Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has published its draft Plan Strategy for public consultation.
The draft Plan Strategy (dPS) sets out the Council’s vision, strategic direction and planning policies for the Borough to 2035. Its purpose is to establish a long-term vision and Spatial Growth Strategy, as well as a policy framework for planning decisions which supports the delivery of sustainable development across the Borough.
The dPS is the first of two development plan documents that will comprise the Local Development Plan (LDP). The second document, the Local Policies Plan (LPP) will be prepared at a later stage in the LDP process and will be consistent with the adopted Plan Strategy. The LPP will contain the Council’s detailed policies and proposals, including land use zonings and designations, for the future development of the Borough.
In addition to setting a vision for the Borough, the dPS identifies a series of Strategic Objectives, that will guide the plan-making process and overarching Strategic Policies to further sustainable development. It sets out a Spatial Growth Strategy (SGS), which provides the strategic direction for development and land use over the Plan period.
The SGS establishes the overall level of growth to be accommodated and identifies, in broad terms, the locations where different types of development will be directed across the Borough and provides the foundation for a suite of operational planning policies across a range of topic areas, including housing, economic development, retail and the natural and built environment.
The dPS provides a Monitoring and Review Framework which will ensure that the LDP remains effective and responsive to changing circumstances.
The dPS is the spatial reflection of the Council’s Community Plan. In preparing the dPS, the Council has also taken account of regional planning policy, including the Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS), the Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland (SDS), the Strategic Planning Policy Statement Edition 2, 2025 (SPPS) and other central government strategies, guidance, and initiatives, alongside a broad range of local plans and strategies.
The dPS and supporting documentation (listed below) are also available to view in hard copy during normal office hours, 9.00am – 5.00pm, at the following locations:
An eight-week public consultation period will commence on Tuesday 13 October 2026 to 5pm on Tuesday 8 December 2026.
The Council is inviting representations to its Local Development Plan 2035 Draft Plan Strategy and associated environmental and supporting assessments during the public consultation period. Any representations made before or after this period will not be accepted.
The Council is encouraging everyone with an interest in the future of the Borough to review the dPS and associated environmental and supporting assessments and have their say.
Responses to this public consultation should be submitted to the Local Development Plan Team during the public consultation period by the following methods:
Consultation portal: The consultation portal will be available from 13 October 2026 until 8 December at 5pm.
Post: Planning Department
Local Development Plan Team
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council
Banbridge Civic Building
Downshire Road
Banbridge
BT32 3JY
When submitting a response to the consultation respondents are encouraged to submit representations via the consultation portal.
In your response, please indicate how you would like your representation to be dealt with at the Independent Examination (IE), either as a written or oral representation.
It is important that all representations and counter-representation engage with the tests of soundness, which refer to the process by which the dPS was prepared. The tests of soundness are set out in detail below.
Public Engagement
During the consultation period, the Council will facilitate a series of public engagement / exhibitions / drop-in sessions across the Borough. These events will provide an opportunity to engage with planning officers of the Local Development Plan Team and to view the dPS and its supporting documents.
The purpose of these events is to promote understanding of the dPS, explain how it will be tested for ‘soundness’ through an Independent Examination and provide guidance on how to submit representations.
Details of these events are set out below:
DATE
LOCATION
TIME
Tuesday 13 October 2026
Tommy Makem Arts & Community Centre, 7 Cow Fair, Keady, Armagh, BT60 3UE
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pmÂ
Thursday 15 October 2026Â
Gosford Forest Park
Meeting Room, Markethill, BT60 1GD
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 6.30pm
Tuesday 20 October 2026
Palace Building, The Palace Demesne
Friary Road, Armagh, BT60 4EL
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 27 October 2026
Portadown Town Hall
15 Edward Street, Portadown, BT62 3LX
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pmÂ
Tuesday 3 November 2026
Brownlow Community Hub
7 Brownlow Road, Craigavon, BT65 5DL
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 10 November 2026
Lurgan Town Hall
2-6 Union Street, Lurgan, BT66 8DY
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 17 November 2026
Dromore Town Hall
38 Market Square, Dromore, BT25 1AW
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 24 November 2026
The Old Town Hall
1 Scarva Street, Banbridge, BT32 3DA
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 1 December 2026
Rathfriland Community Centre
John Street, Rathfriland, BT34 5QH
1.30pm – 3.30pm
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Soundness
The Council considers that the dPS is ‘sound’. In accordance with the new LDP process, it is important that all representations relate to soundness, with specific regard to the appropriate tests of soundness which are set out below.
Procedural tests P1. Has the Development Plan Document (DPD) been prepared in accordance with the Council’s timetable and the Statement of Community Involvement?
P2. Has the Council prepared its Preferred Options Paper and taken into account any representations made?
P3. Has the DPD been subject to sustainability appraisal including Strategic Environmental Assessment?
P4. Did the Council comply with the regulations on the form and content of its DPD and procedure for preparing the DPD?
Consistency tests C1. Did the Council take account of the Regional Development Strategy?
C2. Did the Council take account of its Community Plan?
C3. Did the Council take account of policy and guidance issued by the Department?
C4. Has the plan had regard to other relevant plans, policies and strategies relating to the Council’s district or to any adjoining Council’s district?
Coherence and effectiveness tests CE1. The DPD sets out a coherent strategy from which its policies and allocations logically flow and where cross boundary issues are relevant it is not in conflict with the DPDs of neighbouring councils.
CE2. The strategy, policies and allocations are realistic and appropriate having considered the relevant alternatives and are founded on a robust evidence base.
CE3. There are clear mechanisms for implementation and monitoring.
CE4. It is reasonably flexible to enable it to deal with changing circumstances.
Any representation seeking to alter the dPS should clearly state why they consider the document to be unsound having due regard to the tests above. It is important that any representation which is made indicates the most appropriate soundness test(s) which it is believed the dPS fails to meet. It should be noted that there will be no further opportunity to submit additional information once the public consultation period has closed, unless the Examiner requests such information.
The Planning Appeals Commission have also produced guidance entitled ‘Procedures for Independent Examination of Local Development Plans’ available on the Planning Appeals Commission website, www.pacni.gov.uk.
What happens next?
Following the 8-week consultation period, there will be a further 8-week consultation period for counter‑representations to be submitted. All representations and counter‑representations will be analysed by the Local Development Plan Team, after which a Public Consultation Report will be prepared and presented to Elected Members for consideration.
This process may result in amendments to the dPS prior to its formal submission to DfI in advance of an Independent Examination. All representations will also be forwarded to the DfI in advance of the Independent Examination. All responses are public documents and will be made available for public inspection and as part of the Independent Examination process. All responses will be held on a database in accordance with the provisions of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
If you would like to know how the Council will process any personal data you include in your consultation response, please view the Council’s Privacy Notice by clicking on the following link
A Public notice relating to the publication of the dPS and associated supporting documentation was published in the local press and the Belfast Gazette, as set out below:
We are responsible for preparing a local development plan (LDP) for the borough, in consultation with local citizens, to provide a clear vision of how it should develop and what it will look like in the years to come.
The local development plan will:
provide a 15 year plan framework to support economic and social needs in the borough, in line with regional strategies and policies, while providing the delivery of sustainable development
facilitate growth by coordinating public and private investment to encourage development where it can be of most benefit to our community
allocate sufficient land to meet the needs of the borough
provide an opportunity for all stakeholders, including the public, to have a say about where and how development within the local area should take place
deliver the spatial aspects of the councils’ community plan
Ongoing community consultation is an important element and these stages are set out in our Statement of Community Involvement.
The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out council’s policy and processes for involving and informing the community in the preparation and continuing review of the borough’s Local Development Plan (LDP) and accompanying guidance, the consideration of planning applications, the making or altering of designated areas and in enforcement matters.
The Statement of Community Involvement has been agreed by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI). The SCI is available to view below.
The Local Development Plan (LDP) Timetable outlines the process to produce the Council’s LDP 2035. It provides indicative timescales for the key stages in the preparation of the Plan and accompanying documents, from the initial Preferred Options Paper through to the preparation and adoption of the Plan Strategy and subsequent Local Policies Plan.
The LDP Timetable has been revised and agreed with the Department for Infrastructure. The revised timetable is available to view below, or alternatively, at the Council’s main offices, between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, at the locations detailed below:
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council prepared a Preferred Options Paper (POP) as part of the Local Development Plan process.
The POP was published on Wednesday 28th March 2018 and was subject to a public consultation period which was open for 9 weeks from Wednesday 28 March 2018 until Wednesday 30 May 2018 (at 5pm).
The POP was the first of three public consultation documents to be issued by the Council during the LDP process. It marked the end of Stage 1 – Initial Plan Preparation. The main purpose of the POP was to promote focused debate on key issues of strategic significance likely to influence the direction of future development within the Borough. It outlined the vision and strategic objectives of the Plan, along with a set of key issues and the possible options available to address them.
A number of other key supporting documents were published alongside the POP. These documents, including a Sustainability Appraisal Interim Report (incorporating the Strategic Environmental Assessment) and Equality Impact Assessment, were also subject to a 9 week public consultation period.
Feedback received during the public consultation (on the POP and its supporting documents) informed the preparation of the Draft Plan Strategy.
A Public Consultation Report detailing representations submitted to the Council in relation to the POP can be viewed here Public Consultation Report.
POP and Supporting Documentation
The POP document, Sustainability Appraisal Interim Report, Equality Impact Assessment and other supporting documents are available below:
A period of public consultation is also open on the following supporting documents to the POP, running from Wednesday 28 March 2018 until Wednesday 30 May 2018 (at 5pm).
A preliminary review of operational planning policy has been carried out to inform the Preferred Options Paper, as set out below. A more detailed policy review will be carried out in advance of the Plan Strategy.
The Council’s Housing Monitor surveys all residential completions within the Borough’s settlements (as designated in prevailing Development Plans), determining both the level of housing land supply and the remaining potential of land and dwellings that remain undeveloped on monitored sites. Monitored sites include all areas identified as suitable for residential development in current development plans (housing zonings) and any other area within settlements that has been granted permission for residential development (including appeal decisions) and where circumstances have not changed such that the potential for this development no longer exists.
The survey is completed on an annual basis between 1 April and 31 March.
The Council’s Housing Monitor will inform the Local Development Plan (LDP).
The Summary Tables are currently broken down into the former council district areas that comprise our Borough. These show the breakdown for each settlement within each area along with combined totals. The Council’s latest Housing Monitor Surveys are summarised in the report tables below.
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