For Ards and North Down Borough Council include the local development plan, regional planning policies, and layout, design, and residential amenity matters.
Decisions are made based on genuine land-use issues in the public interest rather than private disputes.
Environmental Factors: Impact on trees, nature conservation interests, and biodiversity, as well as effects on listed buildings or conservation areas.
Development Plans & Policy: Conformance with the current local development plans (such as the Ards and Down Area Plan 2015 and Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015) and regional planning policy.
Design & Appearance: Building height, scale, massing, layout, siting, external materials, and landscaping.
Neighbourhood Impact: Overlooking and loss of privacy, loss of light or overshadowing, and noise or disturbance from the proposed use.
Infrastructure & Access: Traffic generation, vehicular access, highway safety, and the capacity of physical infrastructure like water and sewerage drainage.