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Status
Function & Organisation
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| Status |
| 1.1 With effect from 1 April 1996, the
Town and Country Planning Service has been established as an Executive agency within the
Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland ("the Department"). The
official title of the agency is "The Planning Service" and throughout this
document it is referred to as "the agency". References in this document to the
"core of the Department" mean those parts of the Department which are not within
Next Steps agencies. This document describes the framework of policy, planning, control
and resources within which the agency operates. |
| Function |
| 1.2 The agency is responsible for the
implementation of the Government’s policies and strategy for town and country
planning. The statutory framework within which the agency operates is outlined at
Annex A. The planning system is designed to regulate the
development and use of land in the public interest. |
| Organisation |
| 1.3 The agency is headed by a Chief
Executive who has been appointed for a fixed term of three years with arrangements for
review and possible extension in the light of performance. |
| 1.4 The Chief Executive may make any
changes to the organisation of the agency considered necessary to maintain and improve the
efficiency and overall performance of the agency, within the policy framework and
resources set by the Minister and within the delegations outlined in this Framework
Document or subsequently approved by the Minister. |
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