations.
The consultation is now live and will run until Friday 3 November. You can complete the survey online on the Council's web page. It should only take about five minutes to complete.
Paper copies can also be requested via Customer Services or picked up at the Council’s Community Hubs, leisure centres and community centres.
Community Carbon Literacy Training
Become Carbon Literacy Certified! The Council will shortly launch a new Community Carbon Literacy Training programme. Funded through the Shared Prosperity Fund, the programme will run until March 2025. The three key aims of this programme will be to:
- Educate and empower participants in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Provide Carbon Literacy Project ‘Carbon Literate’ certification of this learning.
- Provide a training course to ‘train the trainer’, to provide certified training to a standard that enables individuals to deliver carbon literacy training within their organisation and to provide initial support on delivery.
The full Programme of training opportunities will be made available soon and will be open to local community groups and organisations, such as:
- Community Councils
- Community Development Trusts
- Community Interest Companies
- Co-operatives
- Voluntary associations and charitable organisations
- Climate action and sustainability groups
If you would like to apply to become Carbon Literacy certified or have any comments or enquiries, please email: sustainability@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
Climate Resilient Communities Event - Date for the Diary
Would you like to plan and participate in local climate change adaptation and resilience action? If so, you may be interested in taking part in an upcoming event for communities and community organisations in the Glasgow City Region, which is taking place on 15 November 2023. The event will be hosted by sustainability charity Sniffer, in partnership with Climate Ready Clyde, Adaptation Scotland and local authorities.
What’s a climate resilient community?
Glasgow is already feeling the impacts of climate change. This includes milder, wetter winters, more summer heatwaves, and more frequent, heavier downpours. As a city, we need to build resilience to these impacts (also called climate adaptation) and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (also called climate mitigation) that are contributing to climate change.
This means our communities will need to look and feel very different if they are to flourish in the future. Change will need to be collaborative, with communities having an equal seat at the table and given real power to drive forward the changes they know are needed to become more resilient.
What’s the purpose of this event?
Through Climate Ready Clyde, sustainability charity Sniffer is bringing together representatives from Adaptation Scotland, the eight local authorities of the Glasgow City Region and community organisations at this event to share resources, knowledge and provide a space for connection on local climate adaptation and climate resilience.
This event will help to support meaningful, wider community participation in place-based climate adaptation. The event will include creative and interactive sessions, which it is hoped will facilitate inputs from a wider range of voices, as well as encouraging people to think about and take local action in different ways.
Full details of the event can be found on Eventbrite
Please note this event is in-person only.