Environment, including Greenspace, Water Quality & Air Pollution
Information for Professionals
Resources
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency Data
This Scottish Environment Protection agency site reports on environmental issues such as:
- Air quality in Scotland – reports on air quality management areas providing local authority data as well as multiple other resources.
- Biodiversity – Includes Scotland’s environmental map that allows you to apply different map layers such as Air monitoring, abandoned mines, central Scotland green network etc.
- Environmental data is available on pollutant release information, hydrometry – river flow, water levels, rainfall and general water information etc.
- Land data is available on agriculture, forestry, soil and planning systems etc.
- Radioactive substances report on environmental monitoring and assessment, contaminated land regime and emergency response planning.
- Waste data is available on the zero waste plan, circular economy strategy for Scotland as well as several other related links.
- Water reports on bathing water, biodiversity, flood warning authority for Scotland.
All topics contain multiple links to different related sites. Mapping that can be broken down to local level is available for most of the topics.
Improvement Services - Local Government Benchmarking Framework
Improvement services provides a drop down menu on the top right hand side with:
- Annual reports – explore high-level analysis of the performance of councils both during 2023/24 and over the longer-term.
- Explore the data – providing access to the Local Government Benchmarking Framework website which provides longitudinal data on how councils allocate resources, the performance of key council services and levels of public satisfaction with the major services provided and commissioned by councils. One of the ‘service areas’ is ‘environment’.
- Briefings and case studies – relating to environmental issues effecting different council areas.
- Information is also available on how the different council areas are grouped i.e. comparing councils that are similar in terms of the type of population that they serve (e.g. relative deprivation and affluence) and the type of area in which they serve them (e.g. urban, semi-rural, rural).
Spatial Metadata portal, Scotland’s catalogue of spatial data
SpatialData.gov.scot offers a variety of spatial datasets on environmental issues relevant to Lanarkshire, including both North and South Lanarkshire. Some of the Key datasets include:
- Area of Great Landscape Value – North Lanarkshire: Identifies regions designated for their significant landscape value within North Lanarkshire.
- Green Belt – North Lanarkshire: Outlines the designated green belt areas that restrict urban sprawl and protect the countryside.
- Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Local Senior Officer Areas: Provides boundaries for fire and rescue service operational areas, aligned with local authority boundaries.
- Woodlands In & Around Towns (WIAT): Highlights areas of woodland within and surrounding urban settlements, with updates reflecting population and deprivation metrics.
These datasets are available in formats such as KML, ESRI Shapefile, and GeoJSON, suitable for GIS applications. To find and explore these datasets, visit the SpatialData portal and search using keywords like “Lanarkshire,” “North Lanarkshire,” or “South Lanarkshire.”
Vacant and Derelict Land Statistics
Accredited Statistics detailing the amount, characteristics and location of vacant and derelict land at Scotland and local authority area.
Topic title
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire Heat and energy efficiency strategy
North Lanarkshire’s Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy provides details on the engagement process that informed North Lanarkshire’s Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES). Includes feedback from residents, businesses, and community groups on topics such as heat networks, energy efficiency measures, and the impact of fuel poverty. A concern raised during consultations was the prevalence of mould in homes, particularly in areas with poor insulation and heating. The strategy addresses this by prioritising energy efficiency improvements, such as enhanced insulation and modern heating systems, to mitigate dampness and mould growth.
North Lanarkshire Environmental Health – Air Quality
North Lanarkshire provides a map of air quality management areas in North Lanarkshire along with an air quality action plan. Links are also available to air quality monitoring in North Lanarkshire.
North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan – Map Book
North Lanarkshire provides Local Development Plans containing document and map books for each locality. This Map Book illustrates where Policies in the Plan apply. There are two Maps covering each Plan page, a Promote Map and a Protect Map.
The Promote Map shows the locations that are identified for development and improvements to infrastructure. Sites proposed for development are shown and where possible a site reference is included which relates to Council Land Supply data and/or previous Plan Site References. The Protect Map shows the areas where there are Natural Environment, Green Network and Historic Environment that require to be protected. It also shows the EDQ2 Air Quality Management Areas.
The Promote Map also shows the Plan’s Place making Policy areas, including Mixed Use Centres, Business Centres and Visitor Economy Locations, along with the General Urban Area, Green Belt and Countryside. It is important that both the Promote Map and the Protect Map are used together to determine the Policies that are likely to apply to any given site or location.
The plan for North Lanarkshire
The Plan for North Lanarkshire reports on key data across demographics, the economy, education and skills, community wellbeing, housing, the physical environment, and sustainability. It monitors progress through a set of social and economic “health check” indicators that track change across these areas.
North Lanarkshire’s Open Space Strategy
The North Lanarkshire Open Space Strategy uses key data on amount, accessibility, function and quality and supporting facts and figures to assess, plan, and manage local open spaces. It includes the strategy and maps showing the location and designation of open spaces, draws on surveys of urban and rural greenspaces, and incorporates community feedback from residents to guide planning, improve access, and ensure high-quality, sustainable green spaces across the region.
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire Heat and energy efficiency strategy
South Lanarkshire Council – Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) outlines the council’s long-term approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings while helping to improve residents’ quality of life by addressing fuel poverty. The strategy supports the council’s wider aims of enhancing energy efficiency, lowering carbon emissions through zero-direct-emissions heating systems, and reducing the burden of energy costs on households. The LHEES follows an eight-stage process that brings together the council’s existing goals and strategies, detailed analysis of building-stock data, and input from a range of stakeholder groups. The strategy is grounded primarily in a data-driven assessment, using multiple datasets and proxy indicators to shape priorities and proposed actions.
South Lanarkshire connect council plan
The Connect Council Plan provides an overview of the council’s role, purpose, and strategic direction. It sets out the organisation’s vision, priorities, and the outcomes it aims to achieve across several key themes: Communities and Environment, Education and Learning, Health and Wellbeing, Children and Young People, Housing and Land, and the Local Economy.
For each theme, the plan brings together a summary of public views, data, examples of good practice, and the legislative and policy context. It outlines what South Lanarkshire currently delivers, the actions it intends to take, and the measures it will use to assess progress.
South Lanarkshire Public Performance Reports
This link provides Community and Environmental public performance reports on – Sustainable development and climate change, working with communities, Justice Social Work, Roads and lighting, Waste Management and Street cleaning and grounds maintenance. Providing a clear presentation of data and results over time, targets, where available, explanations of the performance indicators, results and future actions, comparisons, where available, satisfaction statistics and links or signposts to more information.
Data and Statistics on South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire data is available using available profiling tool. Allowing exploration of a wide range of statistics about South Lanarkshire’s environment and local areas. The Dashboard provides statistics through interactive reports. Interactive maps display the results from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) for the South Lanarkshire area. You can also run a summary report of all SIMD rankings for each area by using the drop down menu or by selecting your area on the map.
South Lanarkshire Council Maps
South Lanarkshire council have a range of maps related to the environment, including air quality and litter zones. The reports on Air quality management areas, air quality action plan 2024-2029, smoke control per area and allows filtering per postal area.
South Lanarkshire Council Development Plans
South Lanarkshire Council’s Development Plans outline a strategic vision for land use and development across the region. The Local Development Plan, sets out policies and proposals to guide sustainable growth, protect the environment, and support community needs. It includes detailed settlement maps, environmental designations, and spatial frameworks for renewable energy. The Local Development Plan is supported by a range of Supplementary Planning Guidance documents that provide further detail on specific topics, such as electric vehicle charging points, community infrastructure, and local nature reserves.
