The Stormont Environment Minister Alex Attwood has highlighted serious procedural errors in two planning applications and has asked for them to be reprocessed.

The Minister recently called for the review of all Article 31 (major) planning applications. Following this two applications were found to have procedural defects.

These applications are for a foodstore at Buncrana Road, Londonderry and an Energy from Waste (EfW) power plant at Ballyutoag Road, Belfast. The Department of the Environment has withdrawn the two Notices of Opinion to Refuse these applications.

Regulation 18 of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations [trans-boundary effects] was not applied in relation to the application for the foodstore at Buncrana Road, Londonderry whereby Donegal County Council should have been given an opportunity to participate in the planning process.

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In relation to the Energy from Waste power plant at Ballyutoag Road receipt of further environmental information was not advertised as required under Regulation 12-14 of the EIA Regulations and consultation was not carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations.

The Planning Appeals Commission also had queried if the details of the representations received were complete - these are currently being checked.

Minister Attwood said: "I recently advised the Environment Committee of a failure in the planning system around the North South Interconnector planning application. At that time, I called for a review of all Article 31 and some other planning applications. Defects have now been identified in these two others cases.

"This is unacceptable and means that Departmental notices of opinion must be withdrawn and the applications reprocessed. The identification of these cases validates the need for the review of Article 31 applications. Nevertheless it is not good enough for this to happen and I have told planning officials bluntly of my views and what now needs to happen.

"I have spoken to the Chair of the Environment Committee, to explain how this situation arose, what is now being done to review important planning applications to ensure all processing requirements have been fulfilled, to identify where they might have lapsed and to rectify any and all weaknesses, failures or other inadequacies in the planning process.

"I have reassured the Committee Chair that all actions that are required to be taken will be. It is important that both of these applications are now processed without undue delay," he concluded.

(GK/BMcC)