‘Unfair to say planning system is failing’ - says councillor

While welcoming the fact that the report highlights the complexity of the planning system and the increasing demands faced by both local and central government, the Council does not believe that the system is ‘failing to deliver for the economy, communities or the environment’.

Chair of the Planning Committee, DUP Councillor Kyle Black, said: “To say that the planning system is failing and not working efficiently is inherently unfair and it is certainly not supported by the evidence.

“We are constrained by the legislative framework in which we must operate and insufficient weight is given to this aspect in the report’s consideration of performance.

“ For example, where there is criticism of councils here not having completed Local Development Plans, the original and untested timescales set to do so and the process were beyond our control.

“We have no choice but to follow the law and yet we are being criticised for doing so.

“And if you consider Mid Ulster specifically, we believe we are performing well. We have the third highest number of applications of all councils, amounting to 8481 between April 2015 and March 2021, with our processing times either meeting the 15 week target or slightly below it.”

Deputy Chair of the Planning Committee, Sinn FéinCouncillor Sean McPeake, added: “Mid Ulster made it very clear from 2014 that the transfer of planning powers as part of local government reform was inadequately resourced and was never going to be cost-neutral.

“It was inevitable from the beginning that the burden of funding the service would fall to ratepayers.”