A number of leading figures have attended the annual RICS Planning & Development Conference to discuss the way forward for the planning system.

The event was held at the Belfast City Hall and the conference heard from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Investment Jonathan Bell, Gerry Millar, Director, Property & Projects, Belfast City Council, and a range of experts from across the UK and Ireland.

Waheed Nazir, Director of Planning and Regeneration at Birmingham City Council spoke about the 'the Smart City approach' to attracting investment, looking at the latest innovations in technology and IT to improve regional attractiveness, and how to ensure timely and appropriate infrastructure for new business.

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RICS Northern Ireland Director, Ben Collins, said: "An effective planning process increases investment into a region, enhances the ability to compete on an international level, attracts talent, enables sustainable growth and maintains sound services.

"Whilst bedding in the transfer of planning powers from central to local government, processing times for planning applications in Northern Ireland since April 2015 have deteriorated. The emphasis of the conference is how we can work together effectively to improve planning performance and match the time-scales of top local authorities in the rest of the UK."