Engaging young people in planning

The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority is preparing a new five-year local plan for the Park area which will form the basis for decisions in relation to land use and development, and therefore affects everyone who lives or has an interest in the Park.

To complement the Park Authority's community participation events the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute developed a programme of events specifically designed to obtain the views of young people in and around the Park, using the Virtual Landscape Theatre.

Primary and secondary schools and community youth groups from in and around the Park participated at two venues, Gartocharn and Killin.  

The events were designed to contribute to the geography curriculum, with the Park Authority providing assistance with transport for some schools.  They were run as one-hour sessions comprising familiarisation with the Park and local area; an introduction to the purpose of the event; a tour of the Park in the Virtual Landscape Theatre to describe the geography, land use and extent of the Park and a detailed look at the are local to the two venues.

An electronic voting system recorded the views of participants on options for current and future land uses in the Park. The results suggest some interesting general feelings: that there should be limited wind turbine development in and around the Park for local needs only; there should be only limited expansion of housing supply, and building design should be consistent with the character of the villages in the Park.

When it came to shops in the south of the Park, there was some disagreement between those living in the Park (who reported a lack of clothes, sports and convenience food shops), and those from outside (sufficient range of shops close by). In the north-east of the Park, the lack of the same types of shops was noted, together with too many pubs!

The final feedback was compiled for the Park Authority in the form of information sheets. The electronic voting also provided valuable feedback on whether the participants enjoyed the session and found it relevant to school work - over 70% reported relevance to work in class and over 85% said they enjoyed the event!

Suggested next page: www.macaulay.ac.uk/planning/