‘That’s Another Fine Mess You’ve Got Us Into’: Sinn Féin, the DUP and the Planning Bill
We now have a new contender to add to the collection of misjudged, irrational and counter-productive legislative initiatives; the 2013 Planning Bill. This began as a relatively well-intentioned attempt to tweak the current planning system in advance of handing over most planning powers to the new local authorities in 2015. However this has evolved into a farce through a number of ill-conceived interventions made jointly by Sinn Féin and the DUP. First, they would not let it through the Executive …