An Article 4 Direction is a statement made under The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2011. The Direction, made by a local authority and approved by Scottish Ministers, removes all or some of the permitted development rights on an area. The effect of a Direction is that planning permission will be required for specific types of development which would otherwise be regarded as 'permitted development', i.e. development that does not require a planning application. Directions can cover a variety of minor works and might include: the replacement of doors and windows, the erection of gates, fences, garages, sheds, porches, storage tanks or the installation of satellite antennae. Article 4 Directions complement Conservation Areas and may overlap these. This dataset should be used alongside Conservation Areas when considering built environment heritage constraints on development.
A Web Mapping Tile Service (WMTS) layer identifying optimal locations across Scotland for mine water geothermal development. Mine water geothermal energy describes the low-carbon practice of using water held in abandoned flooded mines to heat or cool surface thermal demands. The low temperatures (as low as 10°C) require heat pump technology to upgrade thermal energy to usable temperatures for heating homes or industrial applications. The intention of the mine water geothermal resource atlas is to highlight optimal areas to exploit MWG energy in Scotland. If the scale of Scotland’s mine water thermal resource, estimated at 12 GW, becomes better communicated we envisage that this atlas will prove influential for increasing the rate and success of MWG deployment. Ideally, the provision of feasible MWG sites will influence stakeholder decisions i.e., where to invest and develop land to make the best use of the low-carbon resource, resulting in MWG potential included as part of a standard appraisal for a residential or industrial development plan. Whilst it is acknowledged that focused expert input would be required to integrate surface heat demand and subsurface resources in detail, the atlas provides non-experts and decision makers with a first-pass high-level summary of the potential MWG resource located within their area of interest. The four criteria for site selection are summarised below: 1. There are more than one (overlapping) mined seams. 2. The mined seams are deeper than 30 m to minimise subsidence risk. 3. The mine water head (i.e., mine “water table”) is not excessively deep (< 60 m below ground level) to avoid excessive pumping costs. 4. The mined seams are shallower than 250 m below ground level to minimise drilling costs. As a result, this atlas has identified a total of 370.3 km2 across 19 local authority areas which are most suitable for MWG development. Symbology: The calculated depths for mine water head (Criterion 3) are mapped in 10 m increments with shallower values (0 m – 20 m BGL) shown in shades of pink and deeper values (20 m - 60 m BGL) shown in shades of blue. Where mine water head is shallow (0 m - 20 m BGL) there may be some risk that reinjection may cause mine water heads to approach the surface (depending on the transmissivity of the workings). “Open loop with discharge” may be more feasible for areas with very shallow mine water (0 m - 20 m BGL), but may require additional permitting (discharge consents) and available land for treatment depending on water chemistry. Areas shaded blue (20 m - 60 m BGL) correlate with deeper mine water heads which are most suited to the ‘open-loop with reinjection’ configuration. Both configurations are presented in Walls et al. (2022) - https://doi.org/10.3390/en14196215. Depths greater than 60 m BGL are not included since they indicate situations which would face excessive pumping costs. The Mine Water Geothermal Resource Atlas for Scotland (MiRAS) was the work of David Walls, a PhD researcher at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow. David has been supervised by Dr Neil Burnside of the University of Strathclyde, David Banks of the University of Glasgow and Prof. Adrian Boyce of SUERC. The PhD studentship was funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and some of the analysis was funded through the John Mather Trust Rising Star Award. Further contextual details of this work including the input data, specific processing and quality assurance can be found in David’s PhD (How can optimal sites for mine water geothermal energy systems be identified and where are they in Scotland?) and accompanying paper (to be shared when available). If you have any queries regarding the MiRAS, assistance can be provided via emails to david.walls@strath.ac.uk; or you can reach David at his new post with TownRock Energy at david.walls@townrock.com. NB. This dataset is not available as a Web Feature Service (WFS) due to the licencing restrictions of the source data. Contains data from © The Coal Authority. All rights reserved.
Mine Water Geothermal Resource Atlas - Scotland
A Polling District is a geographical subdivision of an electoral area such as an electoral Ward within which a polling place is designated. The Representation of the People Act 1983 places a duty on LA to divide the local authority area into polling districts based on ward boundaries, and to designate a polling place for each district. LAs also have a duty to keep these polling arrangements under review. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced amendments to the 1983 Act (which in turn has been superseded by The Electoral Administration Act 2013). Now local authorities must conduct a full review (with public consultation) of its polling districts and polling places every four years, however adjustments to the boundaries of polling districts and the designation of polling places within LA wards can be proposed at any time in response to changes in ward boundaries or to the availability of premises that can be reasonably designated as polling places. The Fifth Review of Electoral Arrangements concluded in May 2016 when the LGBCS made recommendations to Scottish Ministers for the number of Councillors and the electoral ward boundaries in each of Scotland's 32 local authorities. The review recommended changes in 30 LA areas of which all but 5 were accepted and came into force on 30th Sept 2016. As a result, ward boundaries (and therefore polling districts and possibly polling places) were changed after this date in time for the May 2017 elections. The following fields are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset. "district_code" - The polling district code linked to the polling place "UPRN" - The Unique Property Reference Number for the Corporate Address Gazeteer record of the polling place "polling_place" - The name and/or address of the polling place (based on the Corporate Address Gazeteer record)
This point location dataset of the name, address, location and unique IDs (with Unique Property Reference Number) of every older person care home in Scotland has been supplied by the Care Inspectorate.
Whilst TPOs are a legal requirement they may not always be digitised accurately. Users of this data should not assume this data is totally accurate and should consult the specific local authority for more detail before making any decisions A TPO is made by the Local Authority, under Section 160 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and within the procedures set out in the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation Order and Trees in Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2010. They are made to protect individual trees, groups of trees or woodlands which have particular amenity value, make a significant contribution to the landscape or townscape or because there may be a potential threat to the trees. In deciding which trees qualify to become protected the local authority must ensure that the trees contribute to the amenity and attractiveness of an area and be under threat in some way. Either individual specimens or groups can be protected in a single Order. More information and guidance on Tree Preservation orders and Trees in conservation can be found in Planning Circular 1/2011. Which provides an overview of the TPO procedures, explaining how the requirements from the Act and Regulations fit together. Some local authorities capture polygons of tree preservation areas. Others will identify actual trees as point TPOs. Several LAs capture both. We have initially created two separate layers - point and polygon, to represent TPOs. This may show duplication where a point falls within a polygon. We may adapt this rationale and methodology in due course as we know that there is a discrepancy with Registers of Scotland's TPO data.
Local authorities may designate country parks where they see a need, using powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967. Country parks may provide a range of facilities and services including a countryside ranger service. Local authorities can make by-laws to regulate inappropriate behaviour within country parks.
*Whilst TPOs are a legal requirement they may not always be digitised accurately. Users of this data should not assume this data is totally accurate and should consult the specific local authority for more detail before making any decisions* A TPO is made by the Local Authority, under Section 160 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and within the procedures set out in the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation Order and Trees in Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 1975-1984. They are made to protect individual trees, groups of trees or woodlands which have particular amenity value, make a significant contribution to the landscape or townscape or because there may be a potential threat to the trees. Deciding which trees qualify to become protected the local authority must ensure that the trees contribute to the amenity and attractiveness of an area and be under threat in some way. Either individual specimens or groups can be protected in a single Order. There are no guidelines on which species of tree can be included in an Order. The process starts with a Provisional Order, this is served on the owner of the land and comes into effect immediately. Once confirmed, the TPO will remain indefinitely and are recorded in the Land Register of Scotland. They then become legal burdens on the land occupied by present and future owners so that when the land is sold on, the title passes on with the TPO. Some local authorities capture polygons of tree preservation areas. Others will identify actual trees as point TPOs. Several LAs capture both. We have initially created two separate layers - point and polygon, to represent TPOs. This may show duplication where a point falls within a polygon. We may adapt this rationale and methodology in due course as we know that there is discrepancy with Registers of Scotland's TPO data.
Tree Preservation Orders Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
This dataset now contains revoked AQMAs. Site name, date designated, revocation date (where applicable) type of pollutant and website URL (with more information) are now mandatory attributes for this dataset.
Air Quality Management Areas - Clackmannanshire
Each local authority creates gritting routes and regimes to keep their most important roads (and in some cases footpaths) and networks clear come bad winter weather. Most LAs create these as line datasets. So the national dataset is a line format dataset. We now have two layers: one for road gritting and one for footpath. Some LAs collect this data as a polygon dataset. We are working with them to convert this into line formats in the future. We have removed trunk roads that are cleared by private companies e.g BEAR and AMEY from this dataset for the time being as they aren't currently under the LA gritting route regime. Eventually, the Street Gazetteer will enable us to identify these routes more accurately and coherently.
Local authorities are large owners of land, much of it not captured on the current Land Registry due to it not changing hands in the last 40 years. Many do not have up to date records of the extent of their land ownership, and as such there is no definitive records held. This dataset is trying to collect what information does exist to provide an indicative extent of land owned by Local Authorities. This is NOT indemnified Registers of Scotland land ownership extents. Some of it is derived from sale of land based on historical ownership, but it should not be used for decision making, it is designed as an aid to assist interested parties in identifying where to start their enquiries. If in doubt please contact the relevant local authority or Registers of Scotland.
A council development plan may designate a green belt around a city or town to support the spatial strategy by: - directing development to the most appropriate locations and supporting regeneration; - protecting and enhancing the character, landscape setting and identity of the settlement; and - protecting and providing access to open space. This dataset has been developed as a polygon layer.
This dataset is an amalgamation of all Scottish Council Asset Registers based (partly) on LAs Community Asset Transfer Registers and previous ePIMS submissions.
There are many areas where the scenery is highly valued locally and local authorities often give these landscapes a local designation. This is to ensure that the landscape is not damaged by inappropriate development, and in some cases encourage positive landscape management. These designations play an important role in developing an awareness of the landscape qualities that make particular areas distinctive and promote a community's sense of pride in their surroundings. The names used for such Local Landscape Areas currently vary from one local authority to another. For example, they are termed 'Areas of Great Landscape Value' in Moray, 'Special Landscape Areas' in Dumfries and Galloway, and 'Sensitive Landscape Character Areas' in Ayrshire. Guidance published by NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland (see below) suggests the name be standardised to Local Landscape Areas (LLA) now. LLAs complement the National Scenic Area designation, which identifies those landscapes that are seen as nationally important owing to their unsurpassed scenery. https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-landscape-areas
Local Nature Reserves are areas of (at least) locally important natural heritage, designated and managed by local authorities to give people better opportunities to learn about and enjoy nature close to where they live. They are found across the country, but generally close to towns and cities. More details are available here: https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-nature-reserves Where we have not been supplied with data by local authorities we are extracting it from a previously produced NatureScot national dataset. Site name, designation date, website URL (for more information) and PA code are all mandatory attributes for this dataset now.
Merkinch Local Nature Reserve was declared on 28 November 2007 after the signing of a formal agreement between the Highland Council and British Waterways on 14 November 2007. It is the only Local Nature Reserve in the Highland Council area and was, at the time, the 50th in Scotland.
Local Nature Reserves Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
SGN create 4 separate data layers (by pressure tier) to depict the location of their gas network: LP - Low Pressure (19 mbar - 75 mbar) MP - Medium Pressure (75mbar - 2 bar) IP - Intermediate Pressure (2 bar - 7 bar) HP - Regional High Pressure (>7 bar) In order to assess the risk of planning applications affecting the gas infrastructure, there is a requirement to buffer the above pipe network by different distances. The Spatial Hub has provided these buffered polygons as separate data layers. These are consultation zones where SGN should be informed about relevant planning applications. Major developments with potentially widespread effects should have larger consultation distances of up to 1km: e.g. quarrying, deep mining, demolition, blasting, siting of High Voltage Infrastructure. Current buffers: HP buffer (75m either side of pipe - 150m total) HP buffer (1km either side of pipe - 2km total) - for assessment of large, major-scale works involving quarrying, demolition or power generation. IP buffer (25m either side of pipe - 50m total) MP buffer (12.5m either side of pipe - 25m total) The gas network data is up to date at the time of publication, but it is given without warranty as to the accuracy of the information shown. Service pipes, valves, siphons, sub-connections etc. are not shown but their presence should be anticipated. No liability of any kind whatsoever is accepted by SGN or its agents, servants or sub-contractors for any error or omission. Should the user wish to excavate in the vicinity of pipelines, the User should visit SGN via sgn.co.uk/Safety/Dig-safely for further information. SGN use an on-line mapping system, accessible via the sgn.co.uk/Safety/Dig-safely web pages or linesearchbeforeudig.co.uk, this process should be used to obtain up to date maps and safety information before you excavate. However if you need more information please contact our Safety Admin team on 0800 912 1722 or by email: plantlocation@sgn.co.uk. For the avoidance of doubt, safe digging practices, in accordance with HS (G) 47, must be used to verify and establish the actual position of mains, pipes, services and other apparatus on site before any mechanical plant is used. It is your responsibility to ensure that this information is provided to all persons (whether direct labour or contractors) working for you on or near gas apparatus. Mains shown in the data are those owned by SGN by virtue of being a licensed Gas Transporter (GT). Gas pipes owned by other GT’s, or third parties, may also be present in the area and are not shown in the data. Information with regard to such pipes should be obtained from the relevant owners
Local authorities have the power to make by-laws to prohibit the drinking of alcohol in designated public places under provisions contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (under sections 201, 202 and 203) subject to confirmation by Scottish Ministers. To date, 27 local authorities across Scotland have by-laws which prohibit the drinking of alcohol in designated public places in more than 480 towns and villages across Scotland, together with the built up areas within the city of Glasgow and Edinburgh have such by-laws. They range from a total ban on drinking at all times, to a ban at specified times or on specified days.
This dataset is an amalgamation of licenced SEPA, Scottish Water, Assessors and some Local Authorities Septic Tanks in Scotland. Under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Under part 6, section 37 of the Water Resources (Scotland) Act 2013 SEPA, Scottish Water and Local Authorities all have a responsibility for the registration, management and compliance of Septic Tanks within Scotland. The Scottish Assessors also currently identifies 678 septic tanks. These are tanks that serve more than one dwelling. Those that serve just one dwelling may be treated as an appurtenance of the dwelling i.e. they are classified as domestic and treated as being reflected in the Council Tax band. SEPA have approximately a quarter of the Septic Tanks mapped as it has only been a requirement since 2012 that when buying or selling a house that these get licenced. Scottish Water have partial information and the Scottish Assessors collect some as well. SEPA, Local Authorities, Scottish Water and Scottish Assessors are keen to combine data to create a complete and comprehensive view of all Septic Tanks in Scotland, although this work is not yet compete
Scottish Planning Policy sets out the Scottish Government's policies in relation to economic development in Scotland. An Employment Land Audit is produced to monitor the supply, take up and status of employment land in line with National Guidance. The audit assesses the range and choice of marketable sites and locations for businesses with a variety of size and quality requirements. The audit identifies the availability and constraints of employment land sites within the local authority.
Employment Land Supply PREMIUM - Scotland
Aberdeen City Council Polling Places 2023 as approved by full Council.
Aberdeen City Council Polling Places 2026.
Council Asset Register PREMIUM - Scotland
A Polling District is a geographical subdivision of an electoral area such as an electoral Ward within which a polling place is designated. The Representation of the People Act 1983 places a duty on LA to divide the local authority area into polling districts based on ward boundaries, and to designate a polling place for each district. LAs also have a duty to keep these polling arrangements under review. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced amendments to the 1983 Act (which in turn has been superseded by The Electoral Administration Act 2013). Now local authorities must conduct a full review (with public consultation) of its polling districts and polling places every four years, however adjustments to the boundaries of polling districts and the designation of polling places within LA wards can be proposed at any time in response to changes in ward boundaries or to the availability of premises that can be reasonably designated as polling places. The Fifth Review of Electoral Arrangements concluded in May 2016 when the LGBCS made recommendations to Scottish Ministers for the number of Councillors and the electoral ward boundaries in each of Scotland's 32 local authorities. The review recommended changes in 30 LA areas of which all but 5 were accepted and came into force on 30th Sept 2016. As a result, ward boundaries (and therefore polling districts and possibly polling places) were changed after this date in time for the May 2017 elections. The following fields are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset. "district_code" - The polling district code, as defined by the LA "UPRN" - The Unique Property Reference Number for the Corporate Address Gazeteer record of the polling place related to the polling district, as defined by the LA "polling_place" - The name and/or address of the polling place (based on the Corporate Address Gazeteer record) related to the polling district, as defined by the LA
Polling Districts - Dumfries and Galloway
Slight modification to the previous upload with an updated polling station detail.
Update to reflect change to polling station in PD 02C1
Update to reflect 4 polling station location changes for upcoming elections in May.
Interactive map of Polling Districts and Places (Updates are reflected automatically)
Place-names represent a fundamental geographical identifier, which also have considerable cultural, historical and linguistic importance. Scotland had a great tradition of publishing descriptive (long-form) gazetteers in the 19th century. This dataset is the GIS point format output from a project funded by the Scottish Government in the early 2010s, to create a Definitive Place-Name Gazetteer for Scotland, which helped meet the INSPIRE requirements for a place-name layer. The data also forms the underlying content for the Gazetteer for Scotland web pages: https://www.scottish-places.info/ In 2009 a workshop was run in conjunction with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) to examine the range of gazetteers in use in Scotland, together with a broad set of requirements. This identified a number of organisations which hold or maintain at least 15 different gazetteers that include geographical names for Scotland. The two most significant gazetteers were the Gazetteer for Scotland and the Ordnance Survey 1:50000 (OS 1:50K) product – which together form the basis for this dataset. The Gazetteer for Scotland is a descriptive gazetteer, with a modest number (22,000) of rich entries, including a textual description and rich feature-typing. At the time of creation, the OS 1:50K gazetteer had long been Ordnance Survey's only place-name gazetteer, used as part of numerous applications. It was decided that, for this new 'definitive' place name gazetteer, any named feature could/ should potentially be included, but it was accepted that the list will always be incomplete. This dataset could be used (and potentially linked with) other datasets like the Ordnance Survey Open Names, the One Scotland Gazetteer and the Historical Names gazetteer. The methodology for this data was a combination of automated and manual editing. Automated methods were used in feature classification and duplicate detection. Manual editing was required both to confirm or provide a feature classification, but also to improve the spatial referencing. Standards had to be adopted; for example water bodies were spatially located by a point which approximated its centre, while rivers were spatially located at their termination and other liner features by a random point along their length. The former gives a useful spatial reference, the latter in many cases does not. Quality checking suggests that 95% of points were located to 100m or better, and 5% located to 20m or better. More than 90% of features are classified correctly, on the basis of the evidence available. Copyrights and acknowledgments. The dataset is (c) Bruce M. Gittings (University of Edinburgh) and the Scottish Government. This dataset contains Ordnance Survey data (c) Crown copyright and database right 2010, released by The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, April 2010.
In November 2004, Audit Scotland published a document entitled ‘Maintaining Scotland’s Roads’, effectively introducing a requirement on local authorities in Scotland to produce a Roads Asset Management Plan (RAMP). Following this publication, The Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) produced a common asset management framework through which all local authorities could develop their own RAMP. Street assets/furniture are a key part of the RAMP and as such a requirement exists for a national dataset of information. This can include (although is not limited to) features such as bollards, road signs, barriers, parking bays, bus shelters, cattle grids, gates, street lighting columns, benches/seats, information boards, dog/litter/grit bins, cycle stands, ticket machines etc. etc. The premium dataset now includes 2 separate layers: Street Lighting Columns and general Street Furniture We are currently only including street furniture types that have been provided by more than one local authority. These are: Benches, Bollards, Bus Infrastructure, Cattle Grids, Traffic Light Controllers, Barriers, Bridges, Cycle Parking, Dog Litter Bins, Electric Vehicle Charging Points, Snow Gates, Grit Bins, Litter Bins, Memorials, Pedestrian Crossings, Traffic Calming, Traffic Signals, Traffis Signs, Weather Stations and Water Related Structures (e.g. grates and grills) We understand that some local authorities are loading this data into the VAULT system. We will work with the team managing the system to ensure that there is one definitive list in the future.
There are many areas where the scenery is highly valued locally and local authorities often give these landscapes a local designation. This is to ensure that the landscape is not damaged by inappropriate development, and in some cases encourage positive landscape management. These designations play an important role in developing an awareness of the landscape qualities that make particular areas distinctive and promote a community's sense of pride in their surroundings. The names used for such Local Landscape Areas currently vary from one local authority to another. For example, they are termed 'Areas of Great Landscape Value' in Moray, 'Special Landscape Areas' in Dumfries and Galloway, and 'Sensitive Landscape Character Areas' in Ayrshire. Guidance published by NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland (see below) suggests the name be standardised to Local Landscape Areas (LLA) now. LLAs complement the National Scenic Area designation, which identifies those landscapes that are seen as nationally important owing to their unsurpassed scenery. https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-landscape-areas Site name and Website URL (for more information) are now mandatory attributes for this dataset.
Special Landscape Areas is the Highland equivalent of Local Landscape Areas.
Special Landscape Areas Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Five GIS layers derived from data held and maintained by the West of Scotland Archaeology Service, on behalf of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, and West Lothian, and of the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority. Datasets included in the folder are as follows: -WoSAS_Event_Points - a point dataset identifying locations where archaeological fieldwork has taken place -WoSAS_Event_Polygons - a polygon layer identifying the locations and extents of areas covered by archaeological fieldwork events -WoSAS_Site_Points - a point dataset identifying the locations of archaeological sites, monuments and find-spots -WoSAS_Site_Polygons - a polygon dataset identifying the extents of archaeological sites and monuments -WoSAS_Site_Polylines - a polyline layer defining the route of linear archaeological monuments such as Roman roads
West of Scotland Archaeology Service Historic Environment Record Datasets
Polling Places Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Development plans set out the long term vision for development in each planning authority and are used to assess planning applications. The latest available local development plan (LDP) spatial data for Scotland is shared here. Where a planning authority has their own data portal where the LDP data is stored, a link is provided. Where this is not available, a data download is provided. This data should be reviewed in conjunction with the LDP documents and with the National Planning Framework 4 policy that now forms part of all local development plans. Data is unavailable for the City of Edinburgh LDP
East Lothian Local Development Plan 2018
East Ayrshire Local Development Plan 2024
Available West Dunbartonshire Proposed LDP layers
West Dunbartonshire Proposed Local Development Plan 2020
West Lothian Local Development Plan 2018
Link to available Renfrewshire LDP layers
Renfrewshire Local Development Plan 2021
Link to available South Ayrshire LDP layers
South Ayrshire Local Development Plan 2022
Clackmannanshire Local Development Plan 2015
Available Cairngorms National Park LDP layers
Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan 2021
East Renfrewshire Local Development Plan 2022
Available Aberdeen City Proposed LDP layers
Aberdeen City Proposed Local Development Plan 2022
Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan 2024
Available Dumfries and Galloway LDP layers
Dumfries and Galloway Local Development Plan 2019
Scottish Borders Local Development Plan 2024
Available East Dunbartonshire LDP layers
East Dunbartonshire Local Development Plan 2022
A link to the available Stirling LDP layers
Link to available North Ayrshire LDP layers
Perth and Kinross Local Development Plan 2019
Link to available Aberdeenshire LDP layers
Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan 2023
Available Na h-Eileanan an lar LDP layers
Na h-Eileanan an lar Local Development Plan 2018
Available Loch Lomond and the Trossachs LDP layers
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Local Development Plan 2017
North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2022
South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2021
Many local authorities capture details of the cycle network within their jurisdiction. These may be lanes along roads or segregated paths away from vehicles. This dataset attempts to pull anything that local authorities can provide to us together into a national network. It may be missing details held by other national organisations. We have now also added the Scottish part of the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust's National Cycle Network dataset (which will now be available via an OGC web service for the first time). Walk Wheel Cycle Trust's National Cycle Network data contains Ordnance Survey data (© Crown copyright and database rights (2018)).
Local Authorities have a duty to designate any relevant areas where the air quality objectives are not (or are unlikely to be) being met as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs). AQMAs must be designated officially by means of an 'order'. The extent of the AQMA may be limited to the area of exceedance or encompass a larger area. Following the declaration of an AQMA, the local authority is required to develop and implement a plan (Air Quality Action Plan) to improve air quality in that area. AQMAs can be for a combination of NO2, SO2, PM10. Most data provided by local authorities is in polygon format. However, some is provided in point and line form so we are currently buffering such data by the width of a road or so in order to merge them in to the national polygon dataset. Some smaller local authorities e.g. Dundee, use the entire extent of their local authority, as digitised in Ordnance Survey's BoundaryLine dataset, for the AQMA. We have included date of AQMA declaration in our national schema, though many LAs do not currently provide this. Revoked AQMAs are now held in this dataset with a 'Date revoked' attribute.
This new building standards data has been created using a custom built 'Cloud Connector Framework' which enables the automated collection of data from local data systems. There are 2 layers: Points & polygons (not all local authorities collect polygon data) ALL 32 LOCAL AUTHORITY VERIFIERS ARE NOW PROVING DATA ON A DAILY BASIS A Building Standards Register is maintained by local authorities verifiers under the terms of Section 24 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. Local authorities are responsible for granting permission for work to be done (building warrant) and for a completed building to be occupied (completion certificate). These registers are online and searchable and published as weekly lists in a similar way to planning applications. Registers typically contain details of applications at the following stages of the building warrant process: Received Decided Commenced Completed We strongly recommend that when using the WFS for this dataset, because of its size, you use it with a filter. For example with the attributes 'local_authority'. A powerBI dashboard highlighting some data quality issues we have found is available to view at https://shorturl.at/9NzAX
Building Standards: Official PREMIUM - Scotland
Update to reflect Polling Place change in PD 02C1
Updated Polling Station data for July Election
Town centres and other retail centres are defined by local authorities to meet the requirement of Scottish Planning Policy (paragraph 61) to identify town centres and other retail locations as part of a network of centres to support retail type development in the most appropriate locations. This network of centres forms part of the sequential test in assessing retail planning applications, which should be located firstly in town centres, then in other retail centres or edge-of-centre sites, so the dataset provides key locational information in assisting retail planning and policies. These centres may be defined in local development plans in the first instance.
These strategies are a requirement that has now been added into the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2019/13/part/4/crossheading/forestry-and-woodland-strategy/enacted Most councils already have a FWS and these are normally (but not always) accompanied by spatial data. Some of the strategies are produced jointly across Councils, e.g. Stirling & Clackmannanshire, Edinburgh & Lothians, Glasgow Clyde Valley. Generally, the FWS datasets contain similar attribution which identifies the FWS Classification, or the potential areas for woodland expansion. The 'suitability' attribute is usually along the lines of: Preferred, Potential, Sensitive, Unsuitable. Some of the councils have produced a few layers of data for their FWS which might apply specifically to woodland planting types, e.g. a separate FWS layer for native woodlands or for productive woodlands. Please note the data has been created using data of different scales (regional/local) and has been created as a high level assessment tool. The data should be viewed NO larger than 1:25000. Identification as a preferred area does not imply automatic approval of woodland planting proposals. Applications will be assessed based on site conditions. To be used in conjunction with the published supplementary guidance.
Forestry and Woodland Strategy - Scotland
A ‘polling place’ is defined as the building or area in which a polling station will be located. A ‘polling station’ is the room or area within the polling place where voting takes place. Unlike polling districts and polling places which are fixed by the local authority, polling stations are chosen by the (Acting) Returning Officer for the election. The Representation of the People Act 1983 places a duty on LA to divide the local authority area into polling districts based on ward boundaries, and to designate a polling place for each district. LAs also have a duty to keep these polling arrangements under review. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced amendments to the 1983 Act (which in turn has been superseded by The Electoral Administration Act 2013). Now local authorities must conduct a full review (with public consultation) of its polling districts and polling places every four years, however adjustments to the boundaries of polling districts and the designation of polling places within LA wards can be proposed at any time in response to changes in ward boundaries or to the availability of premises that can be reasonably designated as polling places.
Community councils are required to be established by local authorities. They are the most local tier of statutory representation in Scotland. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities and help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent. Community councils are statutory consultees under various processes, such as for planning applications. There are many instances where polygons do not tessellate or snap to local authority boundaries. The Spatial Hub processing can correct for some minor gap errors (<5m) but not larger ones. Such gaps in the dataset mean that it cannot potentially be used for some kinds of spatial analysis e.g. point in polygon, because some point locations may fall within the gaps. These gaps either require amendment at source or approval for the IS to change. "name", "url" and "status" are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset.
Community Council boundaries in Highland.
Community Council Boundaries Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Land is legally defined as 'contaminated' where substances are causing or could cause significant harm to people, property or protected species as well as causing significant pollution to surface waters (for example lakes and rivers) or groundwater. Land can become contaminated by a variety of substances, from heavy metals to agricultural waste. The environmental, financial and legal implications of this can be substantial. The management and remediation of contaminated land that, in its current state, is causing or has the potential to cause significant harm or significant pollution of the water environment, is regulated by legislation and underpinned by the core principles of the 'polluter pays' and a 'suitable for use approach'. Local authorities are the primary regulator for the contaminated land regime (SEPA also has certain responsibilities within the scope of the legislation) to regulate activities and assist in the management and remediation of contaminated land. The current regulation regarding Contaminated Land is contained within the Environmental Protection Act (1990) known as Part IIA. Part IIA is further established in Scotland by the Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/178), as amended and the Scottish Government's Statutory Guidance: Edition 2 provides the detailed framework for the definition, identification and remediation of contaminated land. THIS SPATIAL DATASET IS ONLY CONFIRMED CONTAMINATED LAND AND DOES NOT INCLUDE POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED LAND Site name, date designated, website URL (for further information), status (confirmed or remediated) and remediation dates (where applicable) are all now mandatory attributes for this dataset.
Contaminated Land Register Highland (from THCEU AGOL).
Contaminated Land Register Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Most councils keep records of their car parks, bays and zones, including parking-related TROs (Traffic Regulation Orders). Therefore we have tried to compile these into consistent national layers. Currently, we publish four layers: - Car Parks - a polygon layer - Car Parks - a point layer - Parking Bays - a polygon layer - Parking Zones - a polygon layer Any supplied line records (usually TROs) have been buffered by 2m to create a representative area and incorporate them into the national polygon layers. Car park data is collected for a myriad of different reasons and purposes and the attribution for each local authorities can be very different (though we've tried to include as much info as possible). For these reasons the data provided may not be up to date nor complete.
Under Section 18 of the Clean Air Act 1993, many parts of Scotland are declared Smoke Control Areas by the relevant local authority. If you live in a smoke control area it is an offence to produce smoke from a chimney of a building, or a chimney of any fixed boiler or industrial plant, unless you're burning an authorised fuel or using exempt appliances (e.g. burners or stoves). In practice this means that in a smoke control area it is illegal to burn house coal or wood in an open fire, although it is legal to burn these in a stove or other appliance that has been approved to burn that fuel. It is also illegal to deliver any unauthorised solid fuels, e.g. wood and normal house coal, to any premises in a smoke control area unless the seller can demonstrate that they were aware that the unauthorised solid fuel is to be burnt in an exempt appliance.
All GHiGs datasets cover the whole of Scotland and have been derived by Greenspace Scotland over the project period of September 2020 to April 2021. Principal third party data suppliers include: - Ordnance Survey (greenspace and water body data) - Scottish Government (Scotland’s Heat Map) - Energy Saving Trust (Home Analytics) Please reference the Data Guide and Methodology report (attached to the metadata record as an associated resource) and send any further queries on the quality/ accuracy of the data to parkpower@greenspacescotland.org.uk. GHiGs Settlements: A public summary of indicators for GHiGs analysis of low carbon heat based on data aggregated to Scotland’s 516 settlements. Settlement boundaries are from 2012 derived from National Records of Scotland to be consistent with those used by Scotland’s Heat Map v.2. Settlements are defined as places with populations greater than 500. Approximately 90% of Scotland’s population lives in settlements. It is not clear why Scotland’s Heat Map is using the NRS 2012 settlement boundaries rather than the more recent NRS 2016 settlement boundaries. Attributes were derived from Scotland’s Heat Map with additional attributes from GHiGs analysis and EST Home Analytics GHiGs Settlements by LA: A more comprehensive spreadsheet of tables used for National Findings Report and all indicators for GHiGs analysis of low carbon heat based on data aggregated to Scotland’s 516 settlements and, separately, the 32 Local Authorities. Settlement data aggregated to Local Authority geographies and presented based on OS BoundaryLine Local Authority boundaries. The data excludes areas outside settlements and therefore does NOT represent figures for complete local authorities. This is particularly evident for Local Authorities with more significant populations and businesses located outside of settlements. It includes most indicators used in the GHiGs National Findings report based on analysis of low carbon heat related data aggregated to Scotland’s 516 settlements and then aggregated to 32 Local Authorities. GHiGs greenspaces: Boundaries derived from OS Mastermap Greenspace. Attributes derived from Scotland’s Heat Map v.2 with additional attributes from GHiGs analysis (see our Methodology Report) and EST Home Analytics GHiGs strategic greenspaces: Subset of GHiGs Greenspaces based on selection criteria to identify the 3% (3,446) of national greenspace sites with high potential for supply of ground source heat (based on areal size / capacity) and have been classified as ‘high’ based on local linear heat density. These sites are likely to be the strongest candidates for larger scale ground source heat solutions, potentially storing and feeding low grade heat into low carbon district heat networks. The ‘GSHP_Strategic_Importance’ indicator category of ‘VERY HIGH’ was used to select this subset GHiGs static water bodies: Relatively static water bodies greater than 1000m2 in area in proximity to urban settlements including canals, lochs, lakes, flooded quarries/pits etc. derived largely from OS Mastermap Greenspace. This data does not include rivers. GHiGs DHN highest viability (Linear Heat Density 16000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll to highlight areas where District Heat Networks (DHNs) have highest viability based on heat demand from all buildings. Areas identifies have high levels of heat demand density and are therefore highly suitable for DHNs – source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs DHN high viability (Linear Heat Density 8000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll to highlight areas where District Heat Networks (DHNs) have high viability based on heat demand from all buildings – source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs DHN viable (Linear Heat Density 4000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll to highlight areas where District Heat Networks (DHNs) are viable based on heat demand from all buildings. Threshold of 4000 is widely used across the industry for Linear Heat Density modelling to identify areas with DHN viability. Polygons of area less than 250m2 were deleted which reduced the number of polygon features by 80% to cut file size. Source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs DHN highest viability public buildings only (Linear Heat Density 16000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll based on a best estimate of public buildings to highlight areas where District Heat Networks have highest viable based on heat demand from only public buildings. Source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs DHN high viability public buildings only (Linear Heat Density 8000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll based on a best estimate of public buildings to highlight areas where District Heat Networks have high viability based on heat demand from only public buildings. Source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs DHN viable public buildings only (Linear Heat Density 4000 kWh/m/yr): Linear Heat Density model created by Ramboll based on a best estimate of public buildings to highlight areas where District Heat Networks are viable based on heat demand from only public buildings. Threshold of 4000 is widely used across the industry for Linear Heat Density modelling to identify areas with DHN viability – source of heat demand data: Scotland’s Heat Map v2. GHiGs public buildings: Subset of Scotland’s Heat Map at building level where buildings are assessed as likely to be publicly owned based on a selection of 125 OS AddressBase codes (see GHiGs Methodology report for details). This is the best available approximation of publicly owned buildings but will exclude those publicly owned buildings which are leased to third parties for more commercial-type services. This same identification method was the basis for creating the 3 Linear Heat Density map layers for public buildings only. GHiGs public buildings with heat demand greater than 50 MWh/year: Subset of ‘GHiGs public buildings’ dataset based on a filter for all those public buildings with an annual heat demand of 50 MWh or more. Multi-occupancy buildings like flatted properties are treated as separate buildings and therefore they are unlikely to appear in this dataset. GHiGs public buildings (>200 MWh) near greenspaces (>200 MWh): Subset of ‘GHiGs public buildings’ dataset where: (1) buildings are assessed as likely to be publicly owned based on a selection of 125 OS AddressBase codes and have a heat demand of at least 200 MWh; AND (2) they are located within 50m of a greenspace that, based on 20% space utilisation, could meet at least 200 MWh in terms of heat production from its available area. In effect this is a subset of public building locations that offers the strongest opportunities for larger scale GSHP projects based on use of nearby greenspace. Multi-occupancy buildings like flatted properties are treated as separate buildings and therefore examples such as high rise flats next to larger areas of greenspace are unlikely to appear in this dataset. GHiGs waste disposal sites: Potential sources of waste heat from waste disposal sites to feed into district heat networks – source: SEPA registered waste sites All GHiGs datasets cover Scotland and have been derived over the project period of September 2020 to April 2021. Principal third party data suppliers include: • Ordnance Survey (greenspace and water body data) • Scottish Government (Scotland’s Heat Map) • Energy Saving Trust (Home Analytics)
GHiGs DHN Viable (Public Buildings only)
GHiGs Public Buildings with heat demand >50 MWh/year
GHiGs DHN Highest Viability (Public Buildings only)
GHiGs DHN High Viability (Public Buildings only)
All local authorities will receive planning applications for renewable energy sites. Where local authorities have managed to categorise these in a structured way, we are provided with such data (in either point or polygon format), from which we have attempted to select only those sites that look to be approved, pending and/ or operational (i.e. removing rejected or withdrawn applications). We have also received separate files of data showing working renewable energy sites - both as point and polygon, and we have attempted to merge all of this data together to form national data layers.
Renewable Energy Sites PREMIUM - Scotland
Air Quality Management Areas - Aberdeen City
Aberdeen City Air Quality Management Areas - December 2020
Aberdeen City Air Quality Management Areas
Aberdeen City Air Quality Management Areas (ESRI Rest Service)
This dataset is an amalgamation of data related to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the new duties this places on local authorities. Part 5: Asset Transfer Requests: Provides community bodies with a right to request to purchase, lease, manage or use land and buildings belonging to local authorities. Local authorities are required to create and maintain a register of land which they will make available to the public. Part 8: Common Good Property: Places a statutory duty on local authorities to establish and maintain a register of all property held by them for the common good. It also requires local authorities to publish their proposals and consult community bodies before disposing of or changing the use of common good assets. Part 9: Allotments: It requires local authorities to take reasonable steps to provide allotments if waiting lists exceed certain trigger points and strengthens the protection for allotments. Provisions allow allotments to be 250 square metres in size or a different size that is to be agreed between the person requesting an allotment and the local authority. The Act also requires fair rents to be set and allows tenants to sell surplus produce grown on an allotment (other than with a view to making a profit). There is a requirement for local authorities to develop a food growing strategy for their area, including identifying land that may be used as allotment sites and identifying other areas of land that could be used by a community for the cultivation of vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers. SG have provided useful guidance of what the register should contain and how it should be formatted (pages 21-23). https://dtascommunityownership.org.uk/sites/default/files/Asset%20Transfer%20RA%20Guidance%20Notes.pdf
Community Asset Transfer Register - Scotland
This dataset is an amalgamation of all Scottish Council Asset Registers. "UPRN", "address" and "type" are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset. The "type" field should follow the One Scotland Gazetteer (OSG) Classification conventions. See https://osg.scot/portal/index.jsp for more details.
Highland Council Property centroids for Community Empowerment Act.
Council Property Centroids CEA Highland (from THC EU AGOL)
This dataset contains energy performance certificates for new dwellings in Scotland. This dataset is a subset of a data extract from the Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register. The latest extract is the "Domestic Energy Performance Certificates – Extended Historic Dataset to Q4 2025". The data has been filtered to retain only new dwellings (using the "Type of Assessment" field). The data is geocoded using the Improvement Service Data Hub. The Data Hub uses the address and coordinates stored in the One Scotland Gazetteer. For more information about the source data, visit this website: [https://statistics.gov.scot/data/domestic-energy-performance-certificates--extended-historic-dataset](https://statistics.gov.scot/data/domestic-energy-performance-certificates--extended-historic-dataset "https://statistics.gov.scot/data/domestic-energy-performance-certificates--extended-historic-dataset")
Energy Performance Certificates - New Dwellings
This data is sourced from the Energy Saving Trust. The Historic EPC data covers Scotland. The data has been filtered to retain only new dwellings (using the "Type of Assessment" field). The data is geocoded using the Improvement Service Data Hub. The Data Hub uses the address and coordinates stored in the One Scotland Gazetteer. https://statistics.gov.scot/data/domestic-energy-performance-certificates--extended-historic-dataset
EPC historic dataset Q4 2025 SAP new dwellings - GeoPackage
EPC historic dataset Q4 2025 SAP new dwellings - csv
Many Local Authorities capture locational details of certain safety features located across their area of jurisdiction. This dataset attempts to pull those features together into one single national dataset. It currently contains defibrillator, water access points, fire hydrant, lifebelt and CCTV locations where local authorities have provided them. It is likely that this dataset will be superseded and/ or conflated into a national emergency services gazetteer as and when that is created.
The Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) brings together a wide range of information about how all Scottish councils perform in delivering services to local communities. It is a high-level benchmarking tool designed to help senior management teams and elected members ask questions about key council services. The LGBF reflects a commitment by SOLACE (Scotland) and COSLA to develop better measurement and comparable data in order to help councils improve services, target resources to areas of greatest impact and enhance public accountability. Since 2010-11, all Scottish local authorities have worked together to report standard information on the services they provide. This information takes the form of indicators that measure aspects of performance (for example, how much a service costs per user or how satisfied local people are with a service) across all areas of local government activity. The LGBF provides high-level information designed to encourage councils to examine why variations in cost and performance are occurring between similar councils. The framework itself does not supply the answers. That happens as councils engage with each other to ‘drill down’ and explore why these variations are happening (see information on ‘family groups’ below). Publication of the LGBF forms part of each council’s statutory public performance reporting. For more information please visit the [LGBF homepage](https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/benchmarking/home)
Local Government Benchmarking Framework - Scotland
This file contains information about the LGBF Indicators. It can be used as a dimension table in a data model, and linked by the "Code" column to the LGBF data tables.
This table provides a summary of the latest changes to the LGBF dataset.
LGBF dataset with financial data not adjusted for inflation (Cash terms)
LGBF dataset with financial data adjusted for inflation (real terms)
This table provides expenditure data as published in the LGBF dashboard, in both Cash and Real (adjusted for inflation) terms.
Metadata file containing information about LGBF indicators including date of last refresh. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FILE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGES
Every local authority and National Park authority (access authorities) in Scotland is required to draw up a plan for a system of paths (core paths) sufficient for the purpose of giving the public reasonable access throughout their area. Core paths are paths, waterways or any other means of crossing land to facilitate, promote and manage the exercise of access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and are identified as such in access authority core paths plan. There are, intentionally, no set physical standards for core paths. This means that core paths can physically be anything from a faint line across a field to a fully constructed path, track or pavement. The National Access Forum, Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Government are encouraging information to be surveyed and made publicly available, in a nationally-standardised form, so that the public will know what physical type of route they can expect. Government guidance is making core paths the priority for rolling out this national standardised grading system information, which is set out at https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/resources/resource/the-path-managers-guide-to-grading
Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 a local authority may determine which parts of its area are of special architectural or historic interest and may designate these as Conservation Areas. The public will normally be consulted on any proposal to designate conservation areas or to change their boundaries.There are over 600 Conservation Areas in Scotland. Many were designated in the early 1970s, but some have since been re-designated, merged, renamed, given smaller or larger boundaries and new ones have been added. They can cover historic land, battlefields, public parks, designed landscapes or railways but most contain groups of buildings extending over areas of a village, town or city. Further planning controls on development can be made by way of an Article 4 Direction, which may or may not be associated with a Conservation Area. An Article 4 Direction is not a conservation designation but an additional control within such areas. It is a statement made under The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2011. The Direction, made by a local authority and approved by Scottish Ministers, removes all or some of the permitted development rights on an area. The effect of a Direction is that planning permission will be required for specific types of development which would otherwise be regarded as 'permitted development', i.e. development that does not require a planning application. Directions can cover a variety of minor works and might include: the replacement of doors and windows, the erection of gates, fences, garages, sheds, porches, storage tanks or the installation of satellite antennae. This dataset should be used in conjunction with the Article 4 Directions dataset also published on a Scotland-wide basis.
The Local Development Plan dataset is a composition of Local Development Plans supplied by local authorities and national parks in Scotland. It is intended to provide a spatial overview of common policies across Scotland. The authoritative data source is the originating data supplied by the planning authority and the authoritative plan is that which is published as approved and adopted by the planning authority, which may not be in a digital format.
Local Development Plan Allocations Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Local Development Plan Areas Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Settlement Development Areas Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
This dataset contains areas classified by their suitability for onshore wind turbine development, falling into one of three groups: Group 1: Areas where wind farms will not be acceptable: National Parks and National Scenic Areas Group 2: Areas of significant protection: Recognising the need for significant protection, in these areas wind farms may be appropriate in some circumstances. Further consideration will be required to demonstrate that any significant effects on the qualities of these areas can be substantially overcome by siting, design or other mitigation. National and international designations: World Heritage Sites; Natura 2000 and Ramsar sites; Sites of Special Scientific Interest; National Nature Reserves; Sites identified in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes; Sites identified in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields. Other nationally important mapped environmental interests: areas of wild land as shown on the 2014 NatureScot map of wild land areas; carbon rich soils, deep peat and priority peatland habitat. Community separation for consideration of visual impact: an area not exceeding 2km around cities, towns and villages identified on the local development plan with an identified settlement envelope or edge. The extent of the area will be determined by the planning authority based on landform and other features which restrict views out from the settlement. Group 3 - Area with potential for wind farm development: Beyond groups 1 and 2, wind farms are likely to be acceptable, subject to detailed consideration against identified policy criteria. Reference should be made to Scottish Government planning and renewable energy policy. In the first instance, this is Scottish Planning Policy (June 2014) paragraphs 161 to 174, in the context of the overarching policy of "A Low Carbon Place". It should be noted that some terminology relating to "spatial frameworks" and "areas of search" may no longer be in use, and reference should be made to planning advice on renewable energy (February 2017) at https://www.gov.scot/publications/renewables-planning-advice-index/ NB. Some local authorities have only provided Group 3 areas so far.
Wind Turbine Spatial Framework - Scotland
Local nature reserves are areas of (at least) locally important natural heritage, designated and managed by local authorities to give people better opportunities to learn about and enjoy nature close to where they live. They are found across the country, but generally close to towns and cities. More details are available here: https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-nature-reserves Where we have not been supplied with data by local authorities we are extracting it from a previously produced NatureScot national dataset.
Each Local Authority should have a list of libraries within their Council area. These may be static i.e. located in one building all of the time, or mobile i.e. they are in vehicles that attend a set location on a specific day at a certain time. This data may also be collected as part of other datasets (e.g. Council Asset Register) though Local Authorities do appear to hold it as a distinct layer. Further information on Libraries in Scotland (inc. non-LA libraries) is available from The Scottish Library and Information Council (https://scottishlibraries.org/)
A ‘polling district’ is a geographical subdivision of an electoral area such as an electoral Ward within which a polling place is designated. The Representation of the People Act 1983 places a duty on LA to divide the local authority area into polling districts based on ward boundaries, and to designate a polling place for each district. LAs also have a duty to keep these polling arrangements under review. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced amendments to the 1983 Act (which in turn has been superseded by The Electoral Administration Act 2013). Now local authorities must conduct a full review (with public consultation) of its polling districts and polling places every four years, however adjustments to the boundaries of polling districts and the designation of polling places within LA wards can be proposed at any time in response to changes in ward boundaries or to the availability of premises that can be reasonably designated as polling places.
HERs (Historic Environment Records) developed out of SMRs (Sites and Monuments Records). SMRs were established from the 1960s onwards in response to the loss of the archaeological resource through urban and rural development. The expansion of SMR/HERs to almost full UK-wide cover by 2004 was driven largely by their role in land-use planning, which expanded after formal government guidance was issued in the early 1990s: in Scotland this comprised 'National Planning Policy Guideline 5 (NPPG 5)' and 'Planning Advice Note (PAN) 42 Archaeology - the Planning Process and Scheduled Monument Procedures' (these were first issued in 1994 and have been regularly reviewed and updated ever since). The protection and enhancement of the historic environment is a key policy of NPF4 (Policy 7), which states that development proposals should be informed by reference to HERs. From their original remit of recording archaeological sites, HERs have been developed to encompass a wide range of information about the historic environment which has been reflected in their change of name from SMR. Today they provide a unique information resource, forming the basis for sustainable conservation and playing an important role in informing public understanding and enjoyment of the local historic environment. The historic environment includes all aspects of our surroundings that have been built, formed, or influenced by human activities from earliest to most recent times. The HER stores, and provides access to, systematically organised information about these surroundings in a given area. It is maintained and updated for public benefit in accordance with national and international standards and guidance. An HER makes information accessible to all in order to: • advance knowledge and understanding of the historic environment. • inform its care and conservation. • inform public policies and decision-making on land use planning and management. • contribute to environmental improvement and economic regeneration. • contribute to education and social inclusion, and • encourage participation in the exploration, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic environment. Most Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) maintain records of the historic (archaeological, built, and occasionally natural) environment. Some LPAs group together to collate their standardised records. Specialist staff and archaeological services (e.g., the West of Scotland Archaeology Service) curate these records and also to provide specialist advice for land-use planning and public information services. A few LPAs do not collate or curate an HER for their areas. Historic environment data hosted on the Spatial Hub for these LPA areas (listed below) is taken from the Canmore database, maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). It is important to note that Canmore data is not equivalent to HER data. HER data are spatially defined and dynamically curated to be relevant to land use management and historic change over time, while Canmore at its core is a spatial index to the archive holdings of HES in various formats. Therefore, Canmore-derived data should not be used for land management or planning purposes due to its fundamental difference from HER data. This dataset has two distinct data layers: • Historic Environment Sites (i.e., known locations and extents of archaeological monuments, features, historic buildings, and findspots, as well as Areas of Archaeological Interest; places known, or likely, to be particularly rich in archaeological features) • Historic Environment Events (i.e., archaeological investigations and excavations, historic building surveys, environmental impact assessments etc.) We strongly recommend that, when using the WFS for this dataset, because of its size you should use it with a filter. LPAs using Canmore data: • City of Edinburgh • Dundee • Falkirk • Fife • Inverclyde • North Lanarkshire • Orkney Islands
This dataset includes data related to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the new duties this places on local authorities. Part 5: Asset Transfer Requests: Provides community bodies with a right to request to purchase, lease, manage or use land and buildings belonging to local authorities. Local authorities are required to create and maintain a register of land which they will make available to the public. Part 8: Common Good Property: Places a statutory duty on local authorities to establish and maintain a register of all property held by them for the common good. It also requires local authorities to publish their proposals and consult community bodies before disposing of or changing the use of common good assets. Part 9: Allotments: It requires local authorities to take reasonable steps to provide allotments if waiting lists exceed certain trigger points and strengthens the protection for allotments. Provisions allow allotments to be 250 square metres in size or a different size that is to be agreed between the person requesting an allotment and the local authority. The Act also requires fair rents to be set and allows tenants to sell surplus produce grown on an allotment (other than with a view to making a profit). There is a requirement for local authorities to develop a food growing strategy for their area, including identifying land that may be used as allotment sites and identifying other areas of land that could be used by a community for the cultivation of vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers. "UPRN", "address" and "type" are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset. The "type" field should follow the One Scotland Gazetteer (OSG) Classification conventions. See https://bit.ly/2Tm9W6x for more details. SG have provided useful guidance of what the register should contain and how it should be formatted (pages 21-23). See https://dtascommunityownership.org.uk/sites/default/files/Asset%20Transfer%20RA%20Guidance%20Notes.pdf
Community Asset Transfer Register - Aberdeenshire
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC from May 2017 onwards
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC from May 2017 onwards. Adjustments may occur over time.
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC. A polling place is a building or area in which a polling station is located. There can be more than one polling station in a polling place. Polling Places can change over time due to the availability of the buildings.
Polling Places in Perth & Kinross (May 17)
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC from May 2017 onwards Added attribution for "Code" and "Address"
Location of polling places to be used for elections in PKC from May 2017 onwards. A number of Polling Places are for more than 1 Polling District. When this is the case the Code field now contains both polling District Codes separated by commas.
Land is legally defined as 'contaminated' where substances are causing or could cause significant harm to people, property or protected species as well as causing significant pollution to surface waters (for example lakes and rivers) or groundwater. Land can become contaminated by a variety of substances, from heavy metals to agricultural waste. The environmental, financial and legal implications of this can be substantial. The management and remediation of contaminated land that, in its current state, is causing or has the potential to cause significant harm or significant pollution of the water environment, is regulated by legislation and underpinned by the core principles of the 'polluter pays' and a 'suitable for use approach'. Local authorities are the primary regulator for the contaminated land regime (SEPA also has certain responsibilities within the scope of the legislation) to regulate activities and assist in the management and remediation of contaminated land. Contaminated Land can go through remediation work and this dataset attempts to collect that detail. However, when a site has been remediated, it becomes suitable for the current use (at the time of remediation), and that this doesn't mean the site is 'clean' or has no contamination. Further assessment/remediation may be required should there be any change of use or new planning application etc. The current regulation regarding Contaminated Land is contained within the Environmental Protection Act (1990) known as Part IIA. Part IIA is further established in Scotland by the Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/178), as amended and the Scottish Government’s Statutory Guidance: Edition 2 provides the detailed framework for the definition, identification and remediation of contaminated land. THIS SPATIAL DATASET IS ONLY CONFIRMED (AND REMEDIATED) CONTAMINATED LAND AND DOES NOT INCLUDE 'POTENTIALLY' CONTAMINATED LAND.
Community councils are required to be established by local authorities. They are the most local tier of statutory representation in Scotland. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities and help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent. Community councils are statutory consultees under various processes, such as for planning applications. There are many instances where polygons do not tessellate or snap to local authority boundaries. The Spatial Hub processing can correct for some minor gap errors (<5m) but not larger ones. Such gaps in the dataset mean that it cannot potentially be used for some kinds of spatial analysis e.g. point in polygon, because some point locations may fall within the gaps. These gaps either require amendment at source or approval for the IS to change.
Polling Districts Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Local nature conservation sites (LNCS) is a non-statutory designation given by local authorities to areas of locally important nature and landscapes. NatureScot, on behalf of the Local Nature Conservation Sites Working Group, published guidance (https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-nature-conservation-sites) for local authorities on the establishment and management of LNCS systems in Scotland.
Local Nature Conservation Sites - Orkney Islands
Every local authority and National Park authority (access authorities) in Scotland is required to draw up a plan for a system of paths (core paths) sufficient for the purpose of giving the public reasonable access throughout their area. Core paths are paths, waterways or any other means of crossing land to facilitate, promote and manage the exercise of access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and are identified as such in access authority core paths plan. There are, intentionally, no set physical standards for core paths. This means that core paths can physically be anything from a faint line across a field to a fully constructed path, track or pavement. The National Access Forum, Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Government are encouraging information to be surveyed and made publicly available, in a nationally-standardised form, so that the public will know what physical type of route they can expect. Government guidance is making core paths the priority for rolling out this national standardised grading system information, which is set out at http://www.pathsforall.org.uk/pfa/creating-paths/path-grading-system.html
Scottish councils usually divide towns and country areas into catchments and children living in a catchment area will usually go to the same local school. Domestic properties typically have a catchment area for each of their local: - primary non-denominational (PN), - secondary non-denominational (SN), - primary denominational/ Catholic (PD) and - secondary denominational/ Catholic (SN) schools. This dataset contains four separate layers (representing those above categories), which we deliver together as one single web service or zip folder. "name" and "seed_code" are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset.
Gaelic Medium Primary School Catchments Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Gaelic Medium Secondary School Catchments Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Secondary School Catchments Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Primary School Catchments Highland (from THCEU AGOL)
Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 a local authority may determine which parts of its area are of special architectural or historic interest and may designate these as Conservation Areas. The public will normally be consulted on any proposal to designate conservation areas or to change their boundaries. There are over 600 Conservation Areas in Scotland. Many were designated in the early 1970s, but some have since been re-designated, merged, renamed, given smaller or larger boundaries and new ones have been added. They can cover historic land, battlefields, public parks, designed landscapes or railways but most contain groups of buildings extending over areas of a village, town or city. Further planning controls on development can be made by way of an Article 4 Direction, which may or may not be associated with a Conservation Area. We can capture Article 4 Directions separately - go to the upload for that data. However, the final published data layer will contain Conservation Areas, Conservation Areas with associated Article 4 Directions, Article 4 Directions associated with a Conservation Area, and a small number of discrete Article 4 Direction areas.
Uploading a shapefile due to unstable WFS connection.
Scottish legislation (Section 17) of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 dictates that records of culverts must be created and maintained. Specifically: (1) Every local authority must prepare a map which shows (or more than one map which, taken together, show) relevant bodies of water and sustainable urban drainage systems in its area. (2) Each map must - (a) be prepared by such date as the Scottish Ministers may direct, (b) be prepared at a scale that the authority considers most appropriate, and (c) contain such information and be in such form as the Scottish Ministers may specify in regulations. (3) A local authority must, from time to time, review and where appropriate update the map (or maps) prepared for its area under subsection (1). (4) A local authority must make available for public inspection the map (or maps) prepared under this section for the time being applicable to its area. (5) In this section and section 18 - “relevant body of water” - (a) means - (i) a body of surface water other than a stretch of coastal water, or (ii) a body of underground water forming part of a watercourse (but not including a watercourse which is wholly underground), but (b) does not include sewers and drains which drain into sewers, “sustainable urban drainage system” has the meaning given in section 59(1) of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.47). Most Local Authorities have contributed (natural) culvert data to the new OS MasterMap Water Network Layer either through providing data to the Scottish Government or through the James Hutton Institute. As this data is now live, a mechanism for managing/maintaining/updating this data needs to be put in place. SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland) have approved for this dataset to be managed by the Spatial Hub and any amended data can be uploaded (and potentially downloaded) before being shared with OSMA members and the OS. We have initially created a point and line data layer for the data we have been sent by some LAs ( the line format is obviously a more detailed and accurate depiction of the feature). This is the best available information at the time of submission and dimensions and routes may well be different in reality. The LA "culverts" as included in the OS MasterMap Water Network Layer is also available as a standalone layer.
Each local authority creates gritting routes and regimes to keep their most important roads (and in some cases footpaths) and networks clear come bad winter weather. Most LAs create this as a line dataset. So the national dataset is a line format dataset. Some LAs collect this data as a polygon dataset. We are working with them to convert this into line formats in the future. We have removed trunk roads that are cleared by private companies e.g BEAR and AMEY from this dataset for the time being as they aren't currently under the LA gritting route regime. Eventually, the Street Gazetteer will enable us to identify these routes more accurately and coherently.
ESRI REST service to replace broken link
Most councils will keep a record of their recycling and waste management facilities. Therefore we have tried to compile these into a consistent national layer. The layer contains Recycling Places (including locations of bins and centres) and Waste Management Sites (including transfer centres and current/historic landfill sites). Both are a point layer (any provided polygons will have a centroid created).
Recycling and Waste Facilities - Scotland
Forestry and Woodland Strategy PREMIUM - Scotland
Local Landscape Areas - City of Edinburgh
The data has been taken from CEC's LDP map server.
The data has been taken from CEC's INSPIRE map server
Local authorities have the power to make by-laws to prohibit the drinking of alcohol in designated public places under provisions contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (under sections 201, 202 and 203) subject to confirmation by Scottish Ministers. To date, 27 local authorities across Scotland have by-laws which prohibit the drinking of alcohol in designated public places in more than 480 towns and villages across Scotland, together with the built up areas within the city of Glasgow and Edinburgh have such by-laws. They range from a total ban on drinking at all times, to a ban at specified times or on specified days. "area_name" and "designation_date" are now MANDATORY fields for this dataset.
Alcohol Prohibition Areas - Aberdeenshire
Alcohol Prohibition Areas in Aberdeenshire
Webpage with link to interactive maps of Polling Places
Interactive map of Polling Districts and Places (Reflects updates automatically)
Community Asset Transfer Register PREMIUM - Scotland
Local nature conservation sites (LNCS) is a non-statutory designation given by local authorities to areas of locally important nature and landscapes. NatureScot, on behalf of the Local Nature Conservation Sites Working Group, published guidance (https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-areas/local-designations/local-nature-conservation-sites) for local authorities on the establishment and management of LNCS systems in Scotland. One of the LNCS working group's recommendations was that all local authorities should adopt the LNCS name in place of the many different local names. However, many councils still use alternative names for these sites such as Local Biodiversity Sites, Local Wildlife Sites, Local Geodiversity Sites and Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation. We have merged these all into this national dataset. Four LAs are still to confirm and digitise their LNCSs.
Local Nature Conservation Sites - Scotland