Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014

Community involvement

73.—(1) A council and its community planning partners must seek the participation of and encourage the persons mentioned in subsection (2) to express their views, and take those views into account, in connection with—

(a) community planning;

(b) the production of a community plan for the district; and

(c) the review of community plans.

(2) The persons are—

(a) persons resident in the district;

(b) persons who are not resident in the district but who receive services provided by the council or one of its community planning partners;

(c) representatives of relevant voluntary bodies;

(d) representatives of persons carrying on businesses in the district;

(e) other persons who, in the opinion of the council, are interested in the improvement of the district’s social, economic or environmental well-being.

(3) For the purposes of this section “relevant voluntary bodies” means voluntary bodies whose activities directly or indirectly benefit the whole or any part of the district.

(4) A registered housing association which provides housing in the district is a relevant voluntary body for the purposes of this section.

(5) In this section—

“registered housing association” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992;

“voluntary body” means any association carrying on or proposing to carry on any activities otherwise than for the purpose of gain by the association or by individual members of the association.