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Planning Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

I, too, welcome the new planning restrictions and models. It is important for our countryside especially, since I live in it. The Minister announced the blanket restrictions—not ban—on planning in the countryside. What upsets some people is that although people may say, ““You in Northern Ireland have built the most terrible things””, it was the planners who permitted them to be built in the first place. I well remember even 10 years ago saying, ““Why are you allowing bungalows to be built?””, and they said, ““No, we are not allowing bungalows”” and up went another 10 bungalows, for whatever reason. Therefore, the control of planning is absolutely vital. What the Minister said that has angered some people is that it seems to be a blanket ban. We have already talked about rural areas in the previous order, and they differ in many ways. There are areas of outstanding natural beauty, and so on. There are also areas that historically—before the Famine—had many more houses. I do not suggest that we want to go back to those levels of housing. However, people would like to know when there is good argument for building in certain areas, which would maintain the rural population that is going down in some marginal areas. We are not talking about what you see when you go down the A4 to Enniskillen—which unfortunately is loads of bungalows and new houses. I accept that entirely. There is the issue of local rural schools, churches, post offices and so on, and the maintenance of that rural environment. Although I accept that there are appeal systems, the way that it came out in the announcement last week, and the way that it is coming out in PPS 14, which is up for consultation, is that it is very much a blanket ban. Some people are throwing up their arms in horror. I hope that the Government will be reasonably flexible and will understand what is really going on in those marginal areas.