Evidence Papers – Environment and Housing

North Ayrshire Council is preparing its third Local Development Plan, LDP3. To inform the Evidence Report for LDP3 we have published two background papers on the issues of housing and the environment. 

National planning policy emphasises the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the future impacts of climate change and respond to a growing nature crisis. NPF4 also seeks to encourage, promote and facilitate the delivery of more high quality, affordable and sustainable homes that meet the diverse housing needs of people and communities. LDP3 will have a significant role in the protection, recovery and restoration of our environment and will need to balance this aspiration with the delivery of new homes.

The purpose of both papers is to set out evidence in relation to both topics in North Ayrshire, our analysis of the evidence and view on its implications for LDP3. In respect to housing, this includes the number of new homes the new plan should seek to deliver, referred to as the Local Housing Land Requirement (LHLR).

Both papers can be viewed within the Documents section.

The Environment Evidence Paper also forms the scoping report for the strategic environmental assessment of the new plan. It sets out a proposed Assessment Framework that will be used to assess proposals and policies as part of the preparation of the Proposed Plan. This will include sites submitted to the Council as part of the upcoming ‘Call for Ideas’, which will take place between April and June. More details on the Call for Ideas, including our Site Assessment Methodology will be available shortly.

We would welcome any comments on these background papers by email to ldp@north-ayrshire.gov.uk, no later than Friday 4 April 2025. The views of stakeholders will be reflected in the final Evidence Report.