Belfast City Council has unveiled two draft masterplans aimed at shaping future development in key areas of the city centre and waterfront.

The Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) documents highlight proposed ‘Development Opportunity Areas’ in the Cathedral and Northeast Quarter, as well as Sailortown, Greater Clarendon and the City Quays district.

A 12-week public consultation has now opened, giving residents, businesses and stakeholders until Thursday 29 January to share their views on the plans.

The SPG is designed to complement and expand on policies set out in the council’s Local Development Plan, providing greater clarity on how key sites across Belfast could evolve in coming years.

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The SPG represents non-statutory planning guidance and is intended to be read in conjunction with the existing planning framework, as set out in the Belfast LDP.

Councillor Ryan Murphy, Chair of Belfast City Council's Planning Committee, said: "The Local Development Plan enables Council to develop masterplans to help regenerate key parts of the city.

"These will promote plan-led investment and help to encourage more housing and mixed-use development to support the objectives of the city’s community plan, the Belfast Agenda.

"They include a greater focus in placemaking and a heritage approach that will facilitate the creation of a high-quality environment for future residents and visitors and will provide more greater certainty for inward investment.

"SPG documents have been developed for two Development Opportunity Areas and provide a comprehensive masterplan approach to the future development of both the Sailortown, Greater Clarendon and City Quays areas and the Cathedral and Northeast quarter of the city centre - with an emphasis on placemaking principles and good urban design practice."