Local Place Plan
In 2019 the Scottish Parliament passed into legislation a new Planning (Scotland) Act which introduces a wide range of reforms to Scotland’s planning system. Included in these changes is the opportunity for communities in Scotland to develop ‘Local Place Plans.’ Local Place Plans are proposals from communities about how land is developed and used within their local area. They describe the types of changes that local people want to see taken into account in the local authority development plan. The hope is that Local Place Plans will stimulate and encourage conversations around the values, aspirations, and futures of communities across Scotland. Wester Hailes Community Trust appointed UrbanPioneers (landscape architects, lead designer) who worked together with Dress for the Weather (architects) to develop a Local Place Plan (LPP) for Wester Hailes, Edinburgh.
The Wester Hailes Local Place Plan was shaped through extensive community and stakeholder engagement outlining how the community would like to see any future development or use of land (spatial proposals). In addition, non-spatial proposals have been identified to tackle specific social issues that could not be addressed through the spatial proposals alone.
With the proposed concept of the 20 Minute Neighbourhood to be embedded within the Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), the Wester Hailes Local Place Plan has used the 20 Minute Neighbourhood features as the basis for the site appraisal and the resulting proposals.
Based on site appraisals and engagement, the Local Place Plan has outlined a vision, core values, and key projects which are to be undertaken and developed in Wester Hailes in the coming years. The final document proposes 36 key projects which include
- strategies / long-term approaches
- overall and neighbourhood physical improvements
- community hubs
- community facilities
- community building.
Outlined proposals, relevant community and external stakeholders, potential leads, timescales and next steps have been defined for each project.
Engagement
The focus of the Place Plan's engagement was to reach as wide a range of residents as possible, especially those that would not usually attend any organised events or activities. A specifically constructed cart with a wooden model and other engagement material was toured through the different neighbourhoods of Wester Hailes. In addition to this, the engagement team attended events organised by local organisations, delivered workshops for more focused development of the Local Place Plan vision, held project and improvement sessions with high school pupils and local residents, and finally, led a month-long exhibition with drop-in sessions on the final proposals.
As part of the Place Plan work, UrbanPioneers also set up a steering group, a sub-group to the Wester Hailes Community Trust, to help guide the Local Place Plan (LPP) progress. Local organisations, groups, and residents were invited to join this group.
Next steps
The Wester Hailes Local Place Plan was officially submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council in October of 2022. The Wester Hailes Community Trust is now working alongside local stakeholders and residents to begin implementing the 36 projects proposed by the plan. The Wester Hailes Community Trust hopes that this final Place Plan will act as a catalyst for a fruitful future of community oriented development in Wester Hailes. View Wester Hailes final document. View updates and progress on the implementation of the Place Plan. For any further information, please email Hayley Adam, lead Community Development Coordinator
