Durkan 'Angry' Over Planning Service Cuts

SDLP Foyle MLA, Mark Durkan has said that the likely rundown of the Northern Ireland Planning Service is not in the public interest, just as it offends the employment rights and interests of the staff affected.

Speaking ahead of attending a lunchtime protest rally outside the Planning Office in Orchard Street, Derry, Mr Durkan said: "I fully understand the shock and concern of these civil servants – many of them professional planners – who find themselves threatened with wholesale transfer on grounds that expose the current lack of strategy in budget and civil service management.


"We all know about the complaints we have all reflected about the planning process. There is a need to make sure that it is well-geared and resourced to take positive developments forward as we strive for recovery after the recession, particularly in the construction sector."

He continued: "This proposed rundown of the planning service confounds the public interest, just as it offends the employment rights and interests of the staff affected.

"I know that many of them resent the devaluation of their work and the disruption and dislocation they now face – as well as the worry that they could be affected by deeper cuts in the future."

Mr Durkan has also written to the Environment Minister Edwin Poots and the Finance Minister Sammy Wilson voicing his serious concerns about the disruption and dislocation now facing local staff.

(NS/BMcC)