Plans and Policies

Local Plan

The Argyll and Bute Local Plan provides the local planning framework for the Council area, excluding the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park area. You can view the local plan through either through our online mapping system, or read or download the written statement and local plan maps.

Local Development Plan

Work has now begun on the new Local Development Plan, which will eventually replace the Local plan and Structure plan as the overall planning policy for the area. The first stage of that process has been the recent consultation on the Main Issues Report.

Structure Plan

The Argyll and Bute Structure Plan was approved in 2002, and is available to read or download here.

Landscape Capacity Studies

We have commissioned studies on our rural areas to assess the potential capacity for development, and you can view the Landscape Capacity Studies that have been produced here.

Landscape wind energy capacity study

Read the full report and appendices, produced to help develop the windfarm / wind turbine policies and associated spatial framework in the proposed Local Development Plan.

Marine and Coastal Development

Our Marine and Coastal Development Unit work on a number of projects and initiatives, developing plans for some of our beautiful and remote areas such as Loch Etive, Loch Fyne, and the Sound of Mull.

Core Paths

Our Outdoor Access Team are currently working on the Core Path plan for the area.

Woodland and Forestry Strategy

Forests and woodland cover over 30% of the land area of Argyll and Bute, and as such, impact on many aspects of our lives. The strategy provides an overall picture of the resource and its related issues.  It sets out what we would like our woodlands to look like over the next 50 years in our area, and how we can make the most of them so that they contribute to our local economy, to the environment, our rich heritage, and to the quality of life for our communities and residents.  

Biodiversity

According to experts, Argyll and Bute is considered to be a biodiversity hot spot with some of the best examples of a range of Land, Freshwater and Marine and Coastal Habitats and Species in the UK.

Helensburgh Pier Masterplan

The Helensburgh Pier Masterplan was completed in 2009, and currently forms non-statutory planning guidance to the current Argyll and Bute Development plan.