A new Audit Office report warns that backlogs in Northern Ireland’s planning appeals system are affecting investment certainty.

The Northern Ireland Audit Office has warned that long delays within the Planning Appeals Commission are adding pressure to an already stretched planning system.

Its strategic review says the Commission, which hears planning appeals and reports on some of Northern Ireland’s most complex development proposals, has faced significant backlogs, resourcing pressures and weaknesses in governance. The report concludes that the PAC has not been delivering value for money and warns that prolonged delays risk making Northern Ireland a less attractive place for investment.

For Chamber members, the issue is practical. Planning delays can affect the delivery of housing, commercial premises, renewable energy, infrastructure and major community projects. The Audit Office says that, as of August 2025, there were 20 live major “Hear and Report” cases with the PAC, with almost half having been referred more than two years earlier.

“Hear and Report” cases are applications referred to the PAC by government departments, often involving regionally significant or called-in projects. In these cases, the PAC holds an inquiry or hearing and sends a report with recommendations, but the final planning decision remains with the Department for Infrastructure.

One recent North West example is Strabane Athletic F.C.’s multi-sport facility. The Audit Office listed the Strabane multi-sport facility among outstanding Regionally Significant and called-in cases with the PAC at the end of August 2025. The PAC later confirmed, in November 2025, that it had sent its report to the Department for Infrastructure, with release of the report now a matter for the Department.

The Audit Office also highlights wider delays in planning appeals. Average decision-making times rose from 23 weeks in 2016-17 to 73 weeks in 2024-25, although more recent cases submitted in 2024 were decided more quickly, at an average of 25 weeks.

The report recommends a fundamental review of the PAC’s status, structure, governance and accountability, alongside clearer performance measures, plans to clear backlogs and stronger engagement with the Department for Infrastructure and councils.

For Derry and the wider North West, the message is clear: businesses, investors and community organisations need confidence that important projects can move through the planning system within clear and predictable timescales.

The takeaway: Planning reform is not abstract, it matters directly for North West investment, regeneration and confidence in delivery.

You can read the full NIAO Planning Appeals Commission here.