NI roundtable sets out 'plans to improve'

Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has hosted a roundtable event in Belfast entitled ‘Plan to Improve: Pathway to Progress’. This event brought together organisations from across business, education, public sector, environment, councils and legal professions to encourage open and collaborative dialogue on the planning system.

Kimmins set out her plans for the next phase of the Planning Improvement Programme, saying: “It is ten years since the transfer of the majority of planning functions to local councils and in recent years my department has worked closely with local government and others to develop and implement a Planning Improvement Programme. This programme has already delivered a number of key pieces of work and initiatives, and we are already seeing some encouraging results – such as marked improvement in the performance of our planning statutory consultees, with around 80% of consultations being responded to within the statutory timeframe.

“This next phase of the Planning Improvement Programme will therefore involve working with professional and educational institutions to consider graduate and apprenticeship programmes.”