South Ayrshire Council has pulled a key part of its local development plan documents after it failed to consult on changes to draft guidance.
In March, the council approved a draft Local Development Plan 2 which provides overarching guidance on the use of land within South Ayrshire’s towns and villages.
It approved supplementary guidance on design and housing land supply, all of which was submitted to the Scottish Government in April.
However, it was revealed that, following consultation in 2019, there were changes made to the guidance on design for the South East Ayr masterplan.
A landowner argued that not only was there inadequate consultation on the changes, there was no requirement to make the changes at all as they were based on general comments rather than clear demands.
The council said it had worked in ‘good faith’ but admitted that no subsequent consultation was undertaken on the updated document.
In a report to the council, planning boss Craig Iles, stated: “During this period, the council received correspondence from a concerned landowner that that the South East Ayr section of the Supplementary Guidance Design Brief was flawed.
“Firstly, that the Planning Authority did not properly consult on the revised Supplementary Guidance Design Brief document, after it was revised from the version which was consulted upon in 2019.
“Changes to the document were as a result of the Scottish Government Reporter’s general comments within the assessment of the Local Development Plan 2.
“However the landowner contests that the changes to the draft 2019 Supplementary Guidance document were not required by the Reporter (and were of our volition) and therefore was inaccurate.
“While the Planning Service acted in good faith, we recognise that these matters could have been dealt with in a more inclusive and precise manner.”
The South Ayr document was then withdrawn by officials under delegated powers.
At the meeting of the full council, it was agreed that the sections related to South East Ayr would be removed from the design guidance document and submitted to the Scottish Government.
Officers will now work with landowners and stakeholders to develop a revised design brief for South East Ayr, with a view to bringing it before council in October.
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