Northern Area Plan 2016
Strategic Plan Framework: Housing Regional Policy Context

The Regional Development Strategy (RDS) includes considerable guidance on the future distribution of new housing between districts, and the identification of appropriate sites for new housing within districts. The Plan seeks to apply consistently this guidance and the associated RDS Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPG), in particular HOU1, HOU4, and HOU6.

The RDS allocated a total of 12,700 dwellings to the 4 districts of the Northern Plan for the period 31st December 1998 to 31st December 2015. To allow for the additional year of the Northern Area Plan period, provision has been made for an extra 745 dwellings on a pro rata basis, thereby giving an overall provision of 13,445 units³.

Planning Policy Statement 7: Quality Residential Environments, embodies the Government’s commitment to sustainable development and the Quality Initiative. It contains policies requiring new housing development to be designed and implemented to a high standard with provision of a range of services, where appropriate, using Article 40 agreements, and contributing to more sustainable forms of development. Further guidance on improving the quality of residential developments is set out in the publication Creating Places: Achieving Quality in Residential Developments. Supplementary guidance for housing schemes within existing urban areas is contained in Development Control Advice Note (DCAN 8): Housing in Existing Urban Areas.

The Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland (PSRNI) continues to provide a range of policies controlling proposals for single dwellings in rural areas.