Derry and Strabane commence land decisions

New Local Area Plans will change the face of settlement boundaries across Northern Ireland.

Landowners, developers and businesses in Derry City and Strabane District Council area have just 12 weeks to respond to a consultation on how their land should be developed into the future.

Derry City and Strabane District Council published their Preferred Options Paper (POP) for public consultation this week (31st May, 2017) – outlining its ambitious vision for the development of the Council area in terms of a number of planning matters including development boundaries and housing growth figures.

People are being urged to have their say on the Council’s options for the growth of the area which will set the planning framework up until 2032 when completed.

All 11 Super Councils  are currently involved in this process of land zoning and de-zoning to establish future settlement boundaries.  This will include determining if a settlement has adequate housing provision, or whether additional land needs to be included within the development zone to satisfy housing demand.

For the first time in ten years, interested parties are being urged to make representations to have their land considered for inclusion within future settlement boundaries, or alternatively protect undeveloped land currently within a development boundary. Landowners in Derry City and Strabane have until 22nd August, 2017 to respond to the consultation.

It is an opportunity to make your views known to your local Council that should not be taken for granted and failure to do so could mean your land is taken out of the settlement parameters.

If you are a landowner, developer or business owner in Northern Ireland and are interested in future-proofing the development status of your land then it is essential to register your interests at this stage.  Failure to do so could mean your land is eliminated for development potential.  Likewise, if you have land and would like it to be included for future development it is equally important to promote its inclusion.