Planning chaos is exposed

Planning chaos is exposed

10 February 2016

THE scale of the chaos within the district’s planning service has been laid bare this week with confirmation of a huge backlog of 1,600 applications.

On the eve of the publication of a major review into the operation of the planning department within Newry, Mourne and Down Council new figures have been released showing the scale of the problem.

A former planning director from Scotland has overseen the review which will be published next week and will recommend how the planning process can been streamlined.

The figures produced this week show:

• Almost 390 applications have been in the system for over 12 months and over 140 of those have been waiting for a decision for more than two years.

• It takes over 32 weeks to get a planning decision for run-of-the mill applications — more than twice the target time of 15 weeks.

• Major planning applications have a target time of 30 weeks but the new figures show it is taking over a year before decisions are being made.

• Last month each planning officer was dealing with an average of 84 applications, a figure which is rising on a monthly basis.

Crossgar councillor, Terry Andrews, who is chairman of the committee which scrutinises the work of the planning department, accepted there were problems and said the review is intended to help the planners deal with applications in an “efficient and effective manner.”

Signs of serious difficulty within the department started to emerge within months of it being taken over by Newry, Mourne and Down Council 

last April. Ten months on, the local authority was forced into a ‘critical review’ of its planning system amid mounting concerns about the time being taken to process applications.

Ahead of a special council meeting next week at which the review will be unveiled, senior council officials have confirmed its planning system is failing to meet performance targets as it struggles to cope with a huge number of applications for new development across the district.

Retired senior planning director, Jim MacKinnon, who has wide experience of running and improving planning systems in his native Scotland, has overseen the review. Senior council officials hope any recommendations can be agreed in April.

Last month, the council’s chief executive, Mr Liam Hannaway, said the organisation was transferred a service with the “highest level of backlogged applications and a staff complement which was not properly resourced.” 

He explained the complex geographical nature of the new council has meant operating from dual bases in Downpatrick — where there was a previous planning office — and Newry where there was no office.

The new council insists it recognises the importance of an efficient planning service to the local economy and housing need in parts of the district and on this basis has been externally recruiting new planners on a full and temporary basis. 

Councillor Andrews, chairman of the council’s Regulatory and Technical Services Committee which oversees planning, said planning staff are responsible for a wide area and are doing their best to process applications, but this work does take time.

He added: “We have ordered a review and I hope the outcome will pave the way for a planning system which can deal with applications in an efficient and effective manner and help ease the huge burden which has been placed upon our planning staff.”