Structure of the Plan Strategy

The Plan Strategy consists of five parts, flowing from the overarching vision for the district: 1. Vision, aims and objectives: The four strategic aims of the LDP closely reflect the Belfast Agenda priorities. These aims are supported by a series of strategic objectives designed to help achieve the delivery of this vision as set out in paragraph 4.1.1 2. Strategic policies: Our strategic approach as set out in this plan provides a series of overarching plan policies that embodies the broad principles upon which the LDP is built. The overarching strategic policies are to be used as a guide to assist developers to deliver development proposals that are in line with the strategic objectives of the city. 3. Spatial development strategy: Sets out how the council will manage the spatial growth for the plan area, which includes the hierarchy of settlements across the district, as well as the way the principal settlement of Belfast City will be identified into distinct settlement areas. It also reflects the unique role the city centre plays and also the roles of other areas across the city should play in helping achieve the plan's strategic aims. 4. Topic-based policies: This sets out a series of topic-based operational policies which help us deal with the land use challenges which affect Belfast. These policies form the basis for making decisions on planning applications, and unless otherwise stated, all criteria used in each policy will apply to relevant proposals and should be considered holistically. Each application will be treated on its own merits. 5. Delivery: The final section is concerned with the delivery of the topic based policies providing details of how specific policies will be applied and proposals will be implemented. This is supported by a detailed monitoring framework which will assess the effectiveness of the policies in achieving the plan's aims for the future.