Argyll and Bute Council said government reporters gave its planning service positive feedback on development land identified in the Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan.

The key document identified over 4,500 potential housing units, bringing the total housing land supply in Argyll and Bute to almost 8,500 units, as well as 90 hectares of new industrial and business land.

The reporter has specifically highlighted:

The local authority has now agreed to move forward with the statutory adoption process, which will see the plan becoming official later this year.

Councillor David Kinniburgh, policy lead for planning, said of the positive feedback: “We are delighted that our plan has been so positively received by the Scottish Government and are looking forward to moving forward to the official adoption stage. This is the culmination of five years of hard work from our statutory plans team. The council has talked a lot recently about the opportunities for our economy, to develop business and to grow our population, and this strategy clearly identifies the potential growth areas, showing that ours is indeed an area of huge development potential.

“Our planning practices have been commended recently by Alex Neil MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, who praised our open for business approach and welcomed the speed with which we handle planning applications.

“We have solid practices in place and now, with the adoption of the LDP, a robust policy framework. The overall focus of the council’s planning service is on making things happen, supporting sustainable economic growth and regeneration.”

As part of the process the council will be producing a number of different LDP brochures in the coming weeks, with more details to follow.