The Shetland Islands Council has called on its communities to prepare a new Local Place Plan (LPP) – a new, statutory plan that represents their aspirations for the development and use of land in their area

LPPs must be led by formally constituted bodies, such as community councils or hall committees, and will ensure that community's aspirations are taken into account in future planning and development decisions.

There is no obligation on any community to prepare an LPP but a valid LPP must be registered by Shetland Islands Council. The boundaries of the place can be determined by the community and registered LPPs must be taken into account when preparing Shetland's next Local Development Plan. The Council has a range of resources to help support formally constituted community bodies who may wish to prepare an LPP for their area. Community bodies may wish to work together as a group to follow the process of creating an LPP.

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Staff from the Council's Development Plans and Heritage team will work with community bodies to jointly determine the timescales and support. An initial online information sharing session is planned to launch LPPs in early May 2024.

Anyone who represents a formally constituted community body and would like to attend the online session, or be kept updated on progress with Local Place Plans, should register their interest here: Local Place Plans – Shetland Islands Council

Councillor Dennis Leask is Chair of the Development Committee: "Local Place Plans will complement the provisions already in place for community involvement in the planning system. They represent a new way for communities across Shetland to make sure that their aspirations for development and land use within their area are taken into account when any future decisions are made. Local Place Plans can be led by any formally constituted community body, and there's a wide range of support available for those who'd like to take advantage of this new opportunity."