Mrazik

Already impacting across the water: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11224398

No. The massive over-zoning of land and construction of housing (ghost estates), building in the flood plain and other innappropriate locations and seemingly rampant corruption was the problem, not 3rd party rights of appeal. :angry:

That's because in England there is a long established performance indicator system with applications split into major and minor with corresponding targets for decision times (8 and 13 weeks if I remember correctly). I would hasten to add that having a good turnaround time for applications is a good thing, but that much of what eventually gets passed here, mightn't in England, especially in the countryside...

Of some relevance: http://www.isni.gov.uk/Performance.aspx

I agree with you PJ re the ROI planning system and have posted this before which gives some strong opinions of what went on: http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/research/documents/WP59-A-Haunted-Landscape.pdf. However, I think as long as the Greens have the key planning portfolio they will make radical changes to how the system operates and will undoubtedly learn from their mistakes. Will we in the dreary North? Your comments about councillors who are also EAs is interesting because there would also appear to me to have been a bit of a similar nexus here (won't name names). In fact, contrary to what BelfastVI said my observation of many local councillors, albeit virtually powerless, was that they often used whatever position they had to shove through developments even him in public supporting objectors. I've also wondered about how many estates agents have large property portfolios themselves and use their gatekeeper position in the market to try and control supply, demand and price movements...

If only Poots hadn't put the RPA on the back-burner we might actually get to a system that is a lot more democratic and transparent. It would certainly become a lot easier to pinpoint who individually is to blame (and equally who should get a pat on the back when they get it right). This definitely won't be a panacea, however, and in the short term could actually be quite damaging but there's only one way yo learn/improve. Do you know how much a judicial review might cost? I bet you can count the number of JRs on planning issues on one hand in NI in any one year, in spite of the huge number of smaller, local cases that would probably be successful if they weren't so damn expensive to take. For all the major flaws in planning in the South their third party right of appeal system at least offers equitable ground between developers and third parties in challenging decisions on planning (rather than legal/administrative) grounds. They also have a much speedier default decision system (8 weeks) to counter-balance potential time delays.

Where have you been? PPS21 got rid of green belts. You don't have to go too far to see what happens when you can "do mostly want you want" with you land...and be paying the consequences for a very long time...

I think you're completely wrong VI. Most planning applications sail past the local councils. Have a look for yourself at the small number of deferred applications: http://apps.planningni.gov.uk/council_schedules/ In addition, over 90 per cent of applications are consistently approved. See for yourself over the last decade: http://www.planningni.gov.uk/index/tools/about-statistics/common-eplanning-stats-publications.htm The massive problems of the NI system to my mind are the time delays (in development management and development plan making) and the uncertainty in how the planners will interpret policy as they never seem to be consistent. It's almost maladministration on a massive scale when they produce so many policies and plans at great public expense and then consistently ignore them.

Are we nearly there yet: http://www.rte.ie/business/2010/0901/arrears.html

Latest out: http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2010/5294.html

I wonder who they are: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-11070971

I presume the dog cage is thrown in for free: http://www.propertynews.com/brochure.php?r=1&c=166&s=105415148&i=40&p=ASGASG1789&fp=1&sort=h2l

Norn Iron ones can't be far away: http://www.rte.ie/business/2010/0823/nama.html

Among the victims of Ireland's property crash are newspaper groups themselves: at the height of the boom in 2006, The Irish Times bought property search website Myhome.ie for €50m, a sum it would now be unlikely to fetch.Given that this was written in the Independent on Sunday, part of the Independent News and Media, owner of the, ahem, Belfast Telegraph, why did they not mention our old friend Propertynews.com instead?

Seems like Mr McClelland may finally have a point worth listening to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-10954095

Wonder what the next UU/NIHE/UB survey will say... transaction levels up (moderately) but prices down?

If you're planning something more ecologically friendly than the average Norn Iron cave: http://www.ecology.co.uk/

Blondes

You jog wobbly?

Yes, but of course that relates to the bankers, not the clients (anymore).

The recovery takes holds: http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/lloyds-irish-unit-bosi-has-44pc-bad-loans-2284693.html

A dysfunctional place like Northern Ireland needs much more transparency on financial, planning and property related issues. The press in South, particularly the Independent, are now taking a great interest in all this type of 'publicly available information' and I reckon this will lead to some fundamental institutional/legislative change, including to the overall planning system (legislation already going forward) but also to bring about more property market transparency. Even the Construction Industry Federation is now calling for a house price register! What about the North? SFA. Well done with the posts PJ. Although I've known what and where from this kind of information could be gleaned I've never really been bothered to do much digging. Were a journalist to start doing this sort of investigative work it would provide a great public service. Inevitably with this sort of process (which I have done with planning apps.), joining all the jigsaw pieces together might lead to some interesting places...

Mile high club indeed

Enjoy: http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/research/documents/WP59-A-Haunted-Landscape.pdf

...not to mention the terrible misfortune of having a terrace of Victorian buildings burnt to the ground on Quay Road: http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=69985