Northern Ireland Planning System
The Planning Service, an agency within the Department of the Environment, is
responsible for all planning in Northern Ireland. It decides whether to allow
proposals to build on land or change the use of buildings or land.
The Planning Service has a network of divisional planning offices where
decisions on individual planning applications are taken. Details of all these
offices are available from the
Planning Service.
A Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland
The Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland covers all of the towns,
villages and countryside of Northern Ireland outside Belfast (and adjoining
built up areas) and Londonderry. The Strategy covers how land is used and
developed in rural areas on a scale wider than the district council.
The Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland is in the process of being
phased out. It is being replaced by a number of Planning Policy Statements. Each
Planning Policy Statement
will note which policy it replaces in the rural strategy.
Planning Policy Statements
Planning Policy Statements are guidelines covering particular planning issues
such as waste management, telecommunications, nature conservation, parking and
access. Each of these guidelines applies to the whole of Northern Ireland.
Planning Policy Statement 1 is a statement of the general principles of planning
in Northern Ireland. Although parts of the document are out of date, it is a
useful overview of the system. It includes information about how the Planning
Service defines terms such as ‘sustainable planning', ‘good design' and ‘mixed
uses' development.
You can find a list of all existing Planning Policy Statements on the
Planning
Service's website.
Development Plans
The Planning Service prepares development plans for each local government
district. This is done in consultation with the local council and the local
community. A development plan sets out what sort of development will be allowed
and where.
All development plans are required to be in line with the Regional Development
Strategy and Planning Policy Statements. Development Plans may be in the form of
area plans, local plans or subject plans:
Area plan: covers a large area such as a whole district council, or group of
councils
Local plan: covers an area within a district council, such as a town centre
Subject plan: covers a particular issue rather than geographical area, such as
houses of multiple occupancy
Development plans will include a written statement as well as maps, diagrams and
illustrations. It will also include an environmental appraisal which assesses
the environmental impact of the plan.
Details of the development plans for each local government district in Northern
Ireland on the Planning Service's website.
Planning guidance
The Planning Service also produces other documents and guides that show how its
policies work in practice.
One group of these is called development control advice notes. These notes give
more detail about the criteria and technical standards that may be relevant for
certain types of development.
For example, there are development control advice notes concerning taxi offices,
residential and nursing homes, conservation area design, public houses, etc.
Other considerations
Depending on the type of proposed development, the Planning Service may look for
wider guidance on its decision. For example, it could refer to documents such as
the River Conservation Strategy for Northern Ireland, or the Northern Ireland
Waste Management Strategy.
Please note:
Woodland Trust accredits some of the above information to the
BBC website where further information is
available.
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