The Department of City Planning is mandated to guide and control physical and socio-economic development of the city.
The Department consists of the following Sections;
General Administration
This Section looks at the general welfare of the employees under the Department of Planning.
Building Inspectorate
This Section is tasked with the inspection of buildings that are being constructed, that are subject to trade i.e. for trade licenses. It also prepares monthly returns on developments and is in charge of development control (i.e. demolishing of illegal structures, closing trading premises if not in compliance with trading conditions).
District Information Centre
This Section is responsible for the collection and keeping of data from various sectors of the district. This information is accessible and available for use by the general public.
Geographical Information System (GIS)
GIS is tasked with the preparation of council building and location plans for sale, updating and numbering of city maps and the marking of roads on maps. Another key responsibility is Parcel Mapping which entails the digitizing and marking of plots of land on land locators.
Town Planning
The Town Planning section guides the city growth in line with the approved development plan. It is responsible for the creation of plots, building control and approval of building plans. It prepares layout and resettlement plans, as well as, process applications for consent to develop and modify plans.
Socio-Economic Planning
This Section is tasked with coordinating developmental activities in the district as it plays the role of secretariat to The District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC). It is responsible for the mainstreaming of Gender, HIV/AIDS, Disaster and other cross cutting issues in the City Planning administration. Socio-Economic planning of the City Council is set as the secretariat responsible for the disbursement of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Survey
This Section is the only section mandated to demarcate and pick the extent of land in the city of Ndola. It is involved in Cadastral (i.e. the demarcation of residential, commercial, small holding/industrial and farm plots), engineering and topographic surveys. It is also responsible for settling land boundary disputes through the verification of beacons of plots. Location and site plans that are required for people to obtain their title deeds are prepared through this section; however, this section is not mandated to produce survey diagrams.