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Union makes official protest over Sammy’s attack on his own staff
Friday, 30 January 2009
enlargeThe trade union for Northern Ireland civil servants has made an official complaint over an attack on planners by Environment Minister Sammy Wilson.
And it has challenged a senior DoE official to express her confidence in the under-fire employees.
Mr Wilson recently rounded on planners in his own department over a refusal decision on the proposed Aurora skyscraper in Belfast city centre.
A long-time supporter of the Aurora apartment scheme for Great Victoria Street, he claimed officials were resisting development because of their own “prejudices”.
He also stated: “Planning officers have a role to play in kick-starting the economy and in this case they have failed and failed abysmally.”
Civil service union Nipsa has now written to the chief executive of DoE's Planning Service, Cynthia Smith, to underline its concern. The union described Mr Wilson's comments as “totally unwarranted” and stressed that officials assess applications on the basis of established planning policies.
The union also said it was “surprised and dismayed” that the Minister had instigated a “direct attack” on the professional integrity of staff.
The letter — from Nipsa Assistant Secretary Paddy Mackel — further pointed out that the Aurora proposal is still in the planning system.
It has been referred by Belfast City Council to the DoE Planning Service's Management Board, which has the power to overturn the refusal verdict.
“Accordingly, I would seek your assurance that you have full confidence in the professional integrity of your staff and the process followed to this point in the application,” Mr Mackel stated.
“We would also seek an assurance in the interests of both your staff and the public that the process which provides for a subsequent decision to be made by the Management Board will not be compromised by the expressed lobbying by the Minister in favour of this development.”
A spokeswoman for the Department said: “The Planning Service has received Nipsa's letter and is considering it.”
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DA - you clearly haven't examined the proposal!
If playing it safe means protecting the Sandy Row Community from "enviromnental degradation" due to diplaced carparking demand from this development, or protecting a beautiful listed building from having to sit adjacent to 4 floors of modern car park, or preventing people having to live in appartments of 320sq feet (sub-standard for Housing Executice requirements), then planners have made a very good decision!
Wht planners should be open to is quality development, which Aurora clearly falls far short of!
Posted by MA | 04.02.09, 20:40 GMT
Ok Mr Wilson may of been a bit harsh, but I can see his point of view.
My understanding is that the Planning Service have been consulted about this project for a number of years in order to help gain the planning permission needed, so I'm guessing planners from either Public or Private sector must of had some input. So it can't be that far out of the planning comfort zone for a green light.
If a developer is willing to still invest in such unstable economic times then why not give it the green light?
This sort of thing would put other possible large scale investers into the city off, as planners seem to play it safe and not open to new ideas into the heart of the city. As with most other cities once the options to grow out it limited then it must go up. Belfast is no longer the industrial city that it was founded on, so change is a must.
Posted by DA | 03.02.09, 14:22 GMT
Oh and one more thing! Good to see that a "DOE Civil Servant" can find the time to be online at 10.09 a.m. when all the staff involved in the Aurora decision would have been hard at work!
Are you aware that there is such a thing as the NICS policy for the use of IT facilities? You really need to familiarize yourself with it pronto!
Posted by Planner | 30.01.09, 18:48 GMT
Oh really "DOE Civil Servant?" How was he right? I take it you're as equally qualified as the people in Planning Service and NIEA who assessed this application? No? And would you dismiss it as a "non-issue" if Wilson made a public attack on your agency?
And by the way it's spelt "really," great advert for the civil service you are!
Posted by Planner | 30.01.09, 18:26 GMT
NIPSA relaay should be concentrating on the pay and conditions of service for their members not this non issue.. For once Sammy was right.
Posted by DOE civil servant | 30.01.09, 10:09 GMT