Planning body is 'undermining economic growth' says auditor

The body handling major planning disputes in Northern Ireland has become a barrier to economic growth, a public spending watchdog has warned.

The review of the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) reveals a system with long delays, an "unacceptable" lack of accountability, and poor relationships between public bodies.

The report by the NI Audit Office has recommended a fundamental review of the PAC's status and governance.

The Auditor General Dorinnia Carville said: "The PAC has not been delivering value for money, and prolonged delays and backlogs risk making Northern Ireland a less attractive place for investment."

The PAC is an independent tribunal responsible for deciding planning appeals and holding public inquiries into regionally significant projects.

The Audit Office found that by August 2025, there were 20 major cases stuck with the PAC including so-called "Hear and Report" cases.

There are cases where the PAC hears evidence on a major scheme and then reports back to the infrastructure minister who ultimately makes a decision.

On average, these cases had been sitting with the commission for over two years, with nearly half stalled for more than three years.

At the time the Audit Office concluded its review, none of the major applications referred to the commission by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) since 2021 had been completed - though one has since been delivered.

The report warns these delays are having "major economic and environmental impacts," making Northern Ireland a significantly less attractive place for international investment.

The PAC's role as an independent examiner of local councils' development plans is also moving slowly.

The Audit Office estimates the full process of assessing these plans will not conclude until the mid-2030s - nearly two decades after it originally began.

The watchdog suggests a factor behind the stagnation is the PAC's unique legal structure.

Unlike similar planning bodies in England and the Republic of Ireland, which operate as executive agencies accountable to government ministers, the PAC is a Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Body.

This grants the PAC operational autonomy, leaving it as the only part of the local planning system with no statutory or formal targets for processing times.

Instead, the commission sets its own priorities. The Audit Office noted that none of the PAC's current corporate objectives are measurable, making a robust assessment of its performance nearly impossible.

The spending watchdog also highlighted a "fractured" and "strained" relationship between the PAC and the DfI.

Regular quarterly meetings between the chief planner and the chief commissioner have stopped, with communication reduced almost entirely to formal letter writing.

Lack of resources are also identified as part of the problem.

The PAC lost 11 experienced commissioners to retirement since 2017. While 17 new staff have been appointed, a lack of experience in handling complex, quasi-judicial cases has slowed the system.

The PAC only recovers 3% of its £2.7m running costs through outdated £150 appeal fees, while receiving no funding at all for processing major regional inquiries.

Last year the infrastructure minister announced £3m in emergency funding in an attempt to bypass the logjam, allowing the department to appoint its own independent inspectors to take over major cases from the commission.

The process of appointing those inspectors began earlier this month.

In an unusual move, the chief commissioner of the PAC has challenged the report's conclusions, contesting the Audit Office's legal remit to investigate its efficiency.

However, the auditor general maintains she is fully satisfied that the findings are within her legal mandate.