To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, pursuant to AQW 30778/22-27, to detail why any of the new councils, created in 2015, have not completed Local Development Plans.

All councils in the North are advancing their Local Development Plan programme. The pace of this programme is set by councils.

To date nine out of the eleven councils have published development plan documents, six of which, have adopted Plan Strategies and are working towards their Local Policies Plan publication. Council timetables indicate that the remaining two councils are due to publish the first of their development plan documents within the next year.

There are a number of reasons why councils have not completed both stages of their LDPs. Robust evidence is required to assist the formulation of sound policies, and this evidence gathering process takes time. In addition, at the transfer of planning functions, some councils also benefited from recently adopted Departmental Development Plans reducing the urgency to produce new plans.

While LDPs are being prepared planning applications continue to be determined having regard to councils Plan Strategies where relevant and to any other material considerations including the existing departmental development plans and the provisions of the RDS, SPPS and supplementary planning guidance.