Warning over relaxation of planning restrictions in North

Steps to loosen planning restrictions in the North and will line the pockets of developers and do little for rural communities, an Assembly member warned today.

Steps to loosen planning restrictions in the North will line the pockets of developers and do little for rural communities, an Assembly member warned today.

Jim Wells from the DUP said there would be a free-for-all from contractors eager to take advantage if changes to Planning Policy Statement 14 make it easier to build in the country.

Minister for Northern Regional Development Conor Murphy has called for a multi-departmental review of the policy, introduced in March last year after widespread opposition from country-dwellers.

“Developers are waiting with multi-applications ready to pounce if the minister relaxes that. It will do nothing for the rural community and everything to line the pockets of developers,” Mr Wells said.

There has been a drop of nearly two-thirds in the number of planning applications for single dwellings in the North.

Seen as the first tangible result of PPS-14, many feel they stand little chance under the rules.

There has been a heated debate between those representing farmers and other rural dwellers who believed the measure will strangle country communities and environmentalists who said it was necessary to prevent a bungalow blight and urban sprawl.

Omagh District Council has taken a judicial review of the matter in the High Court and the verdict is expected by the end of the month.

Farmers said they could not build homes on their land for their families, but green lobbyists claimed the proliferation of homes was caused by city-dwellers wanting more room.

A spokeswoman for the DRD said she had no comment to make ahead of tomorrow’s ministerial executive meeting.

Former planner Mr Wells sits on the Regional Development Committee at Stormont and will be among those quizzing Mr Murphy tomorrow.

The Sinn Féin minister will also provide an update on the Water and Sewerage Review.

Up to 500 jobs at the government-owned Northern Ireland Water could be axed over three years and Mr Murphy has proposed deferral of the water reforms until his 12-week review is complete.

Water charges have been universally unpopular and were put off for a year in one of the first actions by the devolved executive.

Meanwhile, the Assembly’s Finance Committee is considering a submission to the Varney Commission.

The Exchequer-appointed group is considering local taxation, including corporation tax and economic regeneration initiatives.