Magherafelt Area Plan 2015: Draft Plan - The Planning Service

Housing
HOUSING
Housing continues to represent the greatest pressure on the
land resource throughout Northern Ireland and in Magherafelt
District, as elsewhere, it is likely to continue to be the most
widespread urban land-use change for many years to come.
Need for additional housing land is created by the formation
of new households through natural increase in the population,
net inward migration and the trend to smaller household sizes.
That need includes variety in dwelling size, type and tenure to
meet the particular requirements of groups such as the elderly,
people with limited incomes and people with disabilities.
REGIONAL POLICY CONTEXT
Prevailing regional planning policy for housing development
is currently contained in the RDS, in relevant PPSs, and in the
Rural Strategy. PPS 12 Housing in Settlements is currently being
prepared by the Department for Regional Development.
The RDS has introduced a radical change in the manner by
which the amount of land for housing development is to be
allocated to, and distributed throughout, the District.
The RDS allocates 3600 housing units to Magherafelt District as
an appropriate “Housing Growth Indicator” for the period 31
December 1998 to 31 December –2015. The Plan must distribute
the growth allocated to the District in accordance with the
strategic planning guidance in the RDS. In this context there are
two RDS Strategic Planning Guidelines which are particularly
important:
SPG-HOU 1 which is to manage housing growth in response to
changing housing need.
This SPG sets down an evaluation framework which is intended
as an aid for the Plan in the allocation of housing growth to the
various settlements within the District. The framework consists
of a series of tests and an assessment against each of these is
made in respect of each of the towns and villages in the District.
The results of this assessment are set out in the Population and
Housing Technical Supplement.
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