Northern Ireland: the Department's call-in power explained
A call-in takes an application out of a council's hands and removes the appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission. The criteria, the process and the programme risk.
This article is about Northern Ireland. Under the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, the Department for Infrastructure can direct that a planning application made to a council be referred to it for determination instead. That is the call-in power, and for anyone promoting a major scheme it is the procedural risk that can add a year or more to a programme without anyone having refused anything.
When the Department can call in an application
The Act sets up a three-tier hierarchy. Local development and major development applications go to the relevant council. Regionally significant development goes directly to the Department. Call-in operates on the first two tiers, letting the Department take an application out of a council's hands.
The Department has published the basis on which it will consider doing so. The themes are consistent even though each case is decided on its own facts:
- The proposal raises issues of regional importance, or has effects beyond the council's own district.
- It would involve a substantial departure from the development plan or from regional policy.
- It raises a conflict of interest, for example where the council itself has an interest in the land or is the applicant.
- It engages a matter of wider public concern that the Department considers it should determine.
The power is discretionary and it is used sparingly. It is not an appeal, it is not triggered by objection volume alone, and a third party cannot compel its use, though a request may well prompt consideration.
Readers familiar with the old system will recognise this as the successor to the pre-2015 arrangement under which the Department determined the larger applications itself. The tiers and the routes changed when planning functions transferred to the 11 councils in April 2015, and the way those tiers work is set out in the two-tier planning system in Northern Ireland.
How the power is exercised
The Department issues a direction to the council. From that point the council must not determine the application, and the file moves.
Three features of the mechanism are worth understanding before it happens to you.
The direction can come at any stage before the council decides, including after a committee resolution to grant but before the decision notice is issued. A resolution is not a decision.
The direction can be general or specific, so the Department may direct that a class of applications be referred to it rather than naming one.
The Department steps into the council's shoes. It determines the application on the same material, against the development plan and the Strategic Planning Policy Statement, and it can grant, refuse or grant subject to conditions.
The council's work is not wasted. Its case officer report, consultation responses and committee minutes all go forward, and the Department will usually seek the council's views as part of its own consideration.
What happens after a direction
Expect a fresh round of process rather than a rubber stamp.
The Department reviews the material, may consult again, and decides how to handle the determination. On a contested scheme it can cause a public local inquiry to be held, with the Planning Appeals Commission reporting to it. On a less contested one it may proceed on written material with a hearing or without.
Where an inquiry is held, the practical consequence is that the applicant has to prepare and present a full evidential case, with witnesses, proofs of evidence and cross-examination. That is a different exercise from responding to a council case officer, and it needs budgeting as such. The planning case has to stand on its own in a Planning Statement that anticipates the inquiry rather than reading as a validation document.
Timescales and the effect on the applicant
This is the real cost. The statutory determination periods that apply to councils do not give the applicant a remedy once the Department has taken the application, and there is no deemed refusal to appeal against.
For a developer that produces four practical effects.
- Land options and conditional contracts need enough time, and enough extension mechanics, to survive a call-in.
- Finance costs run on, with no determination date to work back from.
- Survey data ages. Ecology, traffic counts and noise surveys may need updating, and a survey season missed is a year lost.
- Policy can change underneath the application, since a development plan can be adopted or amended while the application sits.
Keep the evidence base refreshable. Where a survey has a defined validity window, say so in the submission and agree with the Department early how updates will be handled, rather than being asked for a wholly new survey late in the process.
Representations, hearings and inquiries
Third parties keep their ability to make representations, and in practice a call-in usually widens participation rather than narrowing it. Objectors who felt unheard at council level treat the Department's involvement as a second opportunity.
| Stage | Who takes part | What is produced |
|---|---|---|
| Council stage before the direction | Applicant, consultees, objectors, council officers | Case officer report, consultation responses |
| Departmental consideration | Applicant, council, consultees, objectors | Written representations and further information |
| Public local inquiry, where held | Applicant, council, objectors, statutory bodies | Proofs of evidence, inquiry report to the Department |
| Determination | Department | Decision notice with reasons and conditions |
Where community consultation was carried out at the pre-application stage, that record becomes more useful rather than less. For major development in Northern Ireland a proposal of application notice and pre-application community consultation are required before the application is submitted, and the quality of that exercise is something the Department will look at. A properly documented Statement of Community Involvement is the place that record lives.
Outcomes and how they can be challenged
The Department can grant permission, refuse it, or grant it with conditions, and it can impose conditions the council would not have.
The important procedural consequence is on challenge. Where the Department determines an application at first instance, there is no appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission, because the appeal route exists against council decisions. The remedy against a Departmental determination is judicial review in the High Court, which tests the legality of the decision rather than its planning merits, and which runs to a short time limit.
That asymmetry matters when you are deciding how hard to push on a point. A refusal by a council can be appealed and reargued on the merits. A refusal following call-in generally cannot, so the case has to be made properly the first time.
Managing the risk on a major scheme
You cannot prevent a call-in, but you can reduce the likelihood and limit the damage.
Engage with the council and, where the scheme has regional implications, with the Department at pre-application stage. A scheme whose cross-boundary effects have already been discussed is less likely to look like something the Department needs to take over.
Address the departure question head on. Where the proposal does not accord with the development plan, set out the material considerations that justify a departure in the submission rather than leaving the council to construct the argument.
Deal with any conflict of interest early. Where the council has a land interest, raise it, and expect a referral.
And build the programme on the assumption that determination may take considerably longer than the statutory period, with option agreements, funding and survey programmes drafted accordingly.
PlanScope's drafting is grounded in English national policy and English local plans, so a Northern Ireland submission needs a reviewer to check it against the Strategic Planning Policy Statement and the relevant local development plan. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which report types a site is likely to need, then have the drafts reviewed before they are submitted.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your council, the Department for Infrastructure or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Who can ask for an application to be called in?
The power is the Department for Infrastructure's own and it is discretionary, so nobody can compel its use. A council, an objector, a statutory consultee or an elected representative can draw the Department's attention to an application, and that may prompt consideration, but volume of objection on its own is not a basis for a direction.
Can an application be called in after the council has resolved to approve it?
Yes. A direction can be issued at any point before the council actually determines the application, and a committee resolution to grant is not a determination until the decision notice is issued. That gap catches applicants who treat a favourable resolution as the end of the process and release funding or start site works.
Is there an appeal against a decision made after a call-in?
Not to the Planning Appeals Commission. The appeal route exists against council decisions, so where the Department determines an application at first instance the remedy is judicial review in the High Court. That tests the legality of the decision rather than the planning merits, and it runs to a short time limit, so the case has to be made properly first time.
How long does a called-in application take?
There is no statutory period that gives the applicant a remedy once the Department has taken the application, and there is no deemed refusal to appeal. Where a public local inquiry is held the process can extend well beyond a year. Option agreements, funding and survey programmes should be drafted on that assumption rather than on the council timetable.
Does the council's work carry over?
Yes. The case officer report, consultation responses and committee papers go forward with the file, and the Department will normally seek the council's views as part of its consideration. What changes is the decision maker and, where an inquiry is held, the depth of evidence the applicant has to prepare and present.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.