For Westhill and District residents – go along to the Westhill Community Church on Thursday 23rd April between 1300-1900 hrs to view the plan, speak to Aberdeenshire Council officers and air your views.

Following the publication of Aberdeenshire’s Proposed Local Development Plan, a series of drop-in events is being held in local communities.

Anyone with an interest can come along, find out more about the Proposed Plan and learn how to make any comments they would like to be taken into consideration.

The Proposed Plan was published on March 27 and guides where development will and will not be allowed in the period between 2016 and 2021.

It represents the “settled view” of Aberdeenshire Council and also identifies the policies to be used when making decisions on planning applications.

Until May 8, communities, developers and other interested parties have a chance to have their say.

The draft plan includes detailed statements for each of the main towns and villages in the area.

These present a vision for the locality, identifying land which should be protected from development and the expected location and expectations for new development.

On April 14 the council’s Planning Policy team begins a series of “drop in” sessions where interested individuals can get clarification on what the plan means for them.

Initial drop-in sessions will take place on:

• Tuesday, April 14 in Fraserburgh Community Centre, 1-7pm
• Wednesday, April 15 in Stonehaven Town Hall, 1-7pm
• Thursday, April 16 in Bridge Street Community Centre, Banff, noon-6pm
• Thursday, April 16 in Macduff Town Hall, 3-7pm

Upcoming locations for drop-in events include: Turriff, Ellon, Inverurie, Westhill, Laurencekirk, Peterhead, Banchory, Huntly and Alford.

Head of Service for Planning and Building Standards, Robert Gray, said: “We are delighted to make ourselves available across Aberdeenshire to answer questions and help people make their views known. 

“Staff will be on-hand to answer any questions and assist people in making submissions to the proposed plan.

“Submissions will be assessed and then presented to a Scottish Government-appointed reporter to determine their merits.

“We are very pleased with the proposed plan, which has been a huge piece of work for my policy planning team. We think we have adequately captured the main planning issues affecting Aberdeenshire and the plan will be an appropriate response to both the needs of communities and of developers.”

Issues within the initial four towns being visited are likely focus on regeneration and achieving appropriate levels of development.

In Stonehaven it is likely discussion will continue to focus on how to deliver a major supermarket in the town.

“Whatever the issues, my staff will do their best to answer any queries and help attendees to make concise and meaningful representations to the proposed plan,” added Mr Gray.

A dedicated online portal has also been set up to allow people to take part in the consultation easily.

For details of all the afternoon/early evening drop in events taking place around Aberdeenshire, please see our website.