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Patsy McGlone
6th October 2010
McGlone Calls for Better
Management in Planning Service
SDLP MLA for Mid Ulster, Patsy McGlone, has
called for better management of experienced staff and other resources within
the Planning Service. On Tuesday 28th September the Assembly passed a
motion, co-sponsored by Mr McGlone, calling on the Planning Appeals
Commission [PAC] “to carry out its work more efficiently and to give
priority to major planning applications on which public inquiries are to be
held.”
Speaking afterwards the SDLP Deputy Leader said, “We need an efficient
decision-making process for the Planning Service, the Department and by the
Minister because we cannot have major applications, which have serious
economic implications for the amounts of money that are available for
investment by investors and for the amounts of jobs that that could realise,
being held up at departmental level.
“It is not only the Planning Appeals Commission that is the sticking point.
Judicial reviews have the potential to stymie any development, irrespective
of the merits or demerits of that.
“Where there are major issues concerning job creation and investment, the
PAC needs to prioritise how it can resolve and deal with an issue. The fact
that only two commissioners are allowed to deal with a major planning
application that has been designated for a public inquiry concerns those of
us who want to see such things moved and brought off the shelf.
“Some area plans still remain to be resolved. If they are being held up at
the PAC, we need to know why and we need to see those matters move to
resolution.
“The key issue is resources and staffing requirements. There are not enough
staff in general and not enough staff with sufficient experience to deal
with the cases, especially where the call has been made to have major
planning applications fast-tracked to a public inquiry.
“Experienced and qualified planners can find themselves redeployed to, for
example, administrative duties for which they are not particularly qualified
for or particularly anxious to go into. Their experience should be used for
the public good and in the public interest. If staff need to be redeployed
there has to be some way of tapping into their knowledge. Better management
of those experienced staff makes sense.”
ENDS
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