Call for Sites

What is the Call for Sites and why is the Council undertaking a consultation?

The Call for Sites exercise is a process which the Council is undertaking to give the public an early opportunity to get involved in the plan process. The call for sites process will assist the Council in sourcing a long list of potential sites for various land uses for further assessment and consideration during the Local Policies Plan process.

Landowners or developers may make a submission (no fee payable) for their lands to be considered for zoning for either economic development land or housing in the new plan. Information on how to make your submission will be made available on Monday 15 April 2024.

Further information here on the Call for Sites page on our website.

Supplementary Planning Guidance

What is Supplementary Planning Guidance?

The purpose of Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) is to provide advice and guidance in relation to existing planning policy in the Local Development Plan. The SPGs will cover a variety of topic areas including Affordable Housing, Homeworking, Solar Farms and SuDS.

The Council has published seven draft SPG for consultation. Further information is available on the Supplementary Planning Guidance page on our website.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council adopted the Local Development Plan 2030: Plan Strategy on 16 March 2023 in accordance with section 12 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 and regulation 24 of the Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015.

Copies of the adopted Plan Strategy, the Sustainability Report incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment, the adoption statement, the report and recommendations of the Planning Appeals Commission and the Direction made by the Department for Infrastructure, are available to inspect during normal office hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday at the Connect Centres: Strule House, 16 High Street, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT78 1BQ and County Buildings, 15 East Bridge Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, BT74 7BW.

The Plan Strategy became effective on the date of adoption i.e. the 16 March 2023.

Any queries should be directed to the Development Plan team at developmentplan@fermanaghomagh.com or in writing to Development Plan Team, Strule House, 16 High Street, Omagh, BT78 1BQ.

Housing Monitor Update – December 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE 

Commencement of work on the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council 

Local Development Plan – Local Policies Plan 

The Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 

The Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council give notice that work is commencing on the Local Development Plan – Local Policies Plan (LPP). The LPP is the second part of the Local Development Plan, setting out the Council’s policies in relation to the development and use of land in its district.  

The LPP will include local policies, including site specific proposals, designations and land use zonings. The Council will take account of any site specific representations made to the Preferred Options Paper as part of its preparation of the LPP. 

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Local Development Plan — draft Plan Strategy 2030

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is pleased to announce that, following the Independent Examination of the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Local Development Plan – draft Plan Strategy 2030, the Planning Appeal Commission’s (PAC) report and a Direction has now issued from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) on 20 January 2023.

This is a significant milestone for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and for Plan making generally in Northern Ireland.

The Direction was to adopt the Plan Strategy with modifications under section 12(1)(b) of the Planning Act.

The draft Plan Strategy was found to be sound, subject to the recommended amendments and modifications. The Council considers the PAC report and Direction, to be very positive and a strong statement of support in relation to the Council’s stance on the policies in the Plan.

The Department’s Direction sets out two schedules. The first schedule includes 132 recommended amendments which reflect the changes already proposed by the Council in October 2020. The second schedule sets out 50 modifications which DfI has directed as being necessary for the adoption of the Plan Strategy. Of the 50 proposed modifications, many consist of minor edits or updates to proposed changes previously put forward by the Council.

Before the Council can proceed to adopt the Plan, the Direction requires the Council to update the Sustainability Appraisal and any other statutory assessments as necessary.

The public consultation is now closed (02 March 2023),  more information on this can be found below.

Following the independent examination of the Fermanagh & Omagh Local Development Plan – draft Plan Strategy, the Planning Appeals Commissioner’s report has been forwarded to the Department for Infrastructure.

Release of that report is solely a matter for the Department.

The publication of the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Local Development Plan Draft Plan Strategy 2030 represents a significant milestone for the Fermanagh and Omagh District. The Local Development Plan will set out the framework for future planning and sustainable development of the District until 2030.

The Draft Plan Strategy is the first formal stage of our Local Development Plan and follows on from the Preferred Options Paper of 2016. It takes account of the particular characteristics of our district and the views of our residents, consultees and Council member of the planning framework for the District until 2030.

The Local Development Plan aims to meet the needs of all the people of the District by creating sustainable communities through housing, job creation, enterprise promotion, tourism support, provision of services and community facilities within the context of a healthy, well planned natural and built environment.

All representations received in relation to the Fermanagh and Omagh Local Development Plan Draft Plan Strategy are now available for inspection

To Explore our Draft Plan Strategy as an interactive Story Map click here.

• The Draft Plan Strategy
  The Draft Plan Strategy document sets out strategic planning policy for our District across a range of topics taking into account other regional planning policy. Your attention is drawn to a correction relating to the Settlement Hierarchy map on p.37. Please refer to the following link for the amended map: Settlement Hierarchy. A mapping error has also been identified in relation to the boundary of the Enniskillen Conservation Area (page 135). It should be noted that the correct Conservation Area boundary as designated is shown in the Enniskillen Conservation Area Design Guide (March 1988).
• Information Leaflet 
  Information leaflet giving details of tests of soundness, consultation events, venues and where we are in the overall Development Plan process and finally what happens next.
• Proposals Map Viewer
  The map viewer enables you examine the physical extent of our proposals within the Plan Strategy document.
• Wind Energy Strategy Map Viewer 
• Spatial Strategy Map
• Proposals Map 1 – North East
• Proposals Map 2 – South East
• Proposals Map 3 – West

Technical Assessments

• SA Report: Sustainability Appraisal
  The SA Report details the Sustainability Appraisal of the Plan Strategy. This examines its policies and proposals with the aim of achieving of sustainable development. This incorporates the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). SEA is required to assess the effects of plans and programmes on the environment.
  Your attention is drawn to corrections in Chapter 6: Monitoring and Implementation to address errors in the numbering of the Relevant Monitoring Indicators. Please refer to the following link for amended version: Chapter 6: Monitoring and Implementation
• Sustainability Appraisal – Interim SA Report
  Completed alongside the Preferred Options Paper (POP) and considers environmental, social and economic effects. Includes assessment of Strategic Reasonable Alternatives
• Sustainability Appraisal – Scoping Report
  Sets out sufficient information for the district and its environmental, social and economic effects to enable the Consultation Body to form a view on the proposed scope and level of detail that will be appropriate for the Sustainability Appraisal.
• Habitats Regulations Assessment 
  This considers the potential impact of the Plan Strategy’s policies and proposals on European designated nature conservation sites.
• Equality Screening Report
  This considers the potential impact of the Plan Strategy’s policies and proposals on specific groups identified in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
• Rural Needs Impact Assessment
  This considers if Plan Strategy’s policies and proposals would have a differential impact on the social and economic needs of people in rural areas.

Studies

• Retail and Commercial Leisure Needs Assessment
  A Retail and Commercial Leisure Needs Assessment was published in March 2017 looking at how our town centres are changing, expenditure and population estimates and looked at our District’s retail provision against UK averages.
• Landscape Wind Capacity Study for Fermanagh and Omagh
  The wind capacity study provides technical assessments on landscape, visual and cumulative development matters for our District in relation to wind energy, providing guidance on the capacity of the landscape to accommodate wind turbine developments and associated infrastructure.
• Landscape Character Review for Fermanagh and Omagh
  Since the original Landscape Character Assessment was carried out across Northern Ireland in 1999, parts of the landscape of Fermanagh and Omagh have been subject to dramatic change. This review aims to update that Assessment so that it remains relevant to planning policy and the development management process.
• Landscape Designation Review
  Identifies whether existing landscape designations properly identify and define the most valued landscapes and proposes amendments or new areas for potential designation when they do not.

Please note that the following papers have not been updated at this time but will be reviewed and updated as necessary when moving forward to the Local Plan Policies stage. These are still available to view on the Preferred Options Paper web page:

• Education, Community and Health (Paper 10)
• Open Space, Recreation and Leisure (Paper 11)
• Sustaining Rural Communities (Paper 16)