The draft Northern Ireland Planning Bill has been abandoned by environment minister Mark Durkan because legal advice suggested it would have been in breach of EU nature directives and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Durkan told the Northern Ireland Assembly on 22 October that the “toxic” draft bill would have exposed the executive to the risk of infraction proceedings from the European Commission, according to legal advice from an “eminent QC” received by his department. Durkan said: “Had the bill been approved by the house, I have no doubt that it would have been subject to legal challenge by people from outside the house, and possibly by some within it. That would have led to a complete slowdown of the planning system, which is entirely contrary to the original aim of the bill. The bill had been strongly resisted by green groups since amendments were added that would have tightly curtailed the right to challenge planning decisions through judicial review. Judicial review provides that governments can be held to account if they fail to act in accordance with the law. But the right to launch judicial review proceedings has been under attack in England as well as Northern Ireland, with challenges to planning decisions a particular focus. Had the Planning Bill been enacted it would have made certain legal requirements unenforceable. This would have included consultation requirements, rules against bias, and rules requiring planning authorities to take into account everything which is relevant and nothing that is not. The minister’s legal advice said: “Our view is that the exclusion proposed in terms of the grounds of challenges would amount to incompatibility with the ECHR.” Provisions in the bill for “economically significant planning zones” made no allowance for European protected sites designated under the EU Habitats and Wild Birds Directives. The minister’s legal advice was that this would have put the bill in breach of the directive and thus open to challenge by the commission. Explaining his decision, Durkan said that while judicial reviews were often high profile there were in fact very few of them. “Over the past three years, there have been fewer than 20 judicial reviews of the 44,000 decisions that the Planning Service has made.” He said: “Although the executive and, indeed, any minister responsible for planning, might not always welcome such challenges, it is fair to say that such a process is a fundamental right of citizens. “I could go a step further and say that the potential threat of judicial review has been one of the key reasons why the planning system has remained fair and objective.” Durkan said that in place of the bill he would develop a single strategic planning policy statement “to create a planning system that is fast, fair and fit for purpose”. A draft should be ready for consultation by the end of the year, he said. It should deliver for business “but not at the expense of our planet or our people”, he said. “I want to help to create a better environment and a stronger economy. Regrettably, the bill, as it stands, does neither.” The UK Government want to change the rules to judicial review, and if they go ahead it will make it more unlikely that outcomes such as this can take place. Please take our action, emailing your MP about these concerns before the consultation deadline this 1 November 2013. Source: FoE Campaign Hub
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 10:41:01 +0000
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