Banbridge / Newry and Mourne Area Plan 2015
Strategic Plan Framework: Countryside and Coast Regional Policy Context
The overall aim of the Spatial Development Strategy in the Regional Development Strategy (RDS) in relation to Rural Northern Ireland is:
'to develop an attractive and prosperous rural area, based on a balanced and integrated approach to the development of town, village and countryside, in order to sustain a strong and vibrant rural community, contributing to the overall well being of the region as a whole.'
The RDS provides a number of Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPGs) and measures which focus on the rural economy within Northern Ireland as follows:
- To maintain a working countryside with a strong mixed use rural economy by (SPG-RNI 1):
- sustaining the continuing development of a strong agricultural and agri-food sector (RNI 1.1);
- facilitating the development of rural industries, businesses and enterprises in appropriate locations, and ensuring they are satisfactorily integrated with the settlement or rural landscape (RNI 1.2);
- sustaining and extending the forestry resources of Northern Ireland (RNI 1.3); and
- maintaining a viable fishing industry in Northern Ireland (RNI 1.4).
The RDS recognises the importance of using Green Belts and Countryside Policy Areas (CPAs), and it contains SPGs and measures that set out the need:
- To conserve the natural environment (SPG-ENV 1) by:
- protecting, enhancing and encouraging appreciation of the Region's landscapes. One element of this is to manage development pressures to protect the setting of settlements and maintain the rural character of the countryside throughout Northern Ireland by designating green belts and countryside policy areas (ENV 1.4).
- To continue to create and sustain an attractive and unique rural environment in the interests of the rural community and the Region as a whole (SPG-RNI 5) by:
- managing the use of rural resources to achieve a more sustainable pattern of development, one element of which is to control development in areas, particularly the main commuter zone around the BMA, where there is pressure for development by means of green belts, to maintain the rural character and tranquillity of the countryside (RNI 5.1).
The RDS highlights the need to protect and manage the Northern Ireland coastline in the following SPGs and measures:
- to protect and manage the Northern Ireland Coastline (SPG-ENV 2)
- to conserve the coast of Northern Ireland (ENV 2.1) by:
- protecting the undeveloped coastline, especially from intense recreational and tourism pressures, assessing and, if necessary, mitigating the environmental impact of essential port and other economic developments;
- seeking to keep open those strips of land or spaces right on the coastline within coastal settlements where the public can walk along the seaside or just enjoy the views out to sea;
- seeking to reconcile development and management pressures with conservation, commercial and leisure use; and
- conserving distinctive coastal habitats, and undertaking environmentally sensitive coastal protection, where environmental impact assessment shows that coastal protection is essential to safeguard infrastructure or highly valued environmental assets.
Draft PPS 14 - Sustainable Development in the Countryside has been prepared by DRD (March 2006). It proposes the introduction of a presumption against development throughout the countryside with the exception of a limited number of types of development outlined in the PPS itself. As a consequence, it also proposes the withdrawal of all existing Green Belt and CPA designations throughout Northern Ireland with certain exceptions. If the proposal to withdraw these designations is subsequently confirmed in the final PPS 14, the Green Belt and CPAs designated in the Plan will become redundant.
This should not, however, affect the Plan Proposals for Special Countryside Policy Areas (SCPAs) and Coastal Policy Area.
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Draft PPS 14 was withdrawn in November 2008. Draft PPS 21 ( 345 KB) sets out the new planning policies for development in the countryside. |
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