Local Development Plan
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is responsible for the preparation of a development plan for the District and has commenced work on the Newry, Mourne and Down Local Development Plan (LDP). This new Plan will (when adopted) replace the existing development plans, the Banbridge, Newry and Mourne Area Plan 2015 and the Ards and Down Area Plan 2015 (in so far as they apply to the District).
The LDP will provide a 15 year plan framework to support economic and social needs in the District, in line with regional strategies and policies, while providing the delivery of sustainable development. The LDP will inform the general public, statutory authorities, developers and other interested bodies of the policy framework and land use proposals that will guide development decisions; and will be the primary consideration in the determination of planning applications for the development or use of land in the District.
The LDP will be prepared within the context of the Council’s Corporate Plan and Community Plan. In providing a statutory link with the Community Plan, the LDP will include a spatial land use reflection of the Community Plan providing a vision of how places should change and what they will be like in the future.
Preparation of the Local Development Plan
There are 4 key stages in the LDP preparation process:
Stage 1: Initial Plan Preparation
Stage 2: Preparation and Adoption of the Plan Strategy
Stage 3: Preparation and Adoption of the Local Policies Plan
Stage 4: Monitoring and Review
Stage 1: Initial Plan Preparation
The Council is at Stage 1, which includes the development of the evidence base, preparation of the LDP Timetable and Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and the production of Preferred Options Paper (POP).
As part of Stage 1, a programme of preparatory work is being undertaken as part of the LDP process. Background research, survey and information gathering is on-going, and to date a number of preparatory papers on a range of topics have been produced. These papers are available through the adjacent links. This list of preparatory papers will be added to as further papers are produced. In developing the evidence base for preparing the LDP, the data gathered as part of these studies will be used to establish the baseline of the social, economic and environmental characteristics of the District and enable the Council to identify the issues which need to be addressed by the LDP. The evidence base will be reviewed and kept up to date to ensure it remains reliable and relevant.
Preferred Options Paper
The POP contains a series of options for dealing with key issues in the District, as well as the Council’s justification for its proposed approach. The POP indicates the Council’s preferred options for growth and development in the District. The POP was launched on the 29 May 2018 and the consultation period for the POP runs for a period of 12 weeks from 1 June 2018 to 24 August 2018.
In preparing the POP the Council has undertaken the initial stages of a Sustainability Appraisal (SA). The SA is a continual process which runs parallel with the preparation of the POP, Plan Strategy and Local Policies Plan.
Further information on the POP can be obtained by click here.
LDP Timetable
The LDP timetable sets out the Council’s indicative programme for the production of the LDP and details of the key stages of the plan preparation process from the initial stages of the Preferred Options Paper through to the preparation and adoption of the Plan Strategy and subsequent Local Policies Plan.
The Timetable was approved by the Council on the 3 July 2017 and agreed by the Department for Infrastructure on the 20 October 2017.
A revised Timetable was subsequently approved by Council on the 4 March 2019 and agreed by the Department for Infrastructure on the 9 April 2019.
To view or download the LDP Timetable click here
Statement of Community Involvement
The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is a guide to community engagement in the planning process. The SCI outlines how the Council will engage with its citizens and stakeholders in exercising its planning functions; it sets out the procedures for involving the community in the production of the LDP, in the consideration of planning applications, in planning enforcement, and in the Council’s other planning functions.
The Council exercised its option, under Regulation 5 of the Planning (Statement of Community Involvement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 to invite comments from the public on the preparation of its SCI.
A 4 week public consultation exercise on the draft document commenced on the 8th March 2017 and closed on the 7th April 2017. Following this consultation exercise, the SCI was finalised and approved by the Council on 5 June 2017, and agreed by the Department for Infrastructure on 30th June 2017.
To view or download the SCI click here.
Further information on Stages 2, 3 and 4 of the LDP preparation process will be posted on this webpage at the appropriate time, in the meantime information on these Stages is contained within the LDP Timetable and SCI.
The LDP Timetable and SCI can be viewed or downloaded using the links above; both documents can also be inspected between the hours of 9.00 am – 5.00 pm (Monday to Friday) at the Council’s Planning Offices at O’Hagan House, Monaghan Row, Newry BT35 8DJ or Downshire Civic Centre, Downshire Estate, Ardglass Road, Downpatrick BT30 6GQ.