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Charter Standards Statement
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Introduction
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| The Planning Service
is an executive agency within the Department of the Environment for
Northern Ireland and our aim is "to plan and manage development in
ways which will contribute to a quality environment and seek to meet
the economic and social aspirations of present and future
generations". |
| There is an
increasing interest by the public in what is happening in their area
and what is proposed for the future. This interest may be centred on
general development such as housing schemes, industry, roads,
schools, open space or more personally focused on your own
development proposal or that of one immediately adjacent to where
you live. The latter often involves the building of a new home, a
house extension or the introduction of change to a well established
area. |
| In considering all
forms of development we seek to balance protection of the natural
and man made environment by ensuring that development meets the
needs of the present generation but does not compromise the ability
of future generations to meet their needs. |
| This Charter
Standards Statement is a declaration of our commitment to the
principles of the Citizens Charter in order to raise the standards
of service and make them more responsive to the needs of our
customers. Our customers include not only those seeking planning
permission but also those who wish to comment on what is proposed in
their area. We are examining all our means of communication with a
view to being more open and providing whenever possible additional
information. Whatever your reasons to contact us we aim to provide a
prompt, courteous, efficient and helpful service. |
| The Charter
Statement provides a summary of our main services and the standards
you can expect. We are fully committed to providing a high standard
of customer service by taking a professional approach to all aspects
of our business. We are also committed to achieving continuous
improvement in service delivery and indeed a number of continuous
improvement projects are in progress. These projects and other
objectives in the Agency's
Business Plan
aim to achieve an overall improvement in the standard and quality of
service to customers. Our actual performance against our Charter
commitments will be published in our Annual Report and reviewed
regularly against the background of your comments which we will
monitor by conducting regular customer surveys. I place great
importance on your views about our services. |
| If you wish to find
out more about our services or if you need advice about anything in
this Charter Statement, I invite you to contact staff in our
Divisional Planning
Offices
who will be glad to help |
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| T W STEWART |
| CHIEF EXECUTIVE |
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