66.—(1) A council must—
(a)initiate; and
(b)having done so, maintain, facilitate and participate in,
community planning for its district.
(2) Community planning for a district is a process by which the council and its community planning partners—
(a)identify long-term objectives for improving—
(i)the social well-being of the district;
(ii)the economic well-being of the district; and
(iii)the environmental well-being of the district;
(b)identify long-term objectives in relation to the district for contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in Northern Ireland; and
(c)identify actions to be performed and functions to be exercised by the council and its community planning partners (including actions and functions related to the planning, provision and improvement of public services) for the purpose of meeting the objectives identified under paragraphs (a) and (b).
(3) In subsection (2)(a)—
(a)the reference to improving the social well-being of the district includes promoting equality of opportunity in accordance with section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and, without prejudice to this, having regard to the desirability of promoting good relations; and
(b)the reference to improving the economic well-being of the district includes tackling poverty, social exclusion and patterns of deprivation;
and expressions used in this subsection and in section 28E of that Act (Executive Committee’s strategy relating to poverty, social exclusion etc.) have the same meaning as in that section.
(4) Every community planning partner of a council—
(a)must participate in community planning for the district to the extent that such planning is connected with the partner’s functions; and
(b)must assist the council in the discharge of its duties under subsection (1).
(5) For the purposes of this section, a reference to an action to be performed or a function to be exercised by a council or one of its community planning partners is a reference to an action or function which is within the powers of the council or partner.
(6) In the discharge of its duties under subsection (1) a council must where appropriate have regard to its plan strategy and its local policies plan under sections 8 and 9 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
67.—(1) The Department may by order specify the bodies or persons who are to be the community planning partners of a council.
(2) The Department must not make an order containing provisions under subsection (1) unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, the Assembly.
(3) The Department must not make an order under subsection (1) unless it has consulted—
(a)the bodies and persons specified in the order as community planning partners of a council;
(b)district councils; and
(c)such other bodies and persons as the Department considers appropriate.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to an order under subsection (1) which is made solely in consequence of a change of name of a body or in consequence of a body ceasing to exist; but such an order is subject to negative resolution.