Environment Minister Arlene Foster today outlined her plans to streamline the planning process to the Chartered Institute of Building in Ireland (CIOB).

Speaking at the Northern Centre's annual dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick, the Minister said that an up-to-date planning system is critical to achieving the Executive's aim to build a peaceful, fair and prosperous society in Northern Ireland supported by a vibrant and dynamic economy and a rich and sustainable environmental heritage.

She said: "Since last summer I have set in motion measures which I believe will help the planning system. For example, greater use is now being made of pre–application discussions for strategically important applications."

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The Minister explained that this is a separate, additional advisory service where developers and planners discuss what supporting information is needed before an application is submitted - the aim being to speed up the time taken to issue a final decision.

She continued: "A successful pilot for streamlined consultation has been introduced to the city council in Londonderry, whereby non-contentious, minor applications, with no objections, are decided without the need for formal consideration at the Council Planning Committee scheduled meetings.

Ms Foster's Department have also established a Strategic Projects Division, which is working to ensure that economically and socially significant projects and those relating to major infrastructure are managed as quickly as possible.

The Minister and her team are exploring the possible expansion to include expertise from other organisations and functional areas, thus allowing for the creation of multi-disciplinary teams aimed at further improving the service and shortening processing times.

"While I am confident that these short-term measures will have an immediate beneficial effect on timescales for processing applications, I recognise that more fundamental change is required," she added.

A Planning White Paper highlighting key longer-term proposals is expected by the summer.

(VB)