The current emphasis on Local Place Plans, with communities being “given the opportunity” to influence a Council’s development plans, has obscured the value of a well created Community Action Plan in influencing planning decisions.

This article in The Courier, tells the story of how Auchterarder and Aberuthven CAP have effectively used the evidence from their CAP to counter Perth & Kinross Council’s proposal for 185 homes on land that is currently a much loved open space and park. The CAP was prepared in 2022, with a fantastic response of over 750 surveys as well as hundreds more people coming to events to feed into the Plan.  This is nothing new – we’ve been encouraging communities and planners to use CAPs in this way for 25 years! But it is a good reminder and important to emphasise that CAP’s have as much value for influencing spatial developments, as for identifying and enabling other community priorities.

So – well done Auchterarder and Aberuthven CAP and Auchterarder Community Sports and Recreation for ably showing that the CAP is all you need!