New Planning Portal
The new Regional Planning IT system is now live. To access the new system, click here.
For further information and to watch demonstration videos, please visit: www.lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk/resident/planning/new-planning-portal.
**IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLANNING**
Development Management
A full planning application service including the inspection of sites is operated in line with prevailing coronavirus restrictions. This is kept under review as public health advice is updated.
Your safety and that of Council officers is a priority and your co-operation in facilitating inspections is appreciated. Should access to land that we need to visit be restricted an officer of the Unit will make contact to arrange an inspection by appointment.
Applications should continue where possible to be posted to the Unit. Where an application is brought to the building due, for example, to size a receipt will be posted. No cash payments will be taken. We accept payments by cheque or bankers draft, BACS transfer and there is also the facility to make card payments over the phone.
The Planning Unit would ask that you continue to seek planning advice by telephone, mail or e-mail. On request and where available officers of the Unit will facilitate meetings remotely.
The majority of documents relating to the processing of applications are available online on the Planning Portal. Our public facing service is limited to the inspection of files and documents, recognising there may be circumstances where a person has limited access to the Planning Portal or they need to inspect drawings or documents on the paper file.
Planning Committee meetings will take place on the first Monday of the month. The Schedule of Applications for meetings will be posted to the Council website in the normal way and will be viewable here. Remote arrangements for public participation in the meeting remain in place.
The Protocol for the Operation of the Planning Committee is subject to periodic review, is amended and outlines the practical handling arrangements for the operation of the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Councils Planning Committee This document is available to view here. In accordance with the amended Protocol, the meeting dates and times along with the schedule of applications to be determined by the Committee will be posted to the Council’s website at least 5 days in advance of the meeting.
Contacting us
Any queries should be directed to the Planning Inbox at planning@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk . This mailbox is being monitored on a daily basis and queries will be responded to as quickly as possible in the current situation. We appreciate your understanding on the matter.
General Planning Queries and Advice
With effect from Monday 19 July 2021 the Planning Unit will be making a change to current arrangements for dealing with general planning queries and advice.
If you are seeking advice about Development Plan, an Enforcement issue or a planning application in progress your call will be directed to the relevant team or person in accordance with current arrangements.
For all other queries that require you to have access to a planning officer or if you are seeking general planning advice an officer from the Business Support Unit will still seek to deal with your call. However, where the officer cannot assist then a scheduled time slot will be allocated for a Duty Planning Officer to call you back. This will ensure you receive timely and appropriate advice at a specified time within a maximum of two working days of your initial contact with the Planning Unit. It is therefore important that you provide a suitable contact number and are available at the specified time.
The Unit will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this new arrangement and will review on an ongoing basis in light of experience and customer feedback.
Local Development Plan – Submission of draft Plan Strategy for Independent Examination
The Council continues to operate its Local Development Plan function remotely.
On the 22nd March 2021 Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council submitted its Local Development Plan draft Plan Strategy to the Department for Infrastructure for Independent Examination. This follows an 8 week period of public consultation on proposed focussed changes to the draft Plan Strategy which closed on Friday 12th March 2021.
Following closure of the consultation on ‘Focussed Changes Addendum including Minor Changes Schedule’ the Council has collated all the Comments to Focussed Changes Consultation to draft Plan Strategy. These comments, together with the draft Plan Strategy, its accompanying documents, representations and counter representations, have been submitted to the Department for Infrastructure in accordance with Regulation 20 of the Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and Development Plan Practice Note 10: Submitting Development Plan documents for Independent Examination.
In accordance with Regulation 21 of the Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, the draft Plan Strategy and its accompanying documents are available to view online in the Submission Documents Library.
If you are unable to view the documents online, these are available for inspection at the Planning Unit, Civic Headquarters, Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn BT27 4RL during normal office hours (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) by appointment only, so that the appropriate health and safety arrangements for COVID-19 can be properly managed. An appointment can be arranged by contacting the Planning Unit either by telephone 028 9244 7300 or emailing the LDP team at LDP@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk