A SPOKESMAN for the environmental group, 'Friends of the Earth' said that the judicial review of PPS14 in the High Court only showed that the wrong department drafted the measure, and that the substance of PPS14 itself was not challenges.

Reacting to the decision of Mr Justice Gillen at Belfast High Court yesterday to declare Planning Policy Statement 14 'ultra vires and unlawful' John Woods, Northern Ireland Director of Friends of the Earth said; "It is difficult to see what Omagh District Council has achieved for its ratepayers by bringing this judicial review. The judge has not challenged the substance of PPS14. He has simply decided that the wrong Department drafted it. The Department of the Environment will now pick up where their colleagues in Regional Development left off and continue with the review of the policy."

He continued, "Although PPS14 has come under fire from our larger political parties, there is a growing consensus that the rapid suburbanisation of Northern Ireland's countryside is in no one's interest."

Concluding he said, "While it may be appropriate to amend some aspects of the policy, Environment Minister, Arlene Foster must ensure that the floodgates to building in the countryside remain firmly shut. This will be a key test of her commitment to Northern Ireland's environment."