SDLP and Sinn Fein are hypocrites on environmental planning policy

Alliance Sustainability Spokesperson Cllr Alan Lawther has called the SDLP and Sinn Fein hypocrites on PPS 14 and said that the Executive is in disarray over planning. His comments come the day after it was revealed that the Executive will not have met between mid-June and mid-September.

Antrim Councillor Alan Lawther said: “The Executive is in total turmoil. This news has thrown planning into disarray with the confusion still remaining over PPS 14.

“The SDLP and Sinn Fein will not accept PPS14 and this is one of the main factors which led to the cancellation of Executive meetings. The stance these two parties are taking is totally hypocritical. One day they are shouting their environmental credentials from the rooftops, the next they refuse to support a policy that will protect our countryside.

“There is total confusion on planning at the moment with the Executive scuttling away until mid-September. A massive number of applications have been deferred because PPS14 is on ice. This is not good for business and is certainly not good for local people. The Executive needs to get its act together and must do it quickly.”

ENDS