The Planning Department is the arm of the St. Thomas Parish Council which acts as the facilitator to the parish in preparing and implementing plans and policies to encourage planning principles that promote rational, social, economic and environmentally efficient use of land now and for generations to come.
It is through this department that building & subdivision plans, and advertisements are enforced which accounts for majority of the revenue generated by the Council.
The Planning Department is responsible for ensuring that development within the parish occurs within an efficient, orderly and sustainable manner.
- Coordinates with internal and external agencies to effect the timely approval of building, planning and subdivision applications, in a bid to effect proper development control.
- Monitors and enforce developments to ensure that they comply with building, planning and/or environmental regulations and the development order.
- Review of Restrictive Covenants / Encumbrances
- Local Sustainable Development Planning
- Facilitate the preparation of Parish Development Plan
The Town and Country Planning Act of 1957, empowers the Town and Country Planning Authority to prepare in consultation with the Local Planning Authority, legal documents called Development Orders for specific areas throughout Jamaica.
The aim of these documents is to regulate and control the use of land ensuring that land is not misused. As the Map depicts, the Parish of St. Thomas is completely covered by Confirmed Development Order.