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Issues
A number of key planning issues have been identified from
the background material and the consultation responses.
Northern Ireland's increasing population will generate a variety of
development requirements e.g. houses, factories, shops, schools
and recreational facilities. The precise nature of these
requirements will reflect the changes in population and
household structure; the need to make good present deficiencies;
social and economic change within society generally and people's
changing expectations. In particular it will be necessary to
meet society's need for housing by providing a choice of
suitable accommodation in appropriate locations.
It is necessary to provide a flexible and relevant approach to
the planning of different areas, to take account of their
particular characteristics. Allied to this is the need to assist
and encourage communities and their elected representatives to
be actively
involved in the planning of their locality.
A major issue is the need to protect Northern Ireland's environmental
assets; its natural resources; landscapes, habitats and species;
its man-made heritage and its relative freedom from pollution.
There is also the need to provide for the development of the
regional economy and in particular the diversification of the
rural economy.
The extent of future development in individual towns and
villages needs to be determined and ways found to restore
confidence in those settlements suffering from decay and
dereliction.
Given the amount of housing development which has already taken
place and continuing pressures for development, a key issue is
to establish the extent to which future development can be
accommodated in the countryside without detriment to the
environment.
There is a concern about the quality and impact of much recent
development in the open countryside and about the standards
which should be applied to ensure that new development is
satisfactorily integrated into its rural setting.
The fundamental challenge is to find the right balance between
the development necessary to meet society's changing
requirements and conserving the environment for future
generations.
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