Resources
Resources
We’ve brought our free resources, guides and toolkits together on one page, to help you locate what you need as quickly as possible. Where a resource originally comes from another service or project, we provide a link to the source so you can easily find out more.
Useful tools for
Local Place Plans
Guide for Community Delivery of Local Place Plans
Is your community thinking of creating a Local Place Plan (LPP)? Planning Aid Scotland’s Guide explains the role of LPPs in the Scottish planning system and offers a framework to support you with developing and delivering your plan:
- Overview
- Part 1 Planning and Preparing
- Part 2 Understanding the Issues
- Part 3 Writing and Delivering
To find out more about Local Place Plans, take a look at our Community-led Plans page.
Project Management Tool
This simple tool is designed to help a steering group organise and structure their thoughts as they embark on developing a Local Place Plan.
Please note, this is not a template for producing the Local Place Plan report itself, but a project management tool to guide you through the planning process from the start.
Information sheets
Navigating the Consenting Processes for Renewable Energy Developments
This information sheet is designed to help anyone involved with, or affected by, a proposal for onshore renewable energy-related developments such as windfarms, solar, hydro schemes, battery storage, and related infrastructure.
(Updated September 2025)
The Planning System
The information sheets below aim to simplify various aspects of the planning system. For more information or to submit an enquiry, please visit our Advice Service page.
- Development Planning (available shortly)
- Development Management
- Material Considerations
- Planning Appeals and Local Reviews
- Enforcement
- Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
- Rights and Challenges in the Scottish Planning System
- Planning and Transport
- Glossary of Common Planning Terms in Scotland
- Introduction to Planning for Young People
- Applying for a Householder Planning Application on e-planning
(Updated April 2023)
Community engagement
The SP=EED Framework
SP=EED is a framework to support better engagement in planning and placemaking, devised and produced by Planning Aid Scotland.
As well as our free guide, we also offer a community engagement skills training and verification programme – please visit the SP=EED page for more information.
Other useful tools
Placecheck
Placecheck is a simple way of finding out what a place and its people can tell us, and starting the process of making change happen. A Placecheck can be carried out for a street, a park, a neighbourhood, a town centre or any other place. Communities interested in preparing a Local Place Plan may find the tool helpful. It’s currently free for community groups and community councils.
Community Map Scotland
Community Map Scotland is a free mapping software for communities. If your community is thinking about creating a Local Place Plan (LPP), you may find the Community Map Scotland software helpful.
Parish Online, the company behind the software, will be fully funding the Community Map Scotland project for your first 12 months, so you can get started at no cost.