THE PLANNING system in Northern Ireland serves the people “poorly” or “very poorly”, according to four-fifths of respondents to a survey of stakeholders carried out by Queen’s University Belfast.
Commissioned by Friends of the Earth, it found that even among planners in the North’s Department of the Environment, more than two-thirds of those surveyed also believe that the system is failing to uphold the public interest.
The planners highlighted “issues of potential corruption, decisions being led by political interests rather than the broader public interest, interference by senior management in officers’ professional judgment and a frustration [over] lack of resources”.
Three-quarters of the total sample of 544 people believed the relationships between politicians and developers were too close – a view that was shared by 60 per cent of politicians and even by 37 per cent of developers and/or their agents.
Dr Geraint Ellis, of the university’s school of planning, who supervised the survey, said the finding “highlights what amounts to a widespread crisis of confidence in the Northern Ireland planning system” as well as suggesting a clear programme of reform.
“There is a very strong view that the planning system serves the people of Northern Ireland poorly or very poorly,” he told a public meeting in Belfast. That this view was broadly shared by the planners themselves made it “quite remarkable”.
Dr Ellis said the survey also provided “a clear message that a large majority would like to see greater environmental protection and improved enforcement as well a strong perception that we need to take the politics out of planning”.
He also made it clear that the survey was not a public opinion poll, but set out to get the views of the “policy community” – individuals and organisations that have the most involvement with or informed opinion of the North’s planning system.
James Orr, Northern Ireland Friends of the Earth director, said the survey showed a clear set of policies that people want to see addressed as part of a programme of planning reform – including the need for more transparency and accountability.
He said this would be particularly important when the majority of planning functions, including development control, were transferred from the centralised Planning Service to district councils next year.