Development Plan

Latest News: Revised LDP (2035) Timetable

The Council has published a Revised LDP (2035) Timetable

The Development Plan Section is responsible for:

• Preparation, monitor and review of the Local Development Plan (LDPs);
• Designation, variation and/or cancellation of Conservation Areas (CAs);
• Making of Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs); and
• Serving of Building Preservation Notices (BPNs)

Local Development Plan

The Local Development Plan (LDP) forms the basis of land use planning and decisions on planning applications within the Borough.  It sets out what the Council area will look like and how land should be used and developed.

The current Plan covering the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area is the Northern Area Plan 2016 (NAP), which was adopted by the former Department of the Environment (DOE) on 22nd September 2015. 

This NAP supersedes the previous statutory plans covering the Borough, as follows:

• Limavady Area Plan 1984-1999
• Limavady Area Plan 1984-1999 – Alteration No.1
• Limavady Local Plan (South East Lands) 1989-1999
• Limavady District Hamlet Subject Plan 1989-1999
• North East Area Plan 2002
• North East Area Plan 2002 – Alteration No.1: Portrush
• Ballymoney Town Centre Local Plan 1991-2002

Preparation of a new Local Development Plan (LDP).

The Council's Development Plan Team are currently preparing a new Plan for the Borough.

The Plan, as the spatial reflection of the Council's Community Plan, provides an opportunity to develop a new planning framework specific to the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area, balancing the development needs of the Borough with the protection of our built and natural heritage assets.  

The Plan, when adopted, will replace the existing Northern Area Plan 2016, and the existing suite of Regional Planning Policy Statements (known as PPSs). It will also be the key document used when making decisions on planning applications throughout the Borough.

The Plan will be accompanied by a range of documents including a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Scoping Report and Interim Report [including Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) Baseline Study] as is required under the provisions of The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.

The purpose of SA is to promote sustainable development through the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations into the Plan preparation.

Data and evidence associated with the Borough has been collected to establish a baseline survey of the area. The following topic-based Discussion Papers* have been presented to the Council’s Planning Committee and agreed for use as background evidence for the Plan:

• Population and Growth
• Environment
• Employment and Town Centres
• Landscape Character
• Settlement Evaluation
• Public Utiliites
• Open Space, Sport and Outdoor Recreation
• Coast
• Minerals
• Education, Health and Community Facilities
• Transportation
• Housing
• Countryside Pressure Analysis
• Tourism

* Please note that the contents of these papers remain as was originally presented to the Planning Committee. The only change from the previous web version is the cover page, added for public consultation purposes only.

Other documents which inform the LDP:

• Nexus Retail Capacity Assessment Update - November 2020
• Nexus Report - Retail and Commercial Leisure Capacity Assessment - October 2017
• Sproule Retail Report - April 2017
• CARD Public and Business Perception Studies:
  • Coleraine CARD Business and Public Perception Study - June 2021
  • Limavady CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Ballycastle CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Ballymoney CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Ballykelly CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Bushmills CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Cushendall CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Dungiven CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Garvagh CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Kilrea CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Portrush CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021
  • Portstewart CARD Business and Public Perception Study - August 2021 

Statement of Community Involvement (SCI).

The Council’s Statement of Community Involvement in Planning, agreed with the Department for Infrastructure (DFI), sets out how the Council intends to engage with the public, stakeholders and Government Departments in exercising its planning functions, including:

• the preparation of the Local Development Plan;
• deciding planning applications in the Borough;
• planning enforcement; and
• other planning matters.

LDP Timetable.

Our Revised Local Development Plan Timetable has been agreed with both DfI and the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC).  It sets out indicative timeframes for the key stages in the production of the LDP, including:

• Formal periods for public consultation;
• Approximate timing of the 2 Independent Examinations that will happen during the Plan process**;
• The Sustainability Appraisal process that will run in parallel with the LDP process.

We are currently working towards Stage 4 of Plan preparation (see Table 1 below):

Table 1: Indicative LDP Timetable*

* Please note that this timetable is subject to regular review and may be amended.

** This stage of LDP preparation is carried out by an independent examiner, therefore the time taken to complete it lies outside the Council’s control.

Both the SCI and LDP Timetable may also be viewed, strictly by appointment only, at the Council’s Planning Department, Cloonavin, 66 Portstewart Road, Coleraine, BT52 1EY during normal office hours (9.00am-5.00pm Mon-Fri).

Getting Involved.

To facilitate public engagement early in the LDP process you may wish to “Register your Interest”.

Our team will keep those who have registered up to date with relevant LDP information throughout the Plan process.