Last month (Thursday 2 October 2025), RSUA members met with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to discuss the planning system as the Department enters Phase 2 of its Planning Improvement Programme.
DfI was represented by Susan Wilkin, Deputy Director of the Strategic Planning Directorate, and Aideen McFerran, Senior Planning Officer within the Regional Planning Governance and Legislation team.
The Department’s session with RSUA followed dialogue with other stakeholders under the banner “Plan to Improve: Pathway to Progress”. This engagement focused on identifying the challenges and opportunities within the planning system and exploring measures to improve it.
Progress of the Planning Improvement Programme
RSUA members heard that since its inception in 2023, the Planning Improvement Programme has made good progress in streamlining processes and strengthening the planning system.
The Department outlined its individual engagement with each planning authority to review performance, identify challenges and explore solutions. DfI also highlighted the introduction of new legislation on Planning Application Validation Checklists, legislative changes intended to improve pre-application community consultation and streamline pre-determination hearings, and the ongoing review of the Planning (Development Management) Regulations (NI) 2015.
DfI noted that eight of the eleven draft Plan Strategies have been developed by local councils with its support. The Department added that it is now preparing to assist councils further in the development of their Local Policies Plans.
DfI also clarified that the Planning Improvement Programme is a joint programme, with changes developed and delivered collaboratively with councils and other stakeholders. It was noted that councils are autonomous and responsible for their own finances, resources and governance.
Enhancing wellbeing and collaboration
A specific focus of Phase 2 of the Improvement Programme is improving the wellbeing of planners, particularly given heavy workloads and the challenges of staff retention and recruitment.
DfI said it hopes that measures such as the new Validation Checklists will improve the application process by ensuring comprehensive submissions are provided at the outset, thereby alleviating some of the burden on officers.
RSUA members expressed that an important starting point would be to encourage better communication between planners and applicants, which could help foster more constructive and positive relationships.
Improving effectiveness and efficiency
The meeting then turned to ways of making the planning system more effective for everyone involved. RSUA members suggested that an ideal outcome would be a legislative requirement for a quality standard in planning applications, which could help reduce the need for planners to repeatedly review lower-quality submissions.
Additionally, DfI highlighted its ongoing work to integrate artificial intelligence to make planning more efficient and confirmed it is working with the Strategic Investment Board to explore how this can be achieved.
The challenge of seasonal surveys
RSUA members also emphasised to DfI the importance of councils avoiding requests for all supporting reports at the outset of an application where this would be unrealistic.
This was considered particularly relevant for seasonal biodiversity surveys, such as those for bats, as the limited availability of ecologists and the slow responsiveness of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) can result in damaging delays in processing applications.
DfI indicated that each council will bring forward its own statutory Validation Checklist, following a period of public consultation, which will provide an opportunity to raise these concerns.
The Department also said it was happy to consider raising this issue at the Planning Statutory Consultee Forum.
Further engagement
If you have any questions or comments about this meeting, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
