IN A NUTSHELL AS TO WERE WE ARE Paul Givan (DUP) I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the development opportunities at Sprucefield and, in particular, the Westfield planning application that included the John Lewis store as the key, anchor tenant. That opportunity has been well documented and would have brought £150 million of investment to Northern Ireland. It would have created around 600 jobs in the construction phase and up to 1,500 retail jobs in Northern Ireland at a time when they are desperately needed. Furthermore, it is important for Members to note that John Lewis would have been opening a distribution centre in Northern Ireland had the application been put through. So it is not just about the retail opportunity; the distribution centre and the jobs and investment that come with it would have been part of the development located in Northern Ireland. Members will be familiar with the long history of John Lewiss engagement with Northern Ireland, which stretches back almost nine years. Let me go through, for the record, how it all started. In June 2004, plans were announced for the first John Lewis store in Northern Ireland to be built at Sprucefield, Lisburn. In November 2004, Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce lodged a formal objection to the planning application. In June 2005, direct rule Minister, Lord Rooker, gave the green light for the John Lewis store and 29 outlets in conjunction with it. In May 2006, Belfast High Court upheld a legal challenge from traders from Belfast and Lisburn, which effectively quashed the planning permission. In March 2007, the Government gave the go-ahead once again. In August 2008, the developer submitted new plans, reducing the number of retail outlets from 29 to 19, and vowed that, as Sprucefield was the only option, ultimately, the development would end up south of the border if the plan was refused. In February 2009, the Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson, announced a public inquiry into the application. In November 2009, Sprucefield Centre Limited applied to the Department of the Environment (DOE) for planning permission for retail, restaurant and associated infrastructural development, and the Department designated it as a major planning application — an article 31 planning application — and requested that the commission hold a public inquiry. In June 2010, the public inquiry was adjourned on its first day because of a new legal challenge by rival traders, who alleged that the DOE failed to advertise the scheme properly. In 2012, a mid-inquiry meeting was held by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) to ensure no further delays in the decision. That is where the process has got to since 2004. It is laughable that we are talking about something that started in 2004. Throughout the process, there has been frustration. There has been legal challenge from Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce and commercial enterprises. I do not blame commercial interests for wanting to challenge this legally. They have the right to do so. I do not object to that, but I object to the courts facilitating a clear conflict of interest — a clear commercial interest — over a planning application. In other places, there is provision for that to be ruled out, and that should be established in Northern Ireland so that the courts do not have to constantly frustrate planning applications because people who have a clear vested commercial interest are trying to block them. Indeed, some of the same organisations then push the boundaries to get planning permission for themselves, but it is all right for them — once they get planning permission, they will do all that they can to stop anybody else getting it. Then, of course, in January this year, the Minister announced a new area plan, limiting development at Sprucefield to bulky goods only. The nail in the coffin was administered, and John Lewis announced that it was withdrawing its application, but awaits the Executives consideration of the attempted change in planning policy by Alex Attwood.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:12:03 +0000
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