Duty Planner Service

Duty Planner service overview

Our Duty Planner service provides Development Management planning advice to customers, primarily the general public, including residents, community organisations and businesses. It may also be used by architects and planning agents for straightforward queries.

The Duty Planner can help with simple enquiries including:

• whether planning permission is likely to be required to undertake works or development;
• guidance on more straightforward proposals;
• how to make a planning application;
• how the planning application process works;
• guidance to neighbours and other stakeholders on how to understand or comment on a planning application that affects them.

The Duty Planner only provides general planning advice – feedback is not recorded and is not binding on any future decision that the council may go on to make.

Enquiries should generally last no more than 15 minutes.

For detailed discussions about a specific proposal, or for more complex queries, please request a Pre-application Discussion or email planning@belfastcity.gov.uk.

If you want to talk to us about a specific planning application, you need to contact the case officer.

Planning advice not covered by the Duty Planner

The Duty Planner does not provide advice about:

• live applications – please contact the case officer instead;
• enforcement complaints;
• trees (unless relating to a proposal);
• LDP processes (such as the Local Policies Plan); or
• technical queries about the Planning Portal.

If you want to talk to us about an enforcement complaint, works to trees, the LDP process or the Planning Portal, please email planning@belfastcity.gov.uk.

Duty Planner service opening hours

The Duty Planner service is available:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am to 4.30pm
• Wednesday from 1pm to 4.30pm.

How to contact the Duty Planner

You can contact the Duty Planner:

• by email planning@belfastcity.gov.uk
• by telephone, 028 9050 0510
• in person at Cecil Ward Building, 4-10 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BP.