This is the online help system for Development Plan Viewer.

The Development Plan Viewer is an interactive map viewer which displays Area Plan details for the settlement you have selected. The Viewer provides navigation tools which allow you to pan around the map of the Area Plan, and a Find Policies tool which lists the Area Plan's Plan Proposals for any point you select within the Area Plan. This tool also provides hyperlinks to the text of the Plan Proposals in the Area Plan.

To avoid screen clutter, many of the map layers are not displayed when the map view is zoomed out too far. Layers that are not displayed at a particular zoom level have a symbol shown next to them to indicate this. Note that you can choose not to view layers by unselecting them in the Layers pane (to the right of the map view).

In the case of any contradiction between the Development Plan as published on paper and this digital version, the provisions of the Development Plan published on paper will prevail.

This tool allows you to zoom in to your area of interest. There are two options available - Single Click and Click & Drag.

Using the Single Click zoom in option:

Using the Click & Drag zoom in option:

Two zoom out options are available - Single Click and Click & Drag.

Using the Single Click zoom out option:

Using the Click & Drag zoom out option:

The Pan Tool enables you to move your map view to a different location on the map, i.e. to pan around the map. You can pan the map in any direction. The Pan Tool allows you to click & drag the map, or click & re-centre.

Using the Click & Drag Pan option:

Using the Click & Re-centre Pan option:

Clicking on the Previous Extent button navigates to the previously viewed map view. If the button is dimmed, you cannot navigate back any further.

The Zoom to Full Extent Tool is used to display the full extent of the Area Plan currently selected.

Use this tool to obtain a list of the maps published in the Area Plan for a selected area. To use, click on the Find Maps tool, then click on a point on the map and, holding the mouse button down, drag a box over the area you want to select. Release the mouse button to display a list of the maps which include the area you’ve selected. Each map in the list has a hyperlink. You can select one of the hyperlinks to display a new view with that map’s extents.

You can use this tool to list the Area Plan’s Plan Propsals for any point you select within the Area Plan. To use, click on the Find Policies tool, and click on the point on the map which you wish to select. Release the mouse button to display a list of the Area Plan’s Plan Proposals for your selected point. This tool also provides hyperlinks to the policies in the Area Plan. You can select one of the hyperlinks to open a new window which displays the relevant policy details from the Area Plan. Closing this window returns you to the map view.

You can use this tool to list all the map layers relating to a point you select within the Area Plan. To use, click on the Identify Features tool and click on the point on the map you wish to select. Release the mouse button to display the list of map layers for that point. This tool is useful to distinguish between layers when there are several layers overlapping each other. You can click on one of the layers in the list to select it and highlight its boundary.

To the right of the map, you can view either the map layers or the map legend – the view can be toggled by clicking on either the Layers or Legend box. The Layers view displays the layers which can be displayed on the map. Map layers are arranged in groups - a layer group can be expanded to show its individual layers by clicking on the group's + symbol. Group layers or individual layers can be switched on or off by clicking the tick box next to them. However layers which have a  symbol next to them cannot be displayed on the map at the current zoom level – these will only be displayed when you zoom in to an appropriate level.

To switch to the Legend View, click on the Legend button. This will display the colours and symbols used to display each feature on the map for all map layers being displayed.

Development Plans comprise a plan strategy, allocations, designations, policies, proposals and zonings and are commonly referred to collectively as the Plan Proposals.  Plan Proposals should not be read as the only tests of acceptability for development proposals. They sit alongside, but do not supersede, prevailing regional planning guidance as set out in the Regional Development Strategy (RDS) and Planning Policy Statements (PPSs). In making its decisions, the Department will assess proposals against all planning policies and other material considerations that are relevant to it. The contents of Development Plans must, therefore, be read in conjunction with the relevant contents of prevailing regional planning policy publications, supplementary planning guidance documents and policy publications of other Government Departments.