Belfast City Council's new Planning Service received a total of 1,945 planning applications and issued over 1,700 decisions in the 15 months since the devolution of powers.

Chairman of the Planning Committee Councillor Matt Garrett, who is stepping down from his position on 01 June, admitted the turnaround had not been without its difficulties.

Cllr Garrett said: "The issuing of legacy decisions, inherited from the former Department of the Environment, continues to impact on our ability to achieve statutory targets. Having said that, the average processing times for major applications by the Council's Planning Service is shorter than when we took over from the Department. That is a terrific achievement and a testimony to the dedication of the Service's staff.

-- Advertisement --

"As the largest planning authority, Belfast understandably receives the most applications, both of a local and a major nature.

"In regard to the latter, our work in transforming the city is supported by the evidence of the statistics. Since last April, we have granted planning permission for ten new hotel developments, totally more than 1,100 much needed rooms. We have granted approval to ten major purpose-built student accommodation projects, providing almost 4,400 beds for our growing student population.

"It has been a challenging year. But we have risen to most of the challenges placed before us, especially in relation to the time taken to make decisions on new applications."

(CD/MH)