Proposals for local councils to have more control over the generation of Northern Ireland's towns and villages have been welcomed.

Work is underway to condense the province's 26 local authorities into 11 super councils.

These new councils will have more planning powers, which assemblyman Billy Armstrong said is a good thing.

"One of the weaknesses of the current arrangements is that functions are spread across Departments, most notably Social Development, Regional Development and Environment," said the UUP MLA.

"That does not make for quick decision-making. The more powers that are transferred to new councils, the better it will be."

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He said: "Local councillors, whether in Cookstown, Coleraine or Carrickfergus, are better placed to know the needs and wants of the communities that they serve than unelected civil servants who sit in offices in Belfast."

Mr Armstrong called on the Environment Minister to publish Planning Policy Statement 5 as soon as possible, to give new councils the confidence to introduce and implement regeneration plans.

However, the MLA said necessary funding to carry out the works must also be put in place.

"The new councils will not only need the legal powers to make a difference; they will require sufficient funding to enable them to carry out town centre regeneration functions.

"That is a key point, because past experience tells us that bureaucracy's first instinct is to centralise power, not to give it up."

He added: "The past years have seen a welcome change, and policymakers have been able to shift their focus to ensuring that our much-neglected towns and cities receive the care and attention that they badly need."

(PR/BMcc)