Welcome to Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3)!

We are starting to prepare a new Local Development Plan for East Ayrshire and we want you to get involved!

East Ayrshire Council adopted its current Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2) in April 2024. LDP2 is a 5-year plan and is the key planning policy document for East Ayrshire. It guides future development and is used to determine all planning applications.

Changes to national legislation, brought about by the 2019 Planning Act, mean that we are now starting to prepare a 'new-style' LDP3, which will cover a 10-year plan period.

You can find out more about the purpose and importance of the LDP in our FAQs section.

LDP3 Stage 1: Preparing our Evidence Report

There are various stages involved in preparing the LDP3, which can be viewed in this page's project timeline. More information can also be found in the Council's Development Plan Scheme (an updated 2025 version will be published in due course).

The first thing that the Council needs to do is prepare an Evidence Report. In this report, the Council must show that we have sufficient information and evidence to enable us to prepare our LDP3. The report will therefore summarise the key factual information relevant to the preparation of a deliverable, place-based and people-focused LDP3.

To kick start the preparation of our Evidence Report, we want to hear from you! We have now launched the first stage of our public consultation for LDP3

Public Consultation on our LDP3 Evidence Report

At this stage in the plan process, we are looking to hear your views on the places in East Ayrshire where you live, work and spend your time. This will help us to understand and evidence the issues that you think should be addressed in the LDP3.

You can share your thoughts with us using our "How good is your place?" survey, or "Places Interactive Map" - both available on this web page

The survey is based around the Place Standard Tool, which asks participants to rate different aspects of their local area from 1 (worst) to 7 (best). The outputs will then be used to create a profile for each of East Ayrshire's places, showing their particular strengths and opportunities for improvement. Compass diagrams, like the examples below, will be used as a visual aid to show the results for each place.

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Watch this space for upcoming Evidence Report engagement opportunities

This online survey is the first step in collecting your views on East Ayrshire's places. There will be other upcoming opportunities to get involved in the preparation of our Evidence Report:

• In-person engagement events: the Council will also be running in-person engagement events, to inform our LDP3 Evidence Report. This will include dedicated engagement with children and young people. We will post information about any in-person events on this page, once they are confirmed.
• Topic papers: over the next few months, we will be preparing a range of topic papers on a range of themes, such as biodiversity, town centres, and renewable energy. The topic papers will set out the evidence that we will use as background to develop LDP3. We will invite views and feedback on the evidence presented and whether we have missed anything.

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Other Projects:

• Local Place Plans: We are now asking communities to register their interest in preparing a Local Place Plan. Please follow the link to find out more about what LPPs are, and how they can inform our LDP3.
• Play Sufficiency Assessment: The Council is also required to complete a Play Sufficiency Assessment, which will provide valuable evidence to inform our LDP3. Right now, we are carrying out site visits to assess all of East Ayrshire's formal play spaces. We will soon be engaging with children and young people to learn more about how they play in their local areas, and what they would like to see in the future.