AQW 22105/22-27

Mr Andrew McMurray
Alliance Party
South Down

Tabled Date: 06/02/2025
Answered On Date: 19/02/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for her assessment of whether the definition of neighbouring land in the Planning (General Development Procedure) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 adequately accounts for the privacy implications of tall structures, such as high-rise buildings and ferris wheels, for residents in the wider area.

Answer:

I am satisfied that the definition of ‘neighbouring land’ provided in The Planning (General Development Procedure) Order (NI) 2015 is adequate for the purposes of neighbour notification of planning applications.

In making a planning application there is an onus on the applicant to identify the relevant addresses for neighbour notification purposes. The relevant planning authority in dealing with the application should take all reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of these addresses against the parameters of the scheme and may make any necessary amendments.

Applicants are however not confined just to the established parameters for neighbour notification purposes. In taking account of the nature of the proposed development, its scale and context, applicants can broaden notification to include other occupiers of properties likely to be impacted by a proposed development. This can include but is not restricted to potential loss of light, overshadowing and loss of privacy implications. Importantly, anyone can make a representation in relation to a planning application, and do not necessarily have to be neighbour notified.