Fife Council adopted FIFEplan (Fife’s Local Development Plan) on 21 September 2017.
FIFEplan is supported by:
We are preparing a new Local Development Plan. This will be known as Fife's Place Plan. Once adopted, Fife's Place Plan will replace the existing Local Development Plan (FIFEplan). It will also replace the Supplementary Guidance on Affordable Housing, Low Carbon Fife, Making Fife’s Places, and Minerals.
Along with the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), it will form the statutory development plan for Fife. It will set out the planning policies and proposals for the use and development of land across Fife for the next 10 to 20 years.
NPF4 is the national spatial strategy for Scotland. It sets out the spatial principles, regional priorities, national developments, and national planning policy.
The Local Development Plan 2 Evidence Report was resubmitted to the Scottish Government on 30 June 2025 and is progressing through the gate check process.
Place Matters - Call for sites and ideas is now closed
Our call for sites and ideas event, which ran for 14 weeks from 18 November 2024 to noon on the 24 February 2025, is now closed. If you made a submission through our consultation portal, thank you!
The Policy and Place Team will now process the submissions received. All sites and ideas submitted will have to be processed and analysed using our our site assessment criteria, as well as referencing national and local planning policies, and an emerging spatial strategy. We need to ensure they are required and suitable for development. This is a lengthy internal process, which will result in some sites and ideas being included in the Proposed Local Development Plan.
A public consultation on the Proposed Plan will run for a minimum of 12 weeks and will give everyone the opportunity to comment on the content of the Plan, including sites and ideas. It is anticipated that the Proposed Plan consultation will begin in June 2026.
Watch out for further updates or register below to receive a copy of our e-newsletter.
The above timetable for the plan preparation shows the expected dates for each plan stage. The Evidence Report has been completed and was submitted to the gate check review process on the 3 May 2024. It was returned on 19 July 2024 as the Reporter considers it contains insufficient information to enable us to prepare the local development plan. For further information see Scottish Government - DPEA - Case Details (scotland.gov.uk).
The date convention used is in accordance with local development planning regulations and guidance: 1Q = April - June; 2Q = July - September; 3Q October - December; 4Q = January - March.
The latest edition of the Fife Development Scheme 2024 also provides further information about Fife’s Local Development Plan and its preparation timetable.
The plan will be shaped by the views and aspirations of all interests across Fife (including communities, investors, businesses and other stakeholders) and the Council’s plan for Fife .
Details of consultations to date, which have helped inform the Evidence Report, can be found in the Evidence Report Summary of Engagement.
Communities can also inform the Local Development Plan of community views and aspirations through Local Place Plans. Local Place Plans are plans for local communities that have a focus on development, land use, and ‘place-making’. Our new Local Development Plan will take account of registered Local Place Plans, to allow communities to have a more direct role in the decisions that influence their place.
You can keep in touch with the Policy & Place team preparing the new Local Development Plan using the options below:
Register for our planning e-newsletter
Contact us:fife.devplan@fife.gov.uk
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter):@FifePlanning
