In light of the rising public interest involving Special Development Orders (SDOs), the Ministry of Home Affairs encourages the public to follow the proper procedure for submitting objections to ensure their comments reach the appropriate authorities and contribute to the final decision. Only those objections submitted following the proper procedure will be considered.
The complete process by which SDO applications are considered is set out in the Development and Planning Act 1974, which is available online, as well as the Department of Planning’s Procedures for Making Special Development Orders.
Any person wishing to comment on any SDO submission must do so within 21 days of the date advertised. Information on how to submit comments is available online via the Department of Planning’s Commenting on Planning Applications Guidance Note. In the case of petition-style objections, each representation must be verifiable, including all signatories. To this end, the name and address of each person making comments must be included in all cases, otherwise the comments will not be considered.
SDO submissions are available for viewing at the Department of Planning's Customer Self Service (CSS) portal. Persons without internet access may view hard copies of SDO submissions at the Department of Planning's front desk in the Dame Lois Browne-Evans Building, 5th Floor.
It is vital to understand that these procedures should be followed by all who wish to express their views and have them contribute to the final decision on any submission.