§ Mr. HumeTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals the Government have to 199W introduce the right of third party appeals in the planning process in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [108173]
§ Angela SmithThere is no proposal, at present, to introduce third party appeals to the Northern Ireland planning process. When the Draft Planning (Amendment) (NI) Order 2003 was being considered by the House of Commons I indicated that I was commissioning a Regulatory Impact Assessment of the impact which third party appeals would have, if introduced. When complete, this will be published as part of a full consultation paper. Any decision to introduce third-party appeals in advance of that consultation would be premature.