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.

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 SNH 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/

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. 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.

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. We are currently only including furniture types that have been provided by more than one council. These are: Grit Bins Street Lights Traffic Calming Traffic Signals Litter Bins Cattle Grids Weather Stations Dog Litter Bins Benches Bollards Picnic Tables Memorials Cycle parking Electric Vehicle Charging Points We understand that some local authorities are loading this data into the VAULT system. We will work with the team managing that system to ensure that there is one definitive list in the future.

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.

The Spatial Hub is a resource which provides a single point of access to quality assured Scottish local authority data in a consistent format. It is developed, operated and managed by the Spatial Information Service within the Improvement Service.

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: http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/local-designations/lnr/ Where we have not been supplied with data by local authorities we are extracting it from a previously produced SNH national dataset.

Many local authorities capture details of the cycle network within their jurisdiction. These maybe lanes along roads or segregated paths away from vehicles. This dataset attempts to pull these together into a national network.

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

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