An investigation into the planning status of a high-profile DUP constituency office has been put on hold following a belated application for permission, it has been revealed.

The premises at 9-11 Church Street, Ballymena, were opened last summer as a showpiece advice centre for then First Minister Ian Paisley and his MLA son Ian Paisley Jnr.

But as the Belfast Telegraph revealed earlier this year, planning approval to switch its ground floor from shop to office use had not been secured. The situation became the subject of a probe by the Planning Service of the Department of the Environment, one of the Government departments headed by the DUP.

A DoE spokeswoman this week confirmed that a planning application for retrospective permission has now been submitted.

“Investigations will be put on hold until a decision on this application has been made,” she said.

Mr Paisley Jnr was contacted by the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, but did not comment.

The DoE spokeswoman also said that the application for retrospective permission was made on July 11. She further stated that the applicant is James Currie of the company Sarcon no 250, the landlord of 9-11 Church Street. Mr Currie is Mr Paisley Jnr’s father-in-law.

The Assembly was told last month that a “breach of planning control” at 9-11 Church Street, Ballymena, was under investigation.

Investigations will be put on hold until a decision on this application has been made

The information was relayed by DUP Minister Arlene Foster, who said a retrospective planning application would be “processed in the normal manner”.

The Church Street premises had previously been a discount shop. Approval is expected to be swiftly granted for the change to office use on the ground floor.

Critics have accused the DUP of setting a bad example by not ensuring that planning matters were addressed at a much earlier stage.

Ballymena Council has meanwhile confirmed that a Building Control “regularisation application” for the premises was received on July 11.

The two-storey DUP advice centre was officially launched last November, with a weekly newspaper report noting that it had opened in July that year.

Mr Paisley Jnr was quoted ahead of the launch event describing the premises as “the best appointed constituency office of any party in north Antrim, if not further afield”.

There has been controversy over the publicly-funded rental expenses claimed for the property by the two Paisleys.

A Belfast Telegraph freedom of information request revealed in February that some £57,000 a year was being paid out, making it around three times more expensive that any other MLA’s office.

Mr Paisley Jnr defended the sum, pointing to the size of the premises and its facilities. These included a meeting place for 150 people, a suite of offices, a general office, a public area, kitchen and storage facilities and private car parking to the rear, he said.