Development Plans

Development plans set out a vision for how areas will change and describe where development will take place and where it will not. They guide the future use of land and set out proposals and policies that are used to make decisions on planning applications across South Lanarkshire.

If you are building, buying land, or interested in how places will change, these plans set the rules we must follow when deciding planning applications. This page explains what the current Development Plan is, what is coming next, and how communities can get involved.

The Development Plan for South Lanarkshire

The Development Plan is made up of two key documents:

• National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) which was adopted by Scottish Ministers on 13 February 2023. This sets national planning priorities for Scotland.
• South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2 which was adopted by the council on 9 April 2021. This sets local policies and identifies where development can take place.

We also publish non-statutory Supporting planning guidance which gives more detail on how planning policies are applied in practice.

Development plan scheme

Details of the council’s Development Plan Scheme are available on our Development Plan Scheme webpage.

South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 1 (LDP1)

The South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan was adopted on Monday 29 June 2015. It was superseded when South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2 was adopted in April 2021 and therefore no longer has any status.
View LDP1 documents

South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2)

The South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan LDP2 was adopted on 9 April 2021 and remains part of the Development Plan with National Planning Framework 4.

South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3)

We are now preparing a new plan, Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3). This will eventually replace LDP2 and update how land is used across South Lanarkshire.

You can follow progress, key stages and consultation opportunities on our dedicated Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3) web page.

Local Place Plans

As part of the preparation of LDP3, communities can prepare Local Place Plans (LPPs). This gives communities the opportunity to feed into the planning system with ideas and proposals for the development and use of land and buildings in their local area. Once submitted to the council and registered, we must take account of a LPP as we prepare the Local Development Plan.

Masterplan Consent Areas (MCA)

Information on Masterplan Consent Areas, including the council’s current position and how MCAs could be used in South Lanarkshire, can be found on our Masterplan Consent Areas webpage.

Further information

You can view a range of other information using the links under the related content heading on this page. This includes

• Our current Development Plan Scheme includes details of the timescales for preparing LDP3 and our participation statement explaining how we will engage and consult on LDP3
• Our Placemaking in South Lanarkshire document, which sets out our vision for designing places
• Flood Risk Map for South Lanarkshire
• Details of the work we have started work on our Open Space Strategy and Play Sufficiency Assessment
• South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2 Delivery Programme. This will be published once it has been approved by the council.
• Our position on Masterplan Consent Areas: Masterplan consent areas position statement
• Our current land audits cover housing and vacant and derelict land