AQW 23305/22-27

Mr Peter McReynolds
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 25/02/2025
Answered On Date: 12/03/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the average processing time for the (i) review; (ii) approval; (iii) and signing of a Departure from Standard within her Department for each of the last seven years.

Answer:

My Department does not record the average processing time for the review, approval and signing as each Departure from Standard (DfS) is unique a scheme and there are many issues that will impact on DfS processing times, including:

Their submission as a package of departures, as these are returned only when all have been reviewed;

The impact of legal, planning or financial implications for private developments may result in their application being placed on hold and not reviewed until all issues are resolved, which could be months or years;

Poor quality of submissions, which often results in longer review times and the need for significant comments to be addressed and for applications to be amended and resubmitted; and

Departures from Standard are normally processed in chronological order, however there are occasions when the Department will prioritise an application if we are made aware that it is urgent.

Staff availability and vacancies in the Divisions and Engineering Approvals team also impact on processing times, however, when possible, priority is being given to those applications that are highlighted as urgent by the applicants.