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Planning
Strategy - The Strategy
The purpose of the Strategy is to
contribute to the quality of life in Northern Ireland. The Strategy
is an attempt to meet rural society's development needs and
aspirations, to protect the environment and to encourage
environmentally sustainable
development. A primary principle of the planning system is
stewardship of the environment A long term perspective of the
community's needs must be taken.
Northern Ireland is a region of great variety and contrast in its
communities, landscapes and patterns of development. The Strategy
must provide for the specific circumstances of particular areas; for
the range of community requirements and the variety of development
issues.
Key elements of the former Regional Physical Development Strategy
1975-95 included the regeneration of Belfast combined with the
protection of its setting and the planned development of a network
of selected towns described as the District Towns (the main towns in
Council Districts). The City of Belfast is, and will continue to be,
the principal regional centre in Northern Ireland. The Department's
approach to its future development is set out in the Belfast Urban
Area Plan 2001. In practice, the District Towns Strategy was applied
flexibly over the years in response to the popular demand for more
choice.
Settlements
The Department will no longer seek to
direct population or development to selected settlements nor will it
be bound by a rigid interpretation of a hierarchy of settlements -
towns, villages and smaller settlements - ranging from small to
large. It will however
seek to meet the development needs of society and protect the
environment. In preparing development plans, the Department will
take account of differing circumstances throughout Northern Ireland.
Within commuting range of the Belfast Urban Area there are acute
pressures for development. There are some settlements where, for
reasons of topography, landscape, infrastructure or amenity, there
is little scope for further development. Some smaller settlements
consist mainly of recent housing development with few or no
community facilities. It would be inappropriate for large-scale
development to take place in these places.
However, many settlements in the Greater Belfast Area have the
capacity for further significant development, to accommodate their
own growth and also to provide for the needs of a wider area. In
these settlements, the objective will be orderly and progressive
development, respecting the environment and well related to the
existing settlement.
Housing
In the open countryside of the Greater Belfast Area there are strong
development pressures, especially for single houses. These pressures
extend beyond those areas presently subject to stricter planning
control under Green Belt policy or other policy definitions.
Progressively, areas of the countryside have been developed with
pockets of essentially suburban development which threaten their
rural character. The Strategy is to identify areas under threat and,
through the development plan process, to designate them as either
Green Belts or Countryside Policy Areas. Green Belts prevent the
unrestricted sprawl of towns, safeguard the countryside and assist
in urban regeneration. Countryside Policy Areas protect areas under
development pressure and maintain their rural character. Within
these areas there will be a presumption against unnecessary or
inappropriate development. About 25% of the countryside is currently
designated as Green Belts or Countryside Policy Areas.
Exceptionally, there may be an area presently designated as a Green
Belt or Policy Area where there is little evidence of development
pressure. In such an area the present designation will be
reassessed.
In other parts of Northern Ireland such as Tyrone and Fermanagh,
there is less pressure for development than in the Greater Belfast
Area and in some settlements little development may have taken place
in recent years. In those areas, it will be appropriate to
consider generous limits of development, with environmental
constraints, in order to encourage desirable development and
accommodate the maximum flexibility and choice.
Even in those parts of Northern Ireland where there is less overall
pressure for development, there will be a need for a Green Belt
around the larger towns, and Countryside Policy Areas for places
under threat from excessive development.
Elsewhere in the open countryside, planning applications will be
assessed on design standards, normal planning criteria and
environmental considerations.
Rural housing unfitness is a significant problem particularly in the
west of the Province. The Strategy supports current housing
initiatives designed to deal with this problem.
Economic Development
It is important to the well-being of the
community to facilitate economic development. The planning system
can ensure that there are no unnecessary land use obstacles to job
creation. In particular, the Strategy is concerned with the
promotion of a healthy rural economy, with a suitable range of job
opportunities to support local communities as well as to protect and
improve the countryside.
The Strategy is generally to retain existing industrial sites and to
ensure that there is capacity for industrial development in most
settlements, including dispersed rural communities. The Strategy
supports the development of community-based projects at
acceptable locations in disadvantaged areas. Appropriate agriculture
diversification proposals will be facilitated.
The Department will assist local communities with regeneration and
enhancement proposals to strengthen the life and character of
settlements.
Environment
The Strategy contains specific policies
to protect the beauty of Northern Ireland's landscapes and to
safeguard our natural and man-made heritage. The Department will
ensure that environmental effects are assessed as an integral part
of decision making within the planning process. Conservation
Policies will help to promote Northern Ireland's international
reputation in environmental matters and thus assist in the
attraction of inward investment.
The Strategy sets out principles for the siting, design and
landscaping of new development in rural Northern Ireland. This will
be supplemented by further advice in the form of a design guide for
development in the countryside.
Strategic Policies
The details of the Strategy are set out
in strategic policies which are designed to provide a coherent
framework for future development in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless
it is recognised that there are opposing pressures to be reconciled
within the Strategy. For example, the continued development of a
dispersed settlement pattern is at odds with the need to reduce
costs of providing services to the community and reliance on the
car. These opposing pressures have to be balanced. It is apparent
that at present there is a very strong desire within rural
communities to support a dispersed settlement pattern and the
Department's Strategy acknowledges this desire within normal
planning and environmental constraints.
The strategic policies are supported by a range of detailed
development control policies under individual topic headings and,
where appropriate, information on planning practice. The Strategy
will be monitored and evaluated ovr the first five years and the
Department will consider the need for a formal review in the year
2000.
Resources
The implementation of certain policies
and proposals contained in the Strategy is subject to the
availability of resources and, in particular, public expenditure
resources.
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