Planning

Planning Overview

Powers Include:

• Preparing and adopting local development plan which will set out planning policies and proposals that shape how the Council area developes in the future, how land should be used and how neighbourhoods could be improved.
• Making decisions on the majority of planning applications.
• Investigating alleged breaches of planning control and determining what enforcement action should be taken.

 

How Does The System Work?

The current development plans and planning policies for the Borough were prepared by the Department of the Environment (DOE). They comprise the Antrim Area Plan 1984-2001 (including alterations 1, 2 and 3), the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 and operational planning policies contained in the DOE’s suite of planning policy statements and other planning policy documents.

We will prepare a new Local Development Plan to replace the existing development plans and operational planning policies. The new plan will have two elements. Firstly a Plan Strategy must be prepared and then adopted by the full Council. This will be followed by the preparation of a Local Policies Plan which must also be adopted by the full Council.

Planning applications are categorised as local, major and regionally significant, with the Council responsible for determining all local and major applications. The Council’s Planning Committee will consider and make decisions on these planning applications.  In reaching its decision the Committee must have regard to the local development plan.

The Council has planning enforcement powers to enable the investigation and resolution of cases where planning laws and procedures have not been observed. 

The Planning Committee is made up of 12 Councillors from the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. It is anticipated that it will determine about 30% of all applications submitted to the Council.  The remainder will be decided by Planning Officers through a Scheme of Delegation. A copy of the Scheme is available from the Planning Administration Team on 0300 123 6677 or available to download below.  The applications to be considered are set out in the agenda which is available beforehand. 

Revised Scheme of Delegation April 2017