Northern Ireland (NI) Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has published for consultation key details of the new planning regime for the 11 new local authorities, elections for which took place last month.
Under these new arrangements the local authorities will be responsible for drawing up their own development plans as well as making the vast majority of planning decisions.
The proposals now out for consultation cover:
- the local development plan system
- statements of community involvement
- a new three-tier hierarchy of development applications -local, major and regionally significant
- new and revised procedures for managing applications through the system
- listed buildings
- the management of applications relating to land of interested parties e.g. council-owned land.
The minister said: ‘The proposals I am putting forward for public consultation will deliver a planning system that is faster, fairer and fit for purpose and which will support the economic and social development of the North.’
‘It puts the majority of planning functions back where they belong, at local level, with local accountability, through our new 11 district councils.’
