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Planning Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

We, too, generally support the order, but I should like clarification on two points. First, I am concerned about the proposal to allow the chief commissioner of the Planning Appeals Commission to delegate decision-making for certain appeals to a single commissioner. The proposal has been generally not welcomed in the built heritage sector in Northern Ireland. There are the obvious questions of transparency, fairness and consistency and of justice being seen to be done. To reduce the assessment from four commissioners to one seems fairly harsh. Would it not be more appropriate to have two commissioners? That might seem fairer to both sides. Secondly, we would also like to know why there is no provision for third party appeals. It is clearly inequitable to allow a refusal to be appealed but to prevent an approval being appealed. That is at odds with the ambition of community involvement, for it is often the local community that is powerless in situations where it is unhappy with particular approvals. Would that be at odds with any European judgments?