Place-Making and Sustainable Development

Creating places where communities flourish and enjoy a shared sense of belonging, both now and into the future, is fundamentally what planning is about. In order to make positive change on the ground planning authorities should prioritise timely and predictable decision-making to support positive place-making and effective stewardship that contributes to shaping high quality sustainable places to live, invest, work and spend leisure time in. A key dimension of sustainable development for Northern Ireland is economic growth. This requires the planning system to continue to provide protection to the things we cherish most about our built and natural environment, including our heritage assets while unlocking development potential, supporting job creation and aiding economic recovery for the benefit of all our people.