RSUA today began its second annual tour of all planning authorities in Northern Ireland. Our first meeting was in Portstewart with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, represented by Shane Mathers, Deputised Head of Planning, and Jennifer Lundy, Principal Planning Officer.
RSUA was represented by Murray Bell, Alana Durrent, Andrew English, Neal McCormick, Graeme Montgomery and Philip Parker.
Planning Portal improvement
In previous engagement sessions, RSUA asked the Council to liaise with the Intelligent Client Function (ICF) at Belfast City Council, which supports the Northern Ireland Planning Portal by managing accessibility, system improvements and user support.
Our principal concern was that notifications from the portal were being issued outside standard business hours, including during the night.
The Council has advised that, at its request, the ICF is now engaging with TerraQuest Solutions, which operates the software on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), to review the logic behind the current notification timings and to explore options for aligning delivery times with normal business hours.
Strategic Planning Policy Statement
The Council brought to the attention of members DfI’s recent publication of the second edition of The Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS) – Planning for Sustainable Development on 11 December 2025.
The new edition introduces a policy titled “Renewable and Low Carbon Energy” (pp. 86–91). As a result, the previous policy on the same subject, Planning Policy Statement 18: Renewable Energy (August 2009), ceases to have effect from the date of this publication. Accordingly, the wider first edition of the SPPS (2015) has also been revoked.
Pre-Application Discussions (PADs)
Since September 2024, the Council has reported an approximate 25% reduction in the number of PADs, although the reason for this decline remains unclear. Nevertheless, PADs continue to be relatively popular, with 42 applications submitted, 27 determined and 15 currently under consideration.
PADs have been submitted mainly for housing (the most common category, accounting for 57% of applications), as well as for sport, tourism and energy.
Fees are attached to PADs and are tailored to the scale of a proposal. The lowest fee, for Local Category Minor developments, is set at £120, while the highest, for Major developments, is £535.
The Council advised that its PAD system has a clear structure for providing advice, including a 20-day timeframe for issuing a written response following the discussion.
More information on the Council’s PAD system can be accessed here.
Efficient Processing of Planning Applications Protocol
The Council shared with RSUA a draft document which aims to set out the procedures that will be followed to deliver a more efficient processing system and assist in meeting statutory planning performance targets.
RSUA provided initial feedback on the draft Protocol in advance of the meeting and will submit a formal response by the end of March 2026.
Planning performance for Q2 2025–26
DfI reported planning performance in the borough for Q2 (July–September 2025) as follows:
These figures mean the Council in Q2 was within the statutory target for majors (30 weeks) but outside the target for locals (15 weeks).
Further engagement
If you have any questions or comments about this meeting, or would like to join the RSUA Causeway Coast and Glens Local Group, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
