During the COVID-19 pandemic, DfI temporarily removed the requirement to hold the in-person public event in line with public health guidance.
In response, prospective applicants diversified their consultation methods and made use of digital /online methods including web/online based engagement (such as webinars, online Zoom / MS Teams web events) and increased their use of social media to raise awareness of development proposals and invite feedback from local communities.
Following the pandemic, feedback received as part of the Review of the Implementation of The Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (24 of 59 responses - 40.6%) and the Planning Engagement Partnership (PEP) indicated that the introduction of the digital / online options during the PACC process were a positive addition to community engagement.
It was felt that during the pandemic the online display of development proposals yielded ‘numerous benefits’.
Following detailed consideration, the Department is proposing two potential options in the current consultation for incorporating digital / online engagement into the PACC process 5 and is seeking views and feedback from the public and stakeholders on these. In summary, the two options are:
Option 1
· This option retains the requirement for an in-person public event for all major development. However, it would introduce an additional requirement for prospective applicants to display information for all major developments on a website for a specified period, during the pre-application phase.
· A link to the website would be included on the newspaper notice, and it would display information on the proposal and drawings outlining graphical illustrations of the development.
· The website would also have the facility to accept comments and feedback online and would provide information on how to contact the applicant in relation to queries.
· It is anticipated that the date of the in-person public event would coincide with the live website.
· This would enable members of the public to view and consider the proposals online, with the option of attending the public event and engaging with the applicant to provide comments in person.
Option 2
This option retains the requirement for a public event for all major development, however, proposes to introduce an element of flexibility enabling it to be facilitated either as:
· an in-person consultation event held in the locality of the proposed development; or
· an online consultation event, where members of the public can attend virtually to engage with the applicant and provide comments on the proposed development. In practice, the prospective applicant would propose the type of public event it believes to be the most appropriate based on the detail of the proposed development and its site location, and agreement would be sought from the council or Department as part of the PAN process.
Similar to Option 1, this option seeks to introduce an additional requirement for prospective applicants to display information for all major developments on a website for a specified period, during the pre-application phase.
A link to the website would be included on the newspaper notice, and it would display information on the proposal and drawings outlining graphical illustrations of the development.
The website would also have the facility to accept comments and feedback online and would provide information on how to contact the applicant in relation to queries. 6 It is anticipated that the date of the in-person public event would coincide with the live website.
This would enable members of the public to view and consider the proposals online, with the option of attending the public event and engaging with the applicant to provide comments in person. With both options, the council or Department can still request further consultation with the community, where they deem it necessary to do so.