Last Tuesday, members of the RSUA Ards and North Down Local Group met with Gail Kerr, Acting Head of Planning for Ards and North Down Borough Council (ANDBC), to discuss issues and concerns regarding the planning process in the area.
RSUA was represented by Kevin Cartin, Anita Doyle, Jason Goldring, James Hudson, Micah Jones, Olivia Laughlin, John Lavery (RSUA President), Arthur Parke, Peter Stewart, and Martin Walkington.
Local Development Plan (LDP)
The Council’s LDP schedules the publication of ANDBC’s Draft Plan Strategy for Quarter 3 or 4 of 2025, after which an eight-week public consultation period will follow.
ANDBC has now agreed all the Strategy’s (currently confidential) policies with councillors, who are being briefed and updated on the broader LDP by the planning team.
RSUA members asked that the Council notify them of policy changes well in advance of the publication of the Strategy so that applications submitted in the interim are not invalidated after its implementation.
Planning Application Validation Checklist
ANDBC is currently preparing its statutory Planning Application Validation Checklist, which will replace the existing Planning Service Application Checklist. While the new checklist is similar in concept to the current version, a key difference is that the additional information requirements will now become mandatory.
In preparing the new checklist, ANDBC aims to maintain consistency with other councils and is specifically reviewing the information requirements likely to apply to rural developments so it can clarify exactly what will be expected.
Missing surveys (bats and NI Water)
RSUA members stressed that applications should be allowed to progress even when certain surveys cannot be completed immediately due to factors beyond agents’ control, such as the seasonal timing of bat surveys or delays in responses from statutory consultees like NI Water.
Regarding bat surveys, although they cannot be made subject to a negative condition, ANDBC has agreed to accept Preliminary Ecological Assessments (PEAs) in lieu of full surveys during the off-season, while its Senior Planning Officers agree a lasting solution.
On NI Water constraints, the Council has, since last year, adopted a more flexible approach by permitting the use of negative conditions in planning approvals. Where ANDBC is satisfied that a future solution to connection issues is likely, this approach enables agents to progress their application while resolving any problems at a later stage.
Planning performance update
Gail reported progress on planning improvements, including initiatives to frontload the planning system. However, she also related that this approach has proven resource-intensive and has diverted planners from their routine processing duties. Case officers are presently processing 70 to 80 cases at any one time.
To quicken the progress of local applications, ANDBC has established a dedicated householder team, which has consistently met its eight-week processing target.
Additionally, the Council is working to raise professionalism in its planning section by requiring that all Senior Planning Officers are chartered members of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or the Irish Planning Institute (IPI).
Planning staff shortage
Staffing remains a significant challenge for the Council, as six members of the Development Management (DM) team have either moved to other councils or taken up positions in the Republic of Ireland.
In response, ANDBC is now in the process of its third round of recruitment for a Senior Planning Officer, with additional recruitment for planning staff scheduled for June.
Statutory consultee responses
Gail also raised the ongoing issue of poor responsiveness from statutory consultees, particularly highlighting the limited access to, and the anonymity of, the individuals responsible for processing applications.
She informed us that Rosemary Daly, the new Director of Regional Planning, Governance, and Legislation at the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), is currently visiting each council’s planning department to assess the challenges they face.
Non-Material Changes
RSUA members expressed concerns about the processing times for Non-Material Change applications. Gail explained that since planning authorities do not charge fees for Non-Material Changes, these applications are more likely to experience delays.
The Council is currently reviewing the funding structure for these applications and Gail suggested that fees could possibly be introduced through DfI to support the financial stability of the planning process.
RSUA members agreed that this approach would be beneficial but recognised that implementing such a change would require primary legislation, meaning it would likely be a very slow process.
ANDBC design awards
The Council is working on organising design awards and will prepare a document to discuss with Senior Planning Officers to decide on categories and arrange an event or ceremony.
RSUA has agreed to inform ANDBC about our own Design Awards and the work of the RSUA Design Quality Panel. We will follow up with the Council on this item in the autumn.
If you have any questions or comments about this meeting, or would like to join the RSUA Ards and North Down Local Group, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
