AQW 11537/22-27

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 08/05/2024
Answered On Date: 23/05/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) , as part of his oversight role of local councils, whether any internal reports, updates or communications, including emails, have been produced in relation to Local Development Plans; and (ii) to provide a copy of any such documents issued in each of the last five years.

Answer:

In relation to Local Development Plans (LDPs), my Department has main oversight responsibilities to agree Council’s timetables, to consider plans at submission stage ‘to cause’ an Independent Examination (IE) and also following receipt of Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) IE Reports to direct Councils to adopt to their plan documents.

The above request to release ongoing policy development and engagement with local councils in the past five years in respect of Local Development Plans, has produced a significant volume of reports, updates, communications, including emails etc and to provide copies of all these communications would be at a disproportionate cost.

For those plans which are currently under active consideration, the internal consideration process also includes material used as part of the decision-making process. This is subject to my final determination as Minister and therefore my Department cannot disclose information to this extent.

However, my Department when issuing Councils with a direction to adopt their plan documents, does provide Explanatory Notes to accompany the directions (where necessary) which explains the Departments reasoning and rationale, if modifications are at variance with the PAC reports. All of this information is available on each of the councils’ websites, once the LDP has been adopted.