RSUA and Causeway Council agree amendments to draft Planning Protocol

Today, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council issued a report confirming its agreement to incorporate recommendations made by our RSUA Local Group in relation to the Council’s new draft Efficient Processing of Planning Applications Protocol.

The report was published alongside a meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee, at which RSUA made a representation. Attendees included Murray Bell (Local Group Chair), Alana Durrent, Neal McCormick, Graeme Montgomery, Roisin McCann and Damien McLaughlin.

RSUA engagement on the Protocol

The stated aim of the Protocol is to set out the procedures that will be followed to deliver a more efficient system for processing applications and to assist in meeting statutory planning performance targets.

The Council first presented the Protocol to RSUA for comment following our meeting with the Council’s planning department in January, after which we provided initial feedback.

RSUA subsequently submitted a more comprehensive response in March, which was discussed at our most recent quarterly meeting with planning officers in Portstewart earlier this month.

Our full response can be accessed here.

Suggested amendments

Five recommendations were put forward by RSUA:

• Ensure responsibility for maintaining progress of an application will rest with the Planning Department as a whole, rather than any individual officer.

This item was discussed in the report but not incorporated.

• Requests for further information will, where possible, be consolidated into a single comprehensive request.

This item was incorporated.

• Case Officers should feel empowered to progress applications and issue a recommendation without mandatory escalation, while ensuring that senior oversight is available if needed.

This item was deemed to be covered elsewhere in the Protocol.

• Senior review and sign-off of the Development Management Officer Report and associated decision notice will be completed as soon as practicable following submission.

This item was incorporated.

• The Planning Department will undertake periodic reviews of a representative sample of applications to identify successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

This item was discussed in the report but not incorporated.

Further engagement

If you have any questions or comments about this update, or would like to join the RSUA Causeway Coast and Glens Local Group, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk