This week's Councillor Column is written by David Kinniburgh, Conservative councillor for Helensburgh and Lomond South and Argyll and Bute's policy lead on planning and regulatory services.

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Local Development Plan 2 update: The first public consultation of the Development Plan Scheme (DPS), the Main Issues Report (MIR), concluded on December 11 – thanks to all who responded.

During the consultation period, as well as meeting key stakeholders and other interested parties, officers of the development policy team have held a number of public drop-in events and visited area committees.

The information gathered from the responses received during the consultation will now be analysed by officers and used to prepare the proposed LDP2, which will represent the settled view of the council.

The DPS sets out key milestones in the process and it is anticipated that the proposed LDP2 will be completed and submitted to the council for approval by April 2018, with a further public consultation on the proposed plan taking place between May and July 2018.

Officers would then consider and prepare responses to the consultation between August and October 2018 before submitting the proposed plan to Scottish ministers for the examination process.

Details of the Development Plan Scheme process can be found at www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/ldp2.

Planning our services: Another consultation taking place at the moment is the planning our services – budget consultation.

Eighty per cent of Argyll and Bute’s funding is provided by the Scottish Government and it has been reducing year on year.

This of course presents challenges each year and difficult decisions have to be taken to make best use of the resources we have.

The sums involved are not insignificant, and over the next three years it is anticipated savings of between £11.1 million and £33.9 million will have to be made.

The consultation document explains the challenges faced in Argyll and Bute, how our budget is spent and how spending has been matched to your priorities. and how your suggestions from previous consultations have been put into action.

Public opinion is vital in shaping the way in which the council delivers the many services it provides and the consultation document provides you with the opportunity to give your opinion on the savings being considered this year.

The consultation document which runs until the January 2, 2018 can be found at argyll-bute.gov.uk/consultations/planning-our-services-budget-consultation