Regionally significant planning applications in Northern Ireland are taking between 215 and 362 weeks to reach a decision, far exceeding the Department for Infrastructure’s own target of 30 weeks, the Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee has been told.

Committee chair Peter Martin, the DUP MLA for North Down, said the figures exposed a system that is not fit for purpose. The delay, he said, undermines investor confidence and acts as a brake on economic growth.

The committee also heard concerns about long wait times at the Planning Appeals Commission and delays in receiving consultation responses from statutory bodies, which compound the problem.

Martin argued that meaningful reform, including legislative change, is now urgent and must be driven by the Minister for Infrastructure. He said the current bureaucracy leaves applications effectively lost for years with no certainty for developers.

The department’s target for deciding regionally significant applications is 30 weeks. The actual timelines reported to the committee range from more than four years to nearly seven years.