Section 63 Evaluations

When a local authority notifies the OPR that it has adopted a plan or a Variation, the OPR will assess the plan or Variation to determine if any parts of that plan are materially inconsistent with planning policy or legislation. Independently, the Minister may request the OPR to carry out an assessment of a plan at any time.

The Minister, a regional assembly or a planning authority may also notify the OPR of any specific provisions in a development plan which it believes to be materially inconsistent with planning policy or legislation.

Where the OPR, as part of an assessment, forms a preliminary view that the plan or any part of the plan, should be suspended because it may be materially inconsistent with planning policy or legislation, it may issue a notice to the local authority to suspend the plan or part of the plan until the OPR’s assessment is finalised. The OPR may then engage with the local authority or any other persons it considers relevant to its assessment.

Following completion of its assessment, the OPR issues a recommendation to the Minister about whether a draft direction should or should not be issued to the local authority to take specified actions as are considered necessary. Where the OPR recommends to issue a draft direction and the Minister decides that a draft direction should be issued, the OPR will then undertake a process of public consultation.

The OPR will publish the draft direction and invite submissions through the OPR’s consultation portal. All submissions to the consultation will be considered when deciding to recommend to the Minister about whether a direction should or should not be issued to the local authority. The final decision whether or not to issue a direction lays with the Minister.

The OPR is required to publish any notices of its preliminary assessments. These can be found below: