A backlog of planning applications in Northern Ireland will take six months to clear, the environment minister said.
Following a change in the planning system in Northern Ireland, more than 2,500 cases will be reviewed by the Planning Service.
The new planning policy statement replaces one established by direct rule in 2008, which placed a blanket ban on development.
Minister Edwin Poots said new homes will now be approved if they are part of an existing group of buildings and are linked to a focal point such as a church or crossroads.
Farmers will also be able to apply for planning permission to build on their site once every ten years.
Poots said: “This policy is a demonstration that devolution can deliver real tangible benefits for local people. Under direct rule, a blanket ban on development in the countryside was put in place.
“Through the Executive and this Assembly – which are accountable to the people of Northern Ireland – we have a policy that is a major step forward for rural planning and for the development of rural communities.’
The Royal Town Planning Institute has warned that plans to cut a third of jobs at the Planning Service would make it difficult to clear the backlog of deferred applications.
Brian Sore, RTPI Northern Ireland policy officer, said: “The RTPI has supported the introduction of a new rural planning policy in Northern Ireland, to allow controlled development in rural areas by giving planners more flexibility.
“However, the recent announcement by Minister Poots that almost one third of the Planning Service is to be redeployed, or made redundant, does not look in any way rational when there is already a backlog of planning applications, to which 2,500 previously refused applications will have to be added for review.”
