SDLP South Belfast Councillor Pat McCarthy has called on the Planning Service and elected members not to defer planning applications unnecessarily.
Speaking after last night’s Belfast City Town Planning meeting, Councillor McCarthy said:
“It was revealed at last night’s meeting that there has been a 40% decrease in the number of planning applications being sent to the Planning Service over the past three months.
“This means there will be a 40% less work for tradesmen, architects, building suppliers and a whole host of people throughout the construction industry.
“I would urge the Planning Service not to just rule out planning applications for the sake of it and to be more flexible and interpretive when assessing them.
“More people must be given the go-ahead to build if we are to survive these murky economic times.”