'Mismatch' in green image sold to tourists and reality

There is a mismatch between the green image of Ireland being sold to tourists and the reality that greets them when they arrive, Fáilte Ireland's environmental unit manager Paddy Mathews said yesterday.

He said a survey found that 80 per cent of visitors who came here last year were drawn by the scenery, and the vast majority were satisfied by what they saw.

However, the same visitors' attitudes survey found that 60 per cent of tourists believed the streets were cleaner in their own countries. Only 39 per cent agreed that the litter bins in Irish towns were emptied regularly.

"There's a mismatch between image and reality, between some of the images which are peddled in the marketplace and what we are actually serving up when they arrive," said Mr Mathews.

He was speaking at a conference on planning and heritage organised by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

Mr Mathews said while tourists may continue to come to Ireland in the short term even if the image and reality did not match, this could not continue in the long term. "The environmental image will track environmental quality."

He also called on tourism providers to look at their own environmental performance and reduce any negative impacts.

Mr Mathews pointed to a reluctance among some tourism providers to carry environmental rating labels because they feared that it suggested a reduction in quality, luxury and standards.

Earlier the conference heard that some people were using heritage as a weapon to stop planning developments.

Tim Carey, heritage officer with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said he regularly received calls from people asking if there was heritage in a certain area. "When the conversation continues it becomes apparent that their only interest in heritage is that it will stop the development."

He pointed to the proposed prison site at Thornton Hall, and said there had recently been "a huge increase" in interest in the heritage of the Co Dublin area.

"Was it because they particularly cared about the heritage of the area, or was it because people wanted to find something that would stop the development of the new prison?"

Mr Carey warned that the use of heritage to stifle development "rarely advances the cause of that heritage".

While much attention had focused on the damage caused to heritage by large infrastructural developments, it was the smaller residential and commercial schemes that had a larger incremental effect, "something akin to death by a thousand cuts".

The conference heard a call from Prof Gabriel Cooney of the UCD school of archaeology for a national landscape policy.

He said archaeology and landscape was often only considered when a problem arose in a development, such as the proposed motorway through Meath.

A national policy would help to avoid such controversies by elevating the profile of landscape issues and informing decision-making.

The conference continues today.

Alison Healy
The Irish Times

Historic house is saved by quick-thinking locals

This from the Indo:

THE quick thinking of local residents has saved one of Sligo's oldest buildings from demolition.
The early 18th century house on High Street, a protected structure, is considered one of the last surviving original houses on Sligo's oldest street.
In the days before Christmas, local people informed a councillor, Declan Bree, of their belief that the house was at risk of being demolished during the holiday.
It emerged that the owners of an adjacent building site had been asked by the owner of the protected structure to allow access to the back of the building through the site.
The development company at the building site advised council officials, who had remained on duty at City Hall, that such permission would not be granted.
Sligo Borough Council then received a request from an agent acting for the building's owner calling for its immediate demolition because it was "considered dangerous".
A council spokesperson said yesterday the owners had been advised that such a proposal would not be considered.
An Taisce has praised the vigilance of the residents.
Anita Guidera

Irish architectural heritage and protected structures

Irish architectural heritage and Protected Structures

This brief introduction is a practical guide to understanding the protection of structures of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest under the Planning and Development Acts, and the Planning and Development Regulations.

Under new arrangements which came into operation on 1 January 2000, the system of listing buildings has been replaced with strengthened procedures for the preservation of protected structures and structures in architectural conservation areas (we briefly covered these last week). Other historic structures may alternatively, or in addition, be protected under the National Monuments Acts 1930 - 2004.

A protected structure is a structure or part of a structure that a planning authority considers to be of special interest from an architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical point of view. Details of protected structures are entered by the authority in its Record of Protected Structures, which is part of the Development Plan. The owner and/or occupier of a protected structure are legally obliged to ensure that no danger is caused to the structure. This obligation applies from the time when an owner or occupier is notified of a proposal to include a structure in the Record of Protected Structures (at which time the structure becomes a "proposed protected structure").

The obligation to preserve a protected structure applies initially to all parts of the structure, including its interior, all land around it, and any other structures on that land and their interiors. The obligation also applies to any exterior or interior fixtures and fittings of a protected structure or of any structure on land immediately within its curtilage. If a declaration is sought, the planning authority can clarify which, if any, parts of the structure or its surrounding curtilage are not of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest, and therefore do not require special protection.

A structure becomes a protected structure when it is included in the Record of Protected Structures compiled by the planning authority. You can check with your planning authority if you would like to know if a structure is protected or proposed for protection.

A planning authority must follow certain procedures if it proposes to deem a structure to be a protected structure. These involve notifying the owners and occupiers of the structure and certain interested bodies of the proposal and also notifying the public by means of a newspaper advertisement. The owner or occupier of the structure, along with any member of the public, is entitled to make comments on the proposal to the authority. These comments are taken into account before the planning authority’s elected members decide whether or not the structure should become a protected structure.

An owner or occupier of a protected structure must ensure that the structure or any element of it is not endangered. Endangering a structure can mean either directly or indirectly damaging the structure, or any element of it, by neglecting the structure to such an extent that it is damaged

For a protected structure, exempted development works can only be carried out without planning permission if the works would not affect the character of the structure or any element of the structure that contributes to its special interest. You may seek declaration from the planning authority as to the type of works which would or would not materially affect the character of the structure and which would or would not require planning permission.

In the case of some structures where the decorative condition is of special interest, planning permission could be required for interior decorating such as plastering or painting.

So how does someone know what they can and can’t do? An owner or occupier of a protected structure may request the planning authority to issue a declaration regarding the structure and its curtilage. This will indicate the types of works that could be carried out without affecting the character of the protected structure or any element of the structure which contributes to its special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social and technical interest, and those which cannot. Works which are normally exempt and which do not affect the character of the structure would not require planning permission.

However, owners or occupiers who carry out such works without a specific exemption in a declaration from the planning authority do so at their own risk. An owner or occupier may request a declaration from the planning authority at any time, even where no works are contemplated.

A declaration is issued to the owner or occupant of a protected structure free of charge on application. A local planning authority will issue such a declaration within twelve weeks of receiving a request. It will be necessary for an official of the authority to carry out a detailed inspection of the structure. The applicant for a declaration may be asked to state the extent of the property in their control, and to submit a drawing or map outlining its extent. Although the declaration is available to be inspected at the planning office, no information of a sensitive nature will be included in the record available to the public.

A planning application involving a protected structure is made in the same way as any other planning application. However, because of the sensitivity of most protected structures to inappropriate works, a planning application for works to a protected structure will be generally required to be more detailed.

There any measures in place to assist owners and occupiers to preserve a protected structure? A scheme of grants is operated by county councils and borough councils, to assist the owner or occupier of a protected structure to undertake necessary works to secure its conservation. The standard amount of grant is 50% of the approved cost of works, up to a maximum of €13,000. A planning authority may, at its discretion, vary this amount downwards or, in exceptional circumstances, upwards, subject to a maximum allowable grant of 75% of the approved cost of works, or €25,000, whichever is the lesser. Any grant greater than €13,000 requires the prior approval of the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

Planning authorities have special powers in relation to protected structures:

It may require an owner or an occupier of a protected structure to carry out works if it considers that the structure is or may become endangered or if it considers that character of the structure ought to be restored.

It may acquire, by agreement or compulsorily, a protected structure if it considers that this is desirable or necessary in relation to the protection of the structure. Compensation may be payable.

Any person who damages a protected structure or proposed protected structure commits an offence. It is also an offence to undertake any work to a protected structure which requires planning permission without obtaining that permission.