UPDATE ON INNER MORAY FIRTH LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Thanks for your previous interest in the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan. I write to give you an update on what’s happened over the last couple of months and what will be happening next.
We held a consultation on the Proposed Plan in late 2013 and received comments from around 800 separate individuals, groups or businesses. We wrote to these people in January when the comments were published on the Council’s website. We then prepared suggested responses to the comments received and these are available on the Council’s website at www.highland.gov.uk/imfldp. These were reported to the Council’s Planning, Development & Infrastructure Committee on 14 May 2014 for consideration. The Committee agreed the Council’s position on all of the issues covered by the Proposed Plan and the comments received, which included noting comments of support, reaffirming the Council’s position on certain issues, and agreeing a list of possible changes to the Plan. The Council’s will now make its position clear to the Scottish Government who will appoint independent Reporters to undertake the final stage of the Plan process known as the Examination.
The Reporters handling the Examination will consider the Council’s position along with all of the remaining comments that do not align with the Council’s view, known as ‘unresolved issues’. We will send this information to the Reporters at the end of June 2014 together with all the background information already supplied by all parties. We estimate that the Examination will run from early July 2014 for a period of around 6-9 months. At that stage both the Council and the Reporters (via their organisation called the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals or DPEA) will write to people with ‘unresolved issues’ to notify them of the start of the Examination. The best way to keep up to date throughout the Examination is via the DPEA website http://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/casesearch.aspx?T=1 or the Council website www.highland.gov.uk/imfldp. Other methods of contact will be detailed in the two letters sent in July.
I trust the above is helpful but if you have any further queries please visit our website, email us imfldp@highland.gov.uk or speak to a member of the Development Plans Team on 01349 886608.
Regards
The Development Plans Team
The Highland Council
