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06/03/2014
Planning System Achieves High Levels Of Satisfaction
Around two in every three persons (67%) who had a planning application processed to completion during 2012/13 were either satisfied or very satisfied, according to the latest NI Planning Customer Satisfaction Survey.
The stats indicate an increase of just over 6% on the overall satisfaction level recorded in 2010/11.
The professionalism of planning staff was rated highly by 86% of respondents, while 53% felt that the level of fees charged for planning applications did not represent value for money.
Singular planning applications were predominately submitted by individual applicants in 2012/13 (71%).
75% of respondents reported that their planning application took eight months or less to process to a decision, while 35% of applicants stated that their application had taken three months or less to process.
The largest proportion (46%) of respondents classified their application as being residential. Of the residential applications, 35% were reported as being for single houses, while 44% were reported as being for an extension.
25% said that they had complained about planning and, of those who had made a complaint, 71% were not satisfied with how the complaint was handled.
Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said: "This survey is encouraging, reflecting the changes that my predecessor implemented, changes that I will continue to improve upon in DOE Planning. It is heartening to see that the end user has acknowledged that these reforms are working in their best interest.
"What I and DOE are about is improving the level of service and professionalism we provide to our users. We will continue to strive to improve on these impressive results to help achieve my vision of creating a less complex, more effective and more user-focused system. All this can be achieved without compromising on environmental standards."
(IT)
The stats indicate an increase of just over 6% on the overall satisfaction level recorded in 2010/11.
The professionalism of planning staff was rated highly by 86% of respondents, while 53% felt that the level of fees charged for planning applications did not represent value for money.
Singular planning applications were predominately submitted by individual applicants in 2012/13 (71%).
75% of respondents reported that their planning application took eight months or less to process to a decision, while 35% of applicants stated that their application had taken three months or less to process.
The largest proportion (46%) of respondents classified their application as being residential. Of the residential applications, 35% were reported as being for single houses, while 44% were reported as being for an extension.
25% said that they had complained about planning and, of those who had made a complaint, 71% were not satisfied with how the complaint was handled.
Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said: "This survey is encouraging, reflecting the changes that my predecessor implemented, changes that I will continue to improve upon in DOE Planning. It is heartening to see that the end user has acknowledged that these reforms are working in their best interest.
"What I and DOE are about is improving the level of service and professionalism we provide to our users. We will continue to strive to improve on these impressive results to help achieve my vision of creating a less complex, more effective and more user-focused system. All this can be achieved without compromising on environmental standards."
(IT)
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