THE Environment Minister admitted today that developers such as Dandara are ignoring planning conditions with impunity because his department does not have enough enforcement officers to stop them.

Senator Freddie Cohen said that his department relied unsatisfactorily on members of the public living near the sites to inform them of departures from planning permits. During question time in the States this morning, the minister also admitted that Dandara, the builders behind the L’Hermitage development at Bel Royal, had breached conditions on the site unchecked. However, he said that he was considering new measures which would prevent developments being signed off or sold before it had been checked that they complied with the relevant permits. His admission prompted more questions about how effective his department could be when it came to policing the controversial plans to build almost 100 homes at Goose Green.