JUST a few hours after celebrating what should have been a memorable victory over the hated planning measure PPS14, Omagh District Council was dismayed to hear that DoE Minister Arlene Foster, was re-issuing PPS14 in its entirety from her department. The move corrects the anomaly, which allowed the so-called planning moratorium to be declared unlawful.

A spokesperson for the council said, "The Council correctly carried out its civic leadership role in challenging unlawful Government policy, and having done so successfully, created the opportunity for the Minister to move forward with an appropriate rural planning policy which would meet the needs of the diverse communities in Northern Ireland."

Chairman of Omagh District Council, Bert Wilson said, "It is regrettable that the Minister did not see fit to tone down the worst excesses of PPS14 which cause greatest hardship to rural dwellers, particularly the stringency of the 'needs' test and the criteria for replacement dwellings."

He continued, "The Minister has indicated that the re-instatement of PPS14 is an interim measure but it is unfortunate that she failed to make any adjustments to the existing draft policy to relieve some of the detrimental effects that it is having on rural families and on the sustainability of rural communities across Northern Ireland."

"This consultation (prior to the initial introduction of the measure) was meaningless as the department ignored the views expressed and the Minister has re-introduced it without any amendment."

He went on to call for an urgent overhaul of the Planning Service and of the planning function, and the need to have them devolved to local councils. "A rural planning policy which is both sensitive to the sustainability of the environment and appropriate to the needs of different parts of Northern Ireland is urgently required.

Meanwhile Fermanagh/South Tyrone MLA, Maurice Morrow, has welcomed the Minister's quick action on PPS14.

" I congratulate the Minister in acting so swiftly following Mr Justice Gillen's final ruling in the High Court on Thursday morning. The Minister's commitment to a fundamental review and the developing of new policies based on the principles of sustainability that strikes a balance between the need to protect our countryside from unnecessary development but that supports and allows our rural communities to flourish socially and economically is to be welcomed."

He added, "All the uncertainty around this controversial planning policy has been removed and opportunities will now present themselves for a fresh start.

"The Minister in her statement drew attention to the fact that 1900 applications for single dwellings have been received in the Omagh Division (which includes Fermanagh) since 7th September 2007."