DoE pledge on 'prompt' UK City of Culture planning applications

Chris Wilson of the DoE Human Resources and Organisational Change division wrote to Derry City Council during the autumn to address its concerns over staffing levels across the service.

In the letter Mr Wilson explained that in order to live within its budget the Department had a requirement to reduce its staffing numbers by about 350 posts in 2010/11 with approximately 270 of these being in the Planning Service.

He advised that by late October approximately 77 administrative staff had either moved, or had a date to move from the Planning Service or to other parts of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

He explained that 60 specialist planning staff had transferred on loan to the Land and Property Services (DfP) for two years but pointed out that by late October the Londonderry District Planning Office had lost just one member of its P&T cadre.

Mr Wilson went on to reveal that the DoE had been in discussions with the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Londonderry regeneration company Ilex regarding planning applications related to the City of Culture 2013.

He wrote:

"The Department is committed to ensuring that any planning applications related to the 2013 City of Culture will be dealt with promptly, drawing upon resources available across the Planning Service.

"However, due to the scale of financial pressures on the Planning Service and Department, it is not possible for the Department to give a commitment at this time to protect staffing levels and resources in any specific area of the Planning Service or indeed of the wider Department.

"Having said that, the Department is currently in discussion with Ilex and DSD about the resources required to deal with applications related to the 2013 City of Culture event."

He went on to address Council concerns that the local planning office was being downgraded which he denied to be the case.

"In relation to your concerns about the local Planning Office being 'downgraded,' I can assure this is not the case.

"The loss of posts in Planning Service affects all of its DPOs.

"What I can say is that the Planning Service, including the local DPO, will reorganise to live within its budget and reprioritise to live within its budget and reprioritise resources to ensure key services to customers can be maintained and the impact from the reduction in staff is minimised."