HOW DO WE KNOW IF A PLACE PLAN IS NEEDED FOR OUR COMMUNITY?
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Is a Place Plan right for you, your place, your people, your resources, your local key issues? The resources in this website are designed to enable communities to come to an informed decision. In the Communities section we include useful information to read before you start and a 5 step process together with practical worksheets to help you and your community reach a decision on whether or not a Place Plan is right for you.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
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The time it takes and the costs of a Place Plan will vary depending on the scale of what you want to achieve and what resources are available. You might be able to get funding for part or all of your project, and you may be able to find creative ways to engage local businesses or groups in the process.
There is general information on funding in the Place Plan Toolbox and your own local authority may have other sources.
There is general information on funding in the Place Plan Toolbox and your own local authority may have other sources.
I LIVE IN AN AREA WITH NO TOWN OR COMMUNITY COUNCIL, CAN OUR COMMUNITY PREPARE A PLACE PLAN?
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Place Plans are to cover a community area and the expectation is that their preparation would most likely be led by Town and Community Councils, or via them as they are the official local body. If your community does not have its own Council but your community group or residents’ group might wish to do a Place Plan, please contact your local authority and/or Planning Aid Wales for advice.
ARE THERE ANY EXAMPLES OF COMPLETED PLACE PLANS?
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Take a look at the Case Studies section of the website to see some interesting examples of community planning
DO WE HAVE TO DO A PLACE PLAN?
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There is no formal requirement to do so. Place Plans are a way to address land use and development issues and concerns at the local, community level, as well as to achieve local aspirations. The choice to prepare one will be down to your local community. Follow the 5 step decision making process that includes practical worksheets to help you and your community reach a decision on whether or not a Place Plan is right for you
WHAT SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE? IS THERE ANY FUNDING?
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Your Local Planning Authority can offer general advice and information (e.g. maps and statistics) and is an important first point of contact for groups considering preparing a Place Plan. How much support can be provided will vary. There is general information on funding in the Place Plan Toolbox and your own Local Authority may have other sources.
WHAT INFLUENCE CAN A PLACE PLAN HAVE?
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A Place Plan, prepared by local communities, can be a positive way to engage with plans for future development, adding your very local detail to your area’s Local Development Plan and Well-Being Plan.
A Place Plan can be adopted by the local authority as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), giving it some weight in the planning system.
A Place Plan can be adopted by the local authority as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), giving it some weight in the planning system.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO PREPARING A PLACE PLAN?
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Place Plans are a way for you to establish the important development issues for your community and agree ways to address those in the future in a way that is more likely to be in tune with local aspirations and ideas.
A Place Plan can be used to enable positive and proactive input into the local planning system, offering your community more influence over planning decisions for your local area. The evidence and information which underpins your Place Plan can also be used to secure funding for identified actions and projects.
Find out more in the Communities – Before you start section
A Place Plan can be used to enable positive and proactive input into the local planning system, offering your community more influence over planning decisions for your local area. The evidence and information which underpins your Place Plan can also be used to secure funding for identified actions and projects.
Find out more in the Communities – Before you start section
WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED?
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Getting your local community aware and involved will be very important during the preparation of the plan, and important in ensuring it’s success.
Take a look at the Community Involvement toolkit in the Place Plan Toolbox for a practical guide.
Take a look at the Community Involvement toolkit in the Place Plan Toolbox for a practical guide.
It is also crucial that you work closely with your local authority because they can then give your eventual plan some status, maybe even legal status. Find out contact information for your area in the Communities section of this website.
Depending on what your Place Plan addresses you may also need to involve other service providers to collect evidence or ensure that identified actions can be delivered.
WHAT ISSUES CAN - AND CAN’T - A PLACE PLAN ADDRESS?
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Your Place Plan could be wide-ranging or deal with one or two issues only. It could be detailed or thematic, simply setting general principles for development.
A Place Plan as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) can address things related to land use, development and the built environment such as new housing, improving the town or village centre, building designs and local character, open spaces, local employment, local facilities… (these are just a few examples).
A practical worksheet is provided in the Communities section to help your community to define what issues your community faces and whether they are land-use related or not.
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