The LDP Process

THE LDP PROCESS

The LDP will comprise of two stages:

• A Plan Strategy – which will set out this Council’s objectives in relation to the development and use of land in the our District and the strategic Planning policies for the implementation of those objectives and other relevant matters; and

• A Local Policies Plan – which must be prepared after the LDP Plan Strategy has been adopted and will set out this Council’s local policies and zonings, consistent with the LDP Plan Strategy.

Each stage will be subject to a Sustainability Appraisal, including Strategic Environmental Assessment and other associated relevant assessments.  Similarly each stage will be adopted having undergone an Independent Examination. 

HOW AND WHEN YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE PREPARATION OF YOUR LDP:

You can get involved at the following stages:

• Preferred Options Paper (POP) - The POP is a public consultation document which will set out the most significant Planning issues currently affecting our District, as well as those likely to become relevant in the future. It will include the Council’s preferred options to address them;
• LDP draft Plan Strategy (dPS) - The draft PS is a public consultation document which will set out in draft terms the proposed broad aims, objectives and the overall future growth strategy and associated generic planning policies applicable across the District;
• Public Inspection of Representations for the draft PS, as well as any Counter Representations and any resultant Proposed Changes (PCs) to the dPS;
• Independent Examination (dPS IE) - An IE will be held to determine the soundness of the draft PS, taking into account a consideration of the representations, counter representations and PC Comments received during the draft PS consultation period. Parties will have the opportunity to participate in the IE. After the IE, an Advisory Report of its findings will be issued to the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) Strategic Planning, which will in turn issue a Direction to the Council to Adopt the LDP Plan Strategy;
• LDP draft Local Policies Plan (dLPP) - The LPP is the second plan document within the LDP process. The draft LPP is a public consultation document and will contain the Council’s detailed land use proposals for the District;
• Public Inspection of Representations for the draft LPP, as well as any Counter Representations and any resultant Proposed Changes (PCs) to the dLPP;
• Independent Examination (dLPP IE) - An IE will be held to determine the soundness of the draft Local Policies Plan, taking into account any representations, counter representations or PC Comments. Parties will have the opportunity to participate in the IE. After the IE, an Advisory Report of its findings will be issued to the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) Strategic Planning, which will in turn issue a Direction to the Council to Adopt the LDP Local Policies Plan.

The LDP is also accompanied by a Sustainability Assessment process, an Equality Impact Assessment and Rural Needs Impact Assessment. Similar opportunities exist to get involved in these processes.  An integral part of the SA process will be the requirement on the Council to undertake a screening to determine if the LDP requires a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) – which will in turn examine the environmental effects of the LDP proposals.

Habitats Regulation screening will also be required to determine if a Habitats Regulation Assessment is required for the LDP. This will consider the potential impact of LDP policies and proposals on European nature conservation sites.

In 2026, the Council has initiated a Revision of the LDP Plan Strategy (PS-R) relating to Policy HMO 13 (Houses in Multiple Occupation). The PS-R process is to be done in accordance with Section 14(1) and 14(3) of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 and in turn, with the Planning (LDP) Regulations (NI) 2015. This is primarily the same process as was followed for the preparation of the LDP Plan Strategy itself, as outlined above.

The LDP Timetable for the preparation of the LDP can be viewed at: www.derrystrabane.com/subsites/ldp . The Council will inform the public and other stakeholders of the opportunities to get involved in all of these LDP stages, via our Council’s website, local press and social media. For further details, see the Planning Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which is available to view on the Council’s Planning webpage at www.derrystrabane.com/services/planning