A report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office has highlighted significant backlogs and long delays within the Planning Appeals Commission, which are contributing to constraints on the wider planning system’s ability to support economic and environmental development here.
The Planning Appeals Commission is responsible for hearing and deciding on planning appeals, conducting public inquiries and hearings, and reporting on some of the most complex and economically significant development proposals. The report, by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Dorinnia Carville, examined PAC delivery over recent years. It identified delays across all workstreams particularly regionally significant applications referred for public local inquiry or hearing. These applications are typically the most complex and significant developments. At August 2025 there were 20 live major cases of which almost half had been referred to PAC more than two years earlier.
The report also identified substantial weaknesses in governance and accountability arrangements, noting that the PAC has no statutory or formal targets for processing times and has no direct accountability for its performance to the Assembly. This differs from other jurisdictions, where planning bodies operate within clear accountability frameworks.
Comptroller and General Dorinnia Carville commented: “Previous Northern Ireland Audit Office reports have highlighted weaknesses in efficiency, effectiveness and collaboration within the planning system. This report identifies similar themes, but its findings are particularly concerning given the PAC’s pivotal role in progressing projects with such significant potential to create economic benefit for local communities. The PAC has not been delivering value for money, and prolonged delays and backlogs risk making Northern Ireland a less attractive place for investment.”
The report will form the basis for an upcoming Inquiry by the NI Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee which will commence in October.
The full report is available on to read on the NIAO’s website.
More information on the Public Accounts Committee Inquiry is available on the Assembly’s website.
