This year, to mark Volunteers’ Week, we hosted an in-person workshop focussed on an area volunteers often tell us they want to develop: community engagement

Our Projects & Training Officer spent 10 days travelling across Shetland by campervan, meeting community groups and supporting the next stages of their Local Place Plans

 At the Homebuilding & Renovating Show Planning Aid Scotland staff and volunteers supported visitors with free one-to-one planning advice on self-builds, extensions, conversions and planning permissions

This weekend, Planning Aid Scotland will be at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show, offering free one-to-one planning advice to anyone with questions about the planning system 

Across Shetland, conversations about the future are happening in familiar places: community halls, Sunday teas, bakery mornings and local events. Communities are beginning to set out their own ideas and vision for the future of their local areas

We recently delivered our Community Engagement Skills Training bringing together professionals from planning authorities, consultancies, energy companies, active travel, community organisations, land and rural businesses

To celebrate Earth Day and highlight the power of locally led environmental action, we spoke with Annie Tordoff, a Planning Aid Scotland board member and Director of Morvern Community Trading Company. Annie took us through the impact of community-led planning in Morvern and how, through developing locally led plans, the community refined a shared vision for the future of the peninsula, with sustainability and climate resilience at its heart.

From restoring native oyster habitat to delivering the UK’s largest 100% community-owned hydro project, the story of Morvern is one of hard work, persistence and, importantly, community pride.

Volunteers joined in person and online for a hands-on QGIS workshop, collaboratively building their digital mapping skills and exploring place-based spatial data 

Residents of Scottish islands and people working with island communities are invited to share their views on what planning training and support is needed