Updated | Architects call out PA on non-functioning portal - Authority blames ‘hardware issues’

The Chamber of Architects  has lambasted the Planning Authority for its “unacceptable lack of formal communication” regarding its eApplications portal which was supposed to be available at the beginning of this week.

According to the Chamber, towards the end of 2016, the Planning Authority announced that it would be launching an upgraded version of its online eApplication portal. The old system was reportedly shut down on 23 December 2016, and the Authority confirmed that the new version would be online and functional as of 2 January 2017.

However, the Chamber claims that the new portal has not materialised and that, as a result, architects have been unable to submit new applications, download information from ongoing or decided applications, submit correspondence and drawings to the Authority, or generally provide their clients with services related to the eApplications portal.

According to a statement, the Chamber said that its council has repeatedly requested the Planning Authority to issue a clear statement to confirm when the system will be fully functional, and to inform architects and the general public as to how it will be dealing with situations where deadlines, which are bound by legal timeframes, could not be met, as a result of the lack of functionality of the portal.

“Such statement has not been forthcoming. The Chamber is therefore issuing this statement in order to advise the public of the lack of accessibility being afforded to the profession, impeding architects from successfully and confidently submitting and accessing documentation,” the statement read.

The Chamber added that through its daily communication with the Authority on this matter over the past week, it has acknowledged that “one would expect some minor teething problems with any new system.” Yet, it insisted that the lack of formal communication by the Authority is unacceptable.

“In accordance with legislation, planning applications are handled solely through the eApplications portal, and therefore the lack of functionality of such a system for the last two weeks is entirely unacceptable, as it is the sole means of communication with the Authority in this regard,” the Chamber said.

The Chamber called for the Planning Authority takes all necessary measures to ensure that the system returns to functionality without any further delay. It also requested that the Authority issues the appropriate statements and assurances, with particular regard to the matter of exceeded deadlines.

Planning Authority blames ‘hardware issues’ for reduced functionality

In its own statement, the Planning Authority reacted by insisting that it had worked to create a new and upgraded version of eApplications to provide users with increased functionality and better performance.

The Authority claimed that it had manage to move over to the new portal but that “hardware issues” impeded certain aspects of it. “To enable the launch of the upgraded system, the Authority planned to use its legislative inactive period, over the Christmas shutdown, to switch off the old eApplications system and migrate over 5 million records to the new system. Although the migration took considerable time the new system went live on 2 January 2017, as planned, and users could use the portal to view documents at once. Unfortunately the Authority is suffering from hardware issues which have set back the programming of some features of the new system,” it said.

The Authority said that architects and consultees were able to submit correspondence soon after launch, but that architects are still experiencing limited functionality. It added, however, that functionality was expected to return to normal by early next week.

The Authority advised all clients, especially architects, who experience problems due to the change-over to submit an email to the Authority on [email protected].