Advice Topics - 6 available

• City Regions
• Dunfermline and West Fife Local Plan
• Fife Structure Plan
• Mid Fife Local Plan
• St Andrews & East Fife Local Plan
• See all 6 Advice Topics

Why our plans are important for you

We've drawn up plans on how we think Fife should develop from now until 2026 and they are set out in

• The Fife Structure Plan
• Local Plans

Together, these are known as the Fife Development Plan.  We've prepared a Development Plan Scheme which sets out the programme for preparing and reviewing the new local development plans and what is likely to be involved at each stage.  Click here to view the updated Development Plan Scheme .

The Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026 was approved by the Scottish Government in May 2009. It deals with how we'd like Fife's housing, transport and major employment opportunities to grow. We consulted widely before we finalised this plan. 

Local plans describe where and how we will allow new developments to take place and show what we propose for your community. At the moment, we have 10 local plans but we are reducing these so that in future there will be 3 local plans to cover these areas:

• Dunfermline and West Fife
• Kirkcaldy and Mid Fife
• St Andrews and East Fife

The first of these that we are producing is the St Andrews and East Fife Local Plan.

You can find more about these and about the existing local plans through the associated links on this page.  We produce a quarterly e-bulletin with an update on the progress and status of the different plans which make up the Fife Development Plan, including the Structure Plan and the three Local Plans.  If you would like to receive this directly by email, please register through the online form.

We have also prepared the Fife Minerals Subject Local Plan, a Fife wide land use strategy for the sustainable extraction and use of minerals. This addresses issues associated with Fife's rich and potentially exploitable mineral resources such as coal, igneous rock and sand and gravel.

The Fife Core Path Plan is in preparation. Please follow the link for further information.

We also produce detailed advice on specific subjects including Affordable Housing, Renewable Energy and Urban Design. This is known as Supplementary Planning Guidance.

Fife Landscape Review – Special Landscape Areas (SLA) draft recommendations
In 2007 Fife Council commissioned a review of local landscape designations – currently known as Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLVs) – to assist in the preparation of new local plans for Fife.  The draft recommendations for Special Landscape Areas are now available to view.   These will not have any planning status until published in new Local Plans.  Consultation on these Local Plans started with Kirkcaldy & Mid Fife Local Plan in October 2008; consultation on the Dunfermline & West Fife Local Plan and St Andrews & East Fife Local Plan will take place during 2009.  You are advised that some of these files are very large and you should check before printing. The documents available to read here are:

 

• Project brief
• Fife Landscape Review – Special Landscape Areas - final draft report (including Appendix 1 - Parameters to guide the application of the landscape character and quality criteria)
• Appendix 2 - landscape description and evaluation
• Appendix 3 - community engagement
• Representations received to the survey
• Survey Results

 

You can find more about the planning system on the Scottish Government website and from Planning Aid for Scotland (external website).