Aberdeenshire Land Use Strategy Pilot
James Davidson, Aberdeenshire Council
NESAAG, Woodhill House, 05/11/14
Two Land Use Strategy Pilots:
• Shared aim:
…to develop a framework which fosters an integrated approach to land use.
• Shared requirements e.g.:
- 3 stages
- ecosystems approach
- work with partners
- consultation
- min.10 year lifespan
Aberdeenshire Land Use Strategy Pilot
• Being delivered in partnership by Aberdeenshire Council and James Hutton Institute
• Project Board comprising key stakeholders
• Operating at two scales: regional and local
Local Focus Areas
• Upper Dee and Huntly area – invited local stakeholders
• Three step process looking at:
1. What the environment delivers
2. What influences decision making
3. How might the future look
Stage 1 – Baseline Mapping
• To set an information baseline for the Pilot
• Natural asset and policy information gathered as per Pilot spec
• Attempt to cover ‘ecosystem services’
• ~ 50 layers of GIS based information
Stage 2 – Constraints/Opportunities
• Exploration of constraints on and opportunities of land use change
• Use of questions based approach
• Key government objectives related to land use
Stage 2 – Question based approach
1. Low carbon economy…………….woodland expansion/renewables
2. Sustainable food production……..prime land
3. Sustainable water management…drinking water
4. Halting biodiversity loss…………..habitat connectivity
5. Communities connected to land…recreation opportunities
Stage 2 example: prime land
• Climate change could increase prime agricultural land in Aberdeenshire
• What are the implications of all prime land becoming arable?
Stage 3 – produce Pilot outputs
1. Spatially based aid to land use change decision making – web based, interactive
2. Overview report of land use key issues and opportunities
• Main users: existing public bodies influencing decisions around land use change
• Pilot = process demonstration!
Web-based, interactive tool
Overview Report
• Summary of land use change issues and opportunities drawing on work of the Pilot
• Presents a series of suggested actions regionally and nationally to aid with achieving LUS aims
• Draft report consulted on in Autumn 2014
• Opens discussion of Pilot legacy
What Next?
• Workshops for interactive tool - autumn 2014
• Stakeholder feedback on draft overview report – autumn 2014
• Final workshops with JHI in Local Focus Areas
• Finalise tool & overview report – New Year 2015
• Delivery of findings to feed into review of Land Use Strategy - March 2015
Top Related