Last year there was an almighty row over the Westminster Government's planning reforms. Do you remember the uproar it caused? The National Trust, CPRE, the Daily Telegraph, ourselves and many others saw the draft National Planning Policy Framework as a developers' charter. The shires were up in arms and the Government were forced to concede major changes to inject some sense back into the proposals.
Well, in Northern Ireland, even more radical reforms look like they are about to passed. Thanks to last minute changes to proposed new planning legislation by Sinn Fein and the DUP, the scandal of last year's NPPF looks tame by comparison.
Here's the story so far...
Back in 2011, the RSPB welcomed the introduction of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. This long overdue piece of legislation did some good things including providing a general duty to promote sustainable development. It was hoped that this would do what good planning should do: neatly integrate the needs of communities, the economy and the environment. It was also an enabling piece of legislation that was going to help Local Councils get ready for their new role as planning authorities from 2015.
Towards the end of Spring 2013, it emerged that Environment Minister Alex Attwood had asked for new provisions in a Planning Bill, introduced initially to speed up implementation of the 2011 Act. Some of parts of the Bill provided more good news - for example recognising the potential of old mineral sites to give nature a home. However, more worryingly were Clauses 2 and 6 which meant economic development would gain a higher precedence than both societal and environment considerations in planning decisions. This was the principle cause of the row in England last year.
As a result, we joined forces with other organisations to campaign to press for truly sustainable planning. Through this campaign (www.amendthebill.com) over 7,000 messages were then sent to MLAs in support of amending Clauses 2 and 6. For Northern Ireland, this is massive demonstration of public dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, the Clauses were voted through in the Assembly, with the DUP using their veto power to quash an amendment which would have given environmental protection an even footing. The message was clear: the environment would not stand in the way of economic development, at any cost.
But the scandal does not end there.
Sinn Fein and the DUP also submitted last minute amendments that were, to the surprise of everyone, voted through. The new Clause 20 gives the First and Deputy First Ministers the power to designate ‘Special Economic Zones’ where development can proceed unconditionally. Disastrous news for wildlife in these areas. To make matters a lot worse, the new Clause 26 takes away the public's right to challenge planning proposals in the High Court. This means, for example, people would not be able to challenge the destruction of an Area of Special Scientific Interest (the Northern Ireland equivalent of a SSSI) resulting from a planning permission.
If this happened in England, I think the Daily Telegraph would glow red with outrage.
I wrote yesterday about what the key ingredients are to good planning. Northern Ireland is demonstrating exactly how not to protect the concerns of people and wildlife. The great clunking fist of the economic growth imperative strikes again.
It's not over just yet.
There will be a final consideration stage in the Assembly after summer recess and we will fight for positive planning laws until the Bill is finally passed.