Comments on the Public Consultation Document relating to draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 21, Sustainable Development in the Countryside. MAG REVIEW OF DRAFT PPS 21 NORTHERN IRELAND

Draft PPS 21 supersedes almost all other rural planning policies meaning that not only does the blanket Green Belt / Countryside Policy Area immediately disappear, but also all Area Plan Green Belts disappear for the currency of the draft. Countryside Policy Areas are immediately reduced to just five (renamed in the draft PPS as “Special Countryside Areas”) without giving any justification for the removal of Green Belts and Countryside Policy Areas. This means that except for 5 “Special Countryside Areas”, Northern Ireland effectively changes from being a blanket Green Belt to a blanket “rural remainder”. Draft PPS 21 does not refer to the NI Landscape Character Assessments (2000 ERM) which provide management guidelines for development. MAG proposes that the Northern Ireland countryside, instead of being either • blanket Green Belt / Countryside Policy Area as per PPS14 • blanket rural remainder (with 5 exceptions) as per PPS21could instead be designated as • the “Northern Ireland Countryside Conservation Area”, using the already available PPS 6 Section 7.0 “Conservation Areas” and the NIEA Landscape Character Assessments as the guidance on local areas where development may be acceptable subject to sustainable and satisfactory location, siting and design criteria. Designation as a Conservation Area is not intended to stifle development, but instead to protect and enhance the Conservation Area.Draft PPS 21 does not contain any explanation of objectives for sustainable development in the countryside. MAG suggests explanation of the following objectives for sustainable development in the countryside to form a basis for policy: • visual consideration in development• location consideration in development i• self-sufficiency in services (and food) consideration in development • ecology consideration in development• Reuse and adaptation of existing stock • heritage consideration in development • mixed use development • Design quality consideration MAG advises that if the Policy for Architecture and the Built Environment for Northern Ireland is to be successfully implemented, flexibility must be maintained at the level of place making, the local level, which offers diversity and characterises Northern Ireland itself (as noted in our 130 Landscape Assessment areas).