To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what plans she has to improve the efficiency of the planning system.

Ms Mallon (The Minister for Infrastructure)

I fully recognise how important planning is in protecting our environment, shaping local communities and, of course, supporting and developing our economy, now more than ever, as we move into recovery from the pandemic. I am also very aware of the need for significant improvement in the performance of our two-tier planning system, particularly when it comes to statutory consultees. My Department has been working on a number of fronts to improve the system, including on the establishment of a cross-departmental planning forum, in order to take forward recommendations from a report into the role of statutory consultees in the planning process. A key focus of the planning forum's work is to improve the response times to meet the 21-day statutory consultation target, particularly for major planning applications. I recognise that the level of statutory consultee responses that are needed to respond to consultations on a timely basis is critical and particularly relevant, given the increasing number and complexity of planning application consultations. I recently raised the resourcing issue around planning consultations with the Finance Minister, and my permanent secretary has written to other relevant permanent secretaries seeking their assistance in order to ensure that adequate funding is available for their consultation response teams. I have also specifically asked to be briefed on a monthly basis by those planning statutory consultees in my Department so that issues impacting on their performance can be addressed appropriately and in a timely manner. A number of measures have been taken in order to ensure that that important work is placed on a sustainable and improved footing, including an inescapable resource bid in the 2022-25 Budget exercise to meet the funding requirement for the additional staff that are needed in the Department. The Department has also undertaken a review of the implementation of the Planning Act 2011, and that has identified 16 areas where we could further improve the performance of the system for all stakeholders, including in the Department for Infrastructure, councils, statutory consultees, developers and the wider public. Work on that will continue to be progressed in the coming months.

Ms Mallon

I thank the Member for her question. As I said, statutory consultee response times are important, and we need to see improvement on them. The cross-departmental planning forum that my Department established is focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning system by agreeing, prioritising and implementing the recommendations and actions that emerged from the report into the role of statutory consultees in the planning process. A work programme that involves 30 key actions has been developed, and, in total, 19 actions have been completed, with the remainder expected to be completed in 2022. I assure the Member that I recognise the importance of the issue. I have a firm focus on it, and I requested monthly updates in order to make sure that we continue to make progress on that important area.

Mr Buckley

Minister, I am sure that you realise that there is chronic concern in the industry regarding the performance of planning, particularly when to date not one local development plan has been completed by local councils or has maybe even got to stage 1. I asked the chief planner at Committee two weeks ago to tell me the number of regionally significant applications that had been submitted in the past 12 months. He was unable to answer. Can the Minister perhaps answer that question?

Ms Mallon

Unfortunately, I do not have that information to hand, but I am happy to provide the Member with it in writing following Question Time.

Mr Boylan

The Minister will be familiar with the proposals by the AERA Minister to change the rules on the single farm payment by increasing the threshold for making claims from 3 hectares to 10 hectares. That will impact on small farmers and those people who wish to reside in the countryside in the future. What assessment has the Minister done to ensure that we will have sustainable farms in the countryside in the future?

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr McGlone)

The Minister can answer the question if she so wishes, but it would, perhaps, be better addressed to another Minister, given that that is just a proposal.

Ms Mallon

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is an important issue. I assure the Member that, although it does not fall within my portfolio — it is led by the AERA Minister — my officials are engaging with their colleagues in DAERA because we recognise the importance of the issue. That engagement will continue, and I am happy to keep the Member updated.

Mr Chambers

Does the Minister accept that many of the delays in the planning system are caused by organisations that are under her responsibility, such as Rivers, Roads and, on many occasions, Northern Ireland Water? Does she have any detailed plans to improve that situation, especially given the impact on private-sector investment, as is being witnessed in Bangor?

Ms Mallon

I thank the Member for his question. It is an important issue. We have been trying to increase capacity in Roads and Rivers by reallocating staff. As I said, I have also requested monthly updates to ensure that we continue to make progress in the statutory consultees that fall within my Department, such as Roads and Rivers. I also submitted an inescapable bid to the Finance Minister for the three-year Budget. I identified it as inescapable because we need to increase capacity in statutory consultees, not just those in my Department; I am also mindful of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. My permanent secretary has been engaging with her counterparts to ensure that we get sufficient resources. We absolutely need to address it. In saying that, we are seeing a record high number of applications that are very complex. There is, of course, a need to continue to improve, given the importance of the issue to our economy and environment.

Mr Muir

Last year, your Department put a hold on Ards and North Down Borough Council's giving approval for the Queen's Parade development in Bangor. We are still waiting, 13 months later. When will you, as Minister, intervene, give the green light for that to go ahead and lift the holding direction that has been imposed on Ards and North Down Borough Council?

Ms Mallon

The Member and I have met to discuss that issue. He will be aware of the work that has been ongoing between my Department, the council and other key stakeholders to try to make progress. The holding direction was issued by my Department in February last year, and it is in place. The assessment of the notification is being finalised. It is my intention to respond to the council as soon as possible with a decision as to whether the application should be referred to my Department for determination. I assure you that I am mindful of the importance of reaching a decision on the matter and avoiding any unnecessary delays.

Ms Hunter

This is an important matter. What impact will the latest collapse of the Executive have on planning decisions?

Ms Mallon

Notwithstanding the collapse of the Executive, my officials continue to progress to a decision point all the planning applications that are before the Department for its consideration. Indeed, I have continued to take planning decisions, such as the decision to approve the reserved matters details for the maritime museum at Ebrington Square in Derry. I will certainly continue to take decisions where I can and where I am satisfied that referral would not be required.

Miss Woods

The Minister will be aware that a major problem with the planning system is the lack of openness, transparency and public participation. Does she agree that we must have equal rights of appeal for communities in Northern Ireland?

Ms Mallon

I thank the Member for her question. She has raised that issue on a number of occasions. The legislative and structural changes to the planning system that came into effect with the new two-tier system in 2015 are designed to deliver an inclusive, front-loaded system, with stronger third-party engagement and local democratic accountability. There are concerns that the introduction of a third-party right of appeal at the end of the development management process could undermine an applicant's commitment to community engagement at the start. That risks reducing certainty, and it could impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the planning system at a time when it needs to be responsive to sustainable economic recovery. I have asked my officials to keep the matter under review. That will include the consideration of recommendations that emerge from the work of the planning engagement partnership that my Department is undertaking, given the importance of having communities involved and at the heart of planning decisions.

Mr Allister

We can all make, and do make, valid criticisms of the planning process, but is it not also fair to say that it is not always the planning departments that are at fault? Take the example of the York Street interchange. It was in 2016 that the Department issued a notice to proceed. I know that there have been legal challenges since, but is it not the case that it is the Department that is dragging its feet and perhaps even playing constituency politics with the interchange?

Ms Mallon

I absolutely refute the suggestion that I play constituency politics with issues that fall within my role as Minister. As the Member rightly identifies, the York Street interchange has been subject to legal challenge. We also had a three-year hiatus, during which no Minister was in place. When I took up the post, I was very clear straightaway that I recognised the project's strategic importance but that we absolutely needed to make sure that we got it right. We need to get it right for all those who will use it and for the community that lives in and around it. That is why I carried out an independent assessment. That report is complete, and we are engaging with all our key stakeholders so that I am in a position to be able to announce next steps.