On Monday, members of the RSUA Derry City and Strabane Local Group met with Suzanne McCracken, Head of Planning for that area’s District Council, along with members of her team, to discuss issues and concerns related to the planning process.
Local Development Plan
On 10 July 2025, the Council adopted its Plan Strategy. This document aims to set out a comprehensive framework to guide sustainable development across the district from 2017 to 2032.
Replacing older area plans, the Strategy outlines strategic planning objectives, land use designations and policies aimed at promoting economic growth, coordinating infrastructure, addressing housing needs and protecting the environment.
The Council reported that supplementary guidance is now being introduced as well, with consultations due to begin in September 2025 on topics such as wastewater infrastructure and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
Following these consultations, work will commence on the Local Policies Plan (LPP), the second part of the Local Development Plan (LDP), starting with a call for sites and related submissions before eventual implementation scheduled for late 2027.
Planning Application Validation Checklist
A consultation on a statutory Validation Checklist is due to be launched in the coming weeks, with the aim of bringing it into operation by autumn.
The Council indicated that the Checklist will not be overly burdensome and will align with approaches taken by other councils.
Planning performance update
The Council reported the following performance data as per the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) annual planning statistics, issued on 26 June 2025:
In addition, the Council informed RSUA that it conducted a comprehensive review of its planning system in 2023. This followed an initial review carried out in 2017 and emerged from discussions with council members.
The final report has been completed, approved and is set to be published on the Council’s website soon.
Planning staff shortage
The Council reported acute staffing issues, with a high turnover rate and significant difficulties in recruiting senior planners. It is currently reviewing staff capabilities to ensure appropriate allocation of personnel to the right applications.
To build capacity, the Council has begun bringing in graduates and has joined an Ulster University placement scheme to create a clear employment pathway. Funding has also been set aside for an apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with DfI.
NI Planning Portal
The Council stated that it is happy with the operation of the Northern Ireland Planning Portal and is aiming to move towards fully online submissions from architects for applications, amendments and related documentation.
RSUA raised concerns about alerts issued through the Portal, noting that notifications are sometimes duplicated and occasionally sent very late at night.
It was also suggested that the Portal’s map viewer should be improved by expanding the viewing radius to 1km.
The Council agreed to consider raising these points with the Planning Portal team.
HMO application delays
RSUA raised that HMO applications were facing significant delays due to the limited number of applications which can be taken to Planning Committee meetings.
The Council responded that the issue stemmed from the absence of a policy on HMO development before the agreement of the Plan Strategy.
There are currently 50 applications in progress, which the Council is working through. Discussions are also underway with the licensing team to facilitate progress. Overall, RSUA and the Council agreed the situation is improving.
NI Water capacity constraints
The Council acknowledged that wastewater capacity constraints from NI Water are a significant challenge and urged architects to demonstrate early engagement with NI Water to improve the likelihood of progressing their applications.
While the Council is facilitating some developments under “negative conditions”, allowing developers to proceed while addressing water connection issues at a later stage, it emphasised that it does not want to condition all developments in this way as it does not address the broader challenge.
If you have any questions or comments about this meeting or would like to join the RSUA Derry City and Strabane Local Group, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
