Hundreds of building developments in Northern Ireland put on hold due to the danger of water pollution have been given the go-ahead to continue through the planning process, it emerged tonight.
The proposals, which stalled because of fears the existing sewerage system could not handle more developments, will now progress to a final decision stage at the Planning Service.
The announcement followed a meeting of the Environment Minister Dermot Nesbitt and his Regional Development counterpart Mr Peter Robinson, whose department is responsible for waste water treatment.
Both ministers said they had made good progress in resolving the difficulties. However, decisions on other planning applications in areas where the sewerage infrastructure does not comply with EU and national environmental standards would remain on hold at present.
In a joint statement, the ministers said: "We still have some way to go to ensure that the sewerage system in all areas of Northern Ireland meets EU and national standards.
"This difficulty has again underlined the need for significant ongoing investment in our water and sewerage infrastructure, which has suffered from a long period of under funding.
"Further, the increasing stringency of EU and national environmental standards has made it more difficult for DRD's Water Service to fully comply, in all parts of Northern Ireland, in the short to medium term at least."
The ministers said their departments were working closely to resolve the complex legal, environmental and operational issues involved.
PA