Planning Service


The Planning Service is an Executive within the Department of the Environment, which regulates the development and the use of land in the public interest.

Origins

The Town and Country Planning Service was established in 1973 when the responsibilities of the local planning authorities briefly passed to the Ministry of Development and then to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning before being assimilated into the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. The Department's statutory planning functions are currently contained in the Planning Order 1991 and associated subordinate legislation.
The Town and Country Planning Service became an Executive Agency of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland on 1 April 1996.
Following devolution of authority to the Northern Ireland Executive in 1998, the "Department of The Environment for Northern Ireland" was renamed "The Department of The Environment". Some of the functions previously undertaken by the "old" Department were transferred to other Northern Ireland Departments. Planning Service remains an Executive within the Department of The Environment.

Functions