Planning changes 'right balance'

Sammy Wilson said that he wanted to protect the countryside

The new rural building policy balances the needs of rural dwellers and protecting the countryside, Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has said.

The new guidelines governing the building of new houses in the countryside, PPS21, replaces PPS14.

The SDLP's Patsy McGlone, who chairs the environment committee, said that it does not go far enough.

But Mr Wilson said he believed they had "got the balance right" but added he knew they "could not please everyone".

The minister said that he wanted to move away from the previous "draconian" policy, but that he would not give in to advocates of "building everywhere".

"I think that the policy that we have now walks that fine line between needing to have more homes in the countryside, for people who live and work there, and not spoiling it totally," he said.

Mr McGlone claimed the relaxation of the rules would not be of benefit to 80% of rural dwellers, who he said, do not fit into the category of having a proven case or a case for replacement dwelling.

"Where I come from, where people are largely of small farm holdings the only significant change from the original PPS 14 is the name," he said.