Council planning for future growth of city

The local authority has already started work on the creation of what is describes as “an ambitious and visionary Local Development Plan.”

Keynote speaker at the workshop was Mr Waheed Nazir, Strategic Director of Planning and Regeneration at Birmingham City Council, who is part of a council team which has helped Birmingham transform and regenerate its landscape over the past 20 years, resulting in hundreds of millions of pounds in investment, thousands of new jobs created and many affordable homes built.

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Development Plan 2030 will act as a planning blueprint for the next 15 years, enabling the area to achieve its maximum potential. The plan will also support a number of strands of the council’s future vision from a social, environmental and economic perspective, including economic regeneration, increased manufacturing and retail tourism, job creation and leisure and community.

Topics explored through the workshop included maximising the economic potential of the city, doing things differently, the West Lisburn Development Plan and the vital importance of transport connectivity throughout the city.

Planners, elected members and community partners were given the opportunity to explore various ideas and ask questions about the factors and challenges faced in other areas and how these challenges were overcome.

“I hope that by sharing Birmingham’s experience of developing a vision and strategy to drive forward transformation of the city, it will serve as a useful case study that can be drawn upon as Lisburn & Castelreagh embark on the development of their own local plan to maximise the economic potential of the city,” Mr Nazir said.

Welcoming “a new era of planning in Lisburn”, Chairman of the council’s Planning Committee, Cllr Alexander Redpath commented: “Today’s discussion has injected a massive dose of ambition and excitement into what could be achieved here in the city if we are bold and visionary in our thinking.

“How the city will look like in 2030 will be down to our Local Development Plan. Planning is not just about policy. It is about looking at the bigger picture and we will use it as a key economic and regeneration driver for the city in the years to come.

“Today has certainly provided food for thought and we will do all we can to ensure that planning will work for the city, its residents, visitors and investors, both now and in the future.”