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Community Map Scotland

A variant of Parish Online Mapping, fine-tuned towards community councils in Scotland

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“The Community Map Scotland project has allowed our Community Council to carry out our Local Place Plan and produce maps that the whole community can understand and engage with.”

Access it free for a whole year

As part of our Community Interest Company social value, we provide our mapping software free for 12 months to allow a Community Council to map out their Local Place Plan.

Why should you do a Local Place Plan?

Local Place Plans give your local community the power to create proposals for positive development of land and the urban area.

With an approved Local Place Plan, your local land strategy becomes part of the wider planning strategy that Local Authorities adhere to.

This is your chance to be heard and make your local area a better place to live and work.

How does it work?

Building up your Local Place Plan is about getting your community together to agree on what’s important, and mapping it.

Building up your Local Place Plan is easy. Parish Online (the mapping software used by thousands of local councils in England and Wales) has been adapted for this Community Map Scotland project.

Simply draw out areas on the map where you want things to be protected, areas that are suitable for housing and infrastructure, and where the cultural and social hot-spots are. These, among other themes, define your draft plan than then goes to proposal.

The mapping software makes it really easy to produce interactive maps to share with your community for review.

How do you get started?

It’s easy to start mapping your Local Place Plan. However, before you do you’ll need to:

  • To nominate a representative within your community to lead the project (that’s probably you!)
  • For your Community Council chair to sign a mapping licence from Ordnance Survey (we can helpyou with this)
  • Create working group for your Local Place Plan
  • Find funds to cover incidental costs to conduct the project.

Before you do that, you might like to create a mapping account and play around with drawing out some drafts yourself.

Once your account is set up there’s a wealth of information on our Knowledge Base and Community Forum to help you with the policy and technicalities of building up your plan. Don’t worry, we’re here to help

How much does it cost?

Parish Online is fully funding the Community Map Scotland project for your first 12 months.

When signing up, use the code cms12 to get the 1 year free.

There’s no catch, it’s just something the Parish Online team believe in. Of course, after 12 months you may wish to continue using the mapping for your Community Council, and that’s great, but it’s not required. Parish Online will not use your data or sell it without your express permission.

Our software is charged on an annual subscription basis.

We band our subscription on your Community Council population so it’s fair for all sizes of community.

The majority of councils will pay just £50 per year. You’ll see how much your account is when you sign up for a free account.

What features are in the software?

Your Community Map Scotland subscription includes:

  • Mapping Functions
    • Ready-to-use maps to add your information into. No configuration needed.
    • Create, edit and delete map features
    • Unlimited attachments to assign to map features
    • Unlimited Print to PDF and Image files
    • Measure distance and areas
    • Calculate travel times
  • Administrative Functions
    • Multi-user accounts (share access with your team)
    • Interactive map publishing tool (to publish to your website)

What support do you get?

You’re not alone in this process. You can lean on us to get the help you need:

Software powered by Parish Online

The Parish Online team have been supporting town, parish and community councils in England and Wales since 2009. They knowhow to make the software easy-to-use and intuitive for asset management, neighbourhood plans, climate plans and resilience plans.

With a Knowledge Base and rapid email support, the team are on hand to help.

Data from Improvement Service

The Improvement Service team share their high-quality mapping data from their Spatial Hub into your mapping account to give you the evidence and context to help you design your Local Place Plan.

Information such as recent planning applications, development plans from local authorities, and green belt land.

Map Licences through PSGA

The PSGA (Public Sector Geospatial Agreement) is a Government funded mapping licence that lets Community Councils access high resolution maps for public sector use. This usually costs hundreds or even thousands of pounds, so it a valuable resource.

Advice and training from Planning Aid Scotland

PAS is an educational charity and social enterprise. We help people to shape the future of their place and community by engaging with the planning system, in an open and inclusive way.

You can also get one-to-one advice from Place at the Table.

Support from Local Authorities

Local Place Plans offer a great opportunity for Local Authorities to make sure their Local Plan and planning policy meets the needs of your local area and its unique characteristics.

Some forward-thinking Local Authorities, such as Fife, have already built-up guidance and support for helping you with your plan. Get in touch with your Local Authority to find out how they can help.

What are the other benefits of the mapping software?

The Parish Online mapping software isn’t just for building your Local Place Plan. It’s designed as an essential resource for the long-term planning and improvement of your area.

It can also be used for other community projects, such as:

  • Assessing local planning applications
  • Building a local climate emergency planBuilding a local resilience plan and creating printed maps
  • Reducing plastics usage in local area
  • Promoting local events and services to the public
  • Initiatives to improve watercourse quality.

Knowledge Base

Quickly find answers with our tutorials, videos, FAQs and guides.

Email Support

Contact our brilliant team for quick and effective problem solving.

Call Us

For urgent support, give us a call on 01256 586 980.

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