Designations are intended as a long-term planning tool. The designation provides the ‘approval’ for the work or the project, but often the details of the project or work are not available at the time of the notice of requirement. For instance, many projects take several years before construction begins due to funding procedures or land acquisition processes. The outline plan stage allows details of the project or work to be provided to the territorial authority at a later stage, rather than with the notice of requirement.
Where considered necessary, the territorial authority can request the requiring authority make changes to the outline plan. If this is done, the requested changes cannot exceed the scope of the confirmed designation and the designation itself cannot be revisited.
