New planning office opens in Magherafelt
The transfer of planning to Mid Ulster District Council has come one step closer with the opening of a new planning office in Magherafelt.
A team of 40 planners and administrative staff will now manage current and new planning applications for the Mid Ulster area from the council offices in Co Derry town, bringing local planning to local people in the area for the first time.
The move comes after months of preparation and investment by Mid Ulster District Council to create office accommodation and has been hailed as a ‘significant milestone’ by Councillor Cáthal Mallaghan, Presiding Councillor (Chair) of the Council.
He said: “Until this point, residents across the existing Cookstown, Dungannon and Magherafelt council areas, have accessed the planning service in either Omagh or Ballymena. The re-location of staff is the first, very visible and practical way in which local people will start to see the change in how planning is to be delivered.
“This move is, therefore, a significant milestone in the process to transfer planning from central to local government and the office is a crucial element of the Council’s investment in, and preparations for, assuming responsibility for the planning function from 1 April this year”.
Chair of the Council’s Planning Committee, Councillor Martin Kearney, welcomed the team to Mid Ulster:
He said: “I’m delighted to welcome the new planning team to our district and, like all my council colleagues, am looking forward to working with them to meet the challenge of developing a planning system and planning policy which is fair, transparent and truly reflects the needs of the local area".
The DoE Planning team will work alongside future council colleagues while ensuring a normal planning service is maintained for the area covered by the new council.
All planning applications and queries for the Mid Ulster council area should be directed to the new planning office at Magherafelt Council Offices, Ballyronan Road, and members of the public can continue to contact the Planning Service as they do now via NI Direct 0300 200 7830.
All applications already in the system for the new council area will transfer along with the planning staff and planning officers will continue to process these as normal.
Photo shows Peter Hughes, of the new Mid Ulster planning team, talking to Councillor Martin Kearney, Chair of Mid Ulster District Council’s Planning Committee and Councillor Cáthal Mallaghan, Presiding Councillor (Chair) of Mid Ulster District Council, during their visit to the new planning office in Magherafelt.