Planning Background
Planning and Housing Act 1931, provided for schemes for the development and redevelopment of land, started planning responsibilities in the former councils (both rural and urban and county councils). These councils prepared planning schemes for their districts.
The Minister of Housing was authorised to create a planning scheme when it was considered expedient with the objective of preserving and protecting areas of special architectural or historical interest. Planning schemes were developed to achieve the general objective of securing proper sanitary conditions and maintaining aesthetics in relation to land use, open spaces, and controlling advertisements.
Local authorities were tasked with removing buildings that did not comply with the scheme and excluding works. If a person defaulted on their legal duties, their rights could be cancelled owing to the legislation’s provisions for the regulation of development in the interim period between the resolution to make the scheme and the actual making of the scheme.
The Ministry had the authority to make an order allowing development subject to the conditions contained in the order. Any land acquired by the local authority was subject to such conditions as if they were in the planning scheme.
The Act also ensured that persons whose lands were affected by it coming into operation could not claim compensation from local authorities for development that occurred after the resolution unless it was permitted under the interim development control provisions, thus discouraging unpermitted development.
The Department for Development began the process of amending the planning legislation with the Planning (Amendment) Order 1972, which consolidated the provisions of the Planning and Development Act into one document.
A major review of the planning system in Northern Ireland was announced after the Review of Public Administration, and a program of reform was announced in November 2007. The policy proposals were finalized in the Planning and Development Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
The Act transferred the majority of planning functions from district councils to the Department. Certain reforms to the planning process were undertaken, although the transfer of planning functions is on hold pending agreement on the local government reorganization process, which was scheduled for early 2012.