Inside the House – Comments – New consultation on Northern Ireland’s planning procedures – Lip service or real improvements?

Where is the “main” threshold for housing? (50 units or 2 hectares of land) exceeds Community consultation before application (PACC) must be carried out. PACC was introduced as follows.in Planning reforms in 2015 and important tools To get feedback from the local community in front Submission of a major planning application.

This process typically requires an in-person consultation event, but offers the following benefits: Percentage of online consultations introduced during coronavirus pandemic In terms of encouraging public participation It was clear.

Two options are proposed in the current consultation..first teeth Face-to-face events combined with website include Detailed information about the proposal to this comment can It has been submitted online.Second option teeth Either an in-person event or an online consultation event with virtual attendance. Both options provide opportunities for greater public participation and may lead to more meaningful outcomes in the process.

“While it would be nice to reduce the start and end times of the decision-making process a little bit, this does not solve some of the fundamental problems with the NI planning system.”

The current PACC system is also criticized by many people. Local resident Due to the lack of sufficient consultation, the possibility of improving the ‘front end’ input before the final design of the development is submitted could help reduce concerns and objections. The entire planning process could be sped up if the final proposal is tailored to local concerns.

of Although the proposed final changes are significant, relatively rare Case. The Department for Infrastructure has powers under the Planning Act 2015 to call applications considered by the government. be Council.Therefore, even if housing development application intention everytime Get used to it I stayed with Local councils and departments can issue “Article 17 instructions” to the council. to Refer request to department after approval (or rejection) teeth We agreed in principle.

The department can then decide whether to consider the application itself or refer the application back to Parliament to issue a final decision notice.

Section 17 directions will only be issued in certain circumstances, such as where a proposal does not comply with the local development plan or does not follow the advice of a key advisor.Even if the department returns the application, the process takes It will take months and cause significant delays.

To slow things down further, the council would need to conduct a pre-decision hearing (PDH) before making a final decision. addition further away cost and The general consensus is that PDH is essential because it delays decisions. Often unnecessary. The consultation therefore proposes to remove the requirement for mandatory PDH.

All of the above changes seem beneficial and any reform that helps speed up the planning process should be welcomed. No doubt many respondents would support these changes. In many ways, however, these changes are just window dressing. While it would be nice to reduce the start and end times of the decision-making process a bit, this does not solve some of the fundamental problems with her NI planning system.

“Even the current PACC system is often criticized. Local resident It means that there hasn’t been enough consultation.”

The main reason for delays in planning decisions is the speed of response from those who consulted and the lack of response from those who consulted. capacity within a council (or department) planning team, i.e. simply They struggle to cope with workloads, especially when it comes to complex and large-scale development. The real issue with the call-in process is the amount of time departments typically spend deciding whether to return an application, which is often well over six months.And for call-in actually took location, it could be much more two The process takes years.

The planning process is also constrained by the inability to accept objections. Time and time again, we have seen applications removed from council planning committee schedules, especially due to last-minute objections filed strategically with the aim of causing delays.

in fact, that These issues need to be addressed and require fundamental changes to both practices and procedures. With the relative tinkering around the edges proposed in the current consultation, a little difference Without them.

Andrew Ryan, Planning and Environment Partner And Belfast Training Center Director, TLT