Northeast Area and Land Use Plan (Draft)
Pont Casse and Environs (Draft)
Portsmouth and Cottonhill Land Use Plan (Draft)
Roseau Development Plan
Warner Land Use Plan
What is land-use planning?
Land-use planning is the term given to public policy carried out by the Planning Division that guides how land is used. It is the systematic assessment of land potential balanced with environmental impacts and current and future demands. The primary goal of land-use planning is to balance the needs of the resident population with the needs of the environment.
Land-use is divided into residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, tourism and urban development, wildlife, conservation/forestry and protected lands. Some of these uses can compliment the other and others don't. For example, an industrial building situated in a residential area is a conflicting land-use as is a residential home placed in agriculture lands. Access also plays a big part in the area of land-use because despite our seemly abundant supply of land, sometimes it is not properly utilized or the constructed access to it is not up to standard.
The intention of land-use planning is to adopt and put into practice those land-uses that will satisfy the needs of the people while preserving resources for the future.
Making the best use of limited resources
Despite in limited supply, land must provide us and our growing population with our most basic needs of food, water, fuel, clothing and shelter. Land becomes an increasingly scarce resource as our numbers and ambitions increase.
New demands on land means it's use must change, however such change brings new struggles between conflicting uses, the concern of the particular land users and the common good. Agricultural land lost to housing and industry or the development of new farmland that interfere with forestry, wildlife and water catchments are examples of changes that must balance between a demanding population and environmental stewardship.