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PREAMBLE

The Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 is a development plan being prepared under the provisions of Part III of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 by the Planning Service, an Agency within the Department of the Environment (DOE). The Plan covers the City Council areas of Belfast and Lisburn and the Borough Council areas of Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Newtownabbey and North Down.

On 6 September 2000 the Minister for the Environment, Mr Sam Foster MLA, met with the Lord Mayor and Mayors of the six Councils within the Plan Area, to advise them of the Department’s intention to prepare a development plan for the Belfast Metropolitan Area for the period 2000-2015. Notice of intention to prepare the Plan was given to the respective Councils on 20 September 2000.

Preparation of the Plan was formally initiated by the Minister for the Environment on 10 January 2001. A Notice of Intention to prepare the Plan was published in the regional and local press during the weeks beginning 5th and 12th February 2001. The notice invited individuals and interested parties to submit initial comments on key issues, which the Department should consider in preparing the Plan.

Consultation has been central to the process of preparing the Plan. During the preparation period, Planning Service has engaged the Councils, elected representatives, business organisations, public sector bodies, community groups and the general public in the most extensive consultation exercise ever undertaken for a development plan in Northern Ireland.

Throughout the preparation process the Councils have been able to inform and help shape the Plan through the BMA Plan Political Group which was set up by the Minister for the Environment of the Northern Ireland Assembly to oversee the preparation of the Plan. It comprised representatives of the 6 Councils making up the Plan Area, and was chaired by the Minister for the Environment. These arrangements facilitated input by the constituent Councils to the preparation of the Plan. They also provided a forum for discussion and co-ordination of the roles of the constituent parts of the Plan Area in the future development of the Belfast Metropolitan Area as a whole.

In addition to these special arrangements, there was extensive and ongoing consultation with individual Councils at all stages of the Plan process. The views expressed by elected representatives have been taken into account in developing the Plan.

A Steering Group comprising officials nominated by each Council together with representatives from Government Departments and the statutory sector has assisted in developing an integrated approach to the preparation of the Plan. In consequence, the proposals in the Plan take account of the policies and programmes of public sector bodies, and of the relevant policy documentation contained in Appendix 1.

The Department published the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 – Issues Paper on 7th December 2001 in order to assist and inform the consultation process. Notices advising that the Department had published the Issues Paper were placed in the regional and local press and in the Belfast Gazette during the period from the 7th to the 15th December 2001. The Issues Paper sought to stimulate a wide-ranging debate on issues likely to influence the shape of future development within the Plan Area, and to encourage feedback from a wide range of interests. Comments were invited in response to matters raised in the Issues Paper or any other issues relevant to the development plan during a 14-week period ending on 22 March 2002.

The public consultation process has been a fundamental element of the formulation of the Plan. It has been designed to encourage the involvement and ownership by local communities wishing to influence the future development of their Districts and neighbourhoods. The consultation was led by a facilitating consortium comprising PricewaterhouseCoopers, the School of Environmental Planning at the Queen’s University, Belfast, and the Urban Institute, Northern Ireland.

During the consultation period, a series of 10 information meetings and 27 consultation meetings were held throughout the Plan Area. Voluntary and community groups were engaged and over 1500 people are estimated to have attended the public meetings and focus groups.

To ensure the cultural and social inclusion of all groups in the consultation process, a series of focus groups were held with the seven groups targeted for specific inclusion under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. In addition, four focus groups were held with individuals from communities previously unrepresented.

Workshops were conducted with key stakeholders - professionals, developers, residents’ groups, environmentalists and business interests.

Overall, the consultation process represented a broad cross section of the people living in the Plan Area. A report presenting a collation of the views expressed during the consultation process was published in April 2003, and provides a valuable ‘public voice’ on the future of the Plan Area which has been influential in the development of the Plan.

All comments received since the initial press notice in February 2001, have been considered by the Department in the preparation of the Draft Plan.

The Draft Plan has been prepared by an in-house planning team within the DOE Planning Service. The expertise of the plan team has been supplemented as required by the use of external consultants to provide advice on specialist matters. Consultants were appointed to advise on aspects of housing, employment, retailing, offices, urban environment, tourism, and community division.

The recommendations of the consultants have been taken into account in the preparation of the Plan, and are published as Technical Supplements.

The Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (BMTP) prepared by the Department for Regional Development sets out the proposals for transportation in the Plan Area within the context of the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2002-2012. Close liaison between the teams preparing the Draft Plan and BMTP has ensured that both Plans are mutually supportive and that land use and transportation proposals and strategies are co-ordinated and integrated. BMTP is published separately from the Draft Plan as a Technical Supplement. However proposals in BMTP are incorporated into the Draft Plan where they have planning and land use implications.

The Department is now publishing the Belfast Metropolitan Area Draft Plan 2015 consisting of a Written Statement and accompanying maps. The Written Statement is divided into four parts:

• Part I sets out the background to the preparation of the Draft Plan;

• Part 2 sets out the Draft Plan’s Guiding Principles and the Plan Strategy proposed to meet these;

• Part 3 sets out the Draft Plan framework comprising allocations, designations, policies and proposals relating to the Plan Area as a whole, intended to complement, and with reference to, the Regional Policy Context; and

• Part 4 translates the broad policies and proposals of Part 3 into site specific designations, policies, proposals and zonings for the individual Council areas included in the Plan Area.

The Plan Strategy, allocations, designations, policies, proposals and zonings in Parts 3 and 4 of the Draft Plan comprise, and are hereafter also referred to collectively as the Plan Proposals.

The Plan is being published in 7 Volumes:

• Volume 1 consists of Parts 1, 2, and 3 which deal with the Plan Area as a whole;

• Volumes 2 to 7 comprises Part 4 – the District Proposals¹ – which set out the site-specific proposals for individual Council areas.
  ¹ This is a standard terminology which applies to each of the City Council and Borough Council Areas.

To understand the totality of the Plan Proposals for each Council area, it is therefore necessary to refer to Volume 1 and the relevant District Proposals (Volumes 2-7) for the particular Council area:

• Volume 2 Belfast

• Volume 3 Lisburn

• Volume 4 Carrickfergus

• Volume 5 Castlereagh

• Volume 6 Newtownabbey

• Volume 7 North Down

The accompanying maps comprise:

Overview Map - this map illustrates the Plan Area boundary and also strategic designations.

Environmental Designations Map - this map illustrates by use of symbols the location of environmental designations within the Plan Area for information. The exact boundary of each designation can be obtained from Environment and Heritage Service, (DOE), Commonwealth House, 35 Castle Street, Belfast, BT1 1GU, www.ehsni.gov.uk

Countryside Maps - these maps illustrate Draft Plan designations, proposals and zonings within each District and also other designations and land uses for information only. Any use of a symbol for illustration is cross-referenced to a detailed map within the Countryside and Settlement sections of the written text.

Metropolitan and Settlement Maps - these maps illustrate Draft Plan designations, proposals and zonings within the Metropolitan and Settlement Development Limits, and may also include other designations and land uses for information only. Where a designation straddles the Settlement Development Limit the area outside the Settlement Development Limit is indicated by the use of a symbol and cross referenced to a Clarification Map. Clarification Maps - where a designation straddles the Metropolitan or Settlement Development Limit, or where it lies outside the limit in its entirety or where it is difficult to distinguish, a Clarification Map is included to assist the reader.

Clarification Maps, where provided, prevail over other maps in matters of Plan designations, proposals and zonings. In some instances, Clarification Maps may also show non-Plan designations for information.

Appendix Maps - show the exact boundaries of Conservation Areas, and also Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes (supplementary sites).

All maps are reproduced by permission of the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Crown Copyright Reserved 2004.

Representations in support of, or objections to any of the Plan Proposals must be submitted in writing and must be received not later than 5.00pm on 25 January 2005. Representations and objections should, where appropriate, be accompanied by an up-to-date map clearly identifying any lands to which they relate. Late objections cannot be considered.

Representations and objections should be addressed to:

The Department will consider any representations and objections relating to the Draft Plan it may receive within the prescribed period. The Department may request the Planning Appeals Commission to hold a public inquiry for the purpose of considering objections. If a public inquiry is held the Department will consider the recommendations of the Planning Appeals Commission and then decide whether to adopt the Draft Plan in whole or in part, with or without modification. A final version of the Plan incorporating any amendments or revisions will then be published.