Meath councillors were responsible for the rezoning thousands of acres of land, much of which is now covered in unsaleable buildings, writes FRANK McDONALD , Environment Editor
THE BATTLE of the Boyne was fought only once, but what happened in Co Meath in recent years was a series of skirmishes, some prolonged – over Tara and the M3 motorway, the incinerator at Carranstown, near Duleek, EirGrid’s plans to march pylons across the landscape, and the new hotel opposite Trim Castle.
The county’s population has also grown faster than anywhere else in Ireland over the past 15 years. It went up by 22.1 per cent between 1996 and 2002, and grew by a further 21.5 per cent in the following four years, as the 2006 Census found.
Land owners and developers made fortunes catering for this population explosion. New houses appeared everywhere, particularly in large, relatively low-density suburban estates on the outskirts of Navan, Trim and Kells.
Smaller settlements also exploded in size, with Laytown/Bettystown growing by 60 per cent, Ratoath by 91 per cent, Enfield by 102 per cent and Stamullen by 219 per cent – all between 2002 and 2006.
As a result, Meath nearly achieved its target population of 164,000 under the 1999 Greater Dublin Area Strategic Planning Guidelines five years ahead of time. And it did so courtesy of councillors defying the guidelines by rezoning vast tracts of land at the behest of their owners – enough by 2002 to accommodate a population of 240,000.
The booming population and haphazard pattern of development in Meath had knock-on effects in terms of the provision of schools and other facilities. Primary school enrolments in Ratoath quadrupled to nearly 1,000 in the eight years to 2003, while prefab classrooms became common in east Meath as schools struggled to cope.
It also generated more traffic congestion on the N3, as many of the new residents of Meath came from Dublin and still commuted to the city by car. Even as conservationists stirred up opposition to the M3 motorway, mainly because of its impact on Tara, a pro-road group called Meath Citizens for the M3 rallied in favour of the route.
But some of the most vocal conservationists came late to the Tara cause, only entering battle after the M3 had been approved by An Bord Pleanála in August 2003. They were not among the objectors at its lengthy oral hearing, and this contributed to the archaeological landscape being undervalued in the boards decision.
It was the board’s approval for the route proposed by the National Roads Authority that gave Dick Roche cover for declining to intervene as minister for the environment in 2005. Declaring that there was “no way” he could revisit the board’s decision, he issued the licences for archaeological excavations, thus allowing the M3 to proceed.
Even after the discovery of a highly significant prehistoric henge along the route at Lismullin, near Tara, he authorised its demolition under the guise of “preservation by record” – despite being told that National Museum director Dr Pat Wallace was “very perturbed about the protection of the ambience of Tara” after the M3 went through.
Roche’s decision – made just before the Fianna Fail-Green Party coalition took office in June 2007 – effectively let his successor, John Gormley, off the hook. By that stage, despite all the protests and even clashes between activists and security personnel hired by the road builders, construction of the M3 was well under way; the game was up.
Meath on Track campaigned for a reopening of the railway line to Navan but this only developed legs when Fianna Fail had to fight a by-election there in 2005. Martin Cullen approved phase one of the project, from Clonsilla to Pace (Dunboyne), which is due to open in October. A Railway Order application for the rest is to be made in 2011.
Another decision by An Bord Pleanála cleared the way for the State’s first municipal waste incinerator to be built at Carranstown, between Duleek and Drogheda; the scheme by Indaver Ireland had already been approved by Meath County Council’s planners, in the face of widespread concern locally about its environmental impacts.
The same outcome is likely in relation to EirGrid’s plans for the second North/South electricity interconnector, which would involve erecting 167 pylons across Co Meath, intruding into sensitive landscapes such as the Boyne Valley. But the appeals board is asking the right questions about the Slane bypass, which could also be intrusive.
In Trim, there were question marks over how permission came to be granted for a 68-bedroom hotel across the road from the most important Anglo-Norman fortification in Ireland – Trim Castle. The Heritage Service of the Department of the Environment had objected to it but was prevented from appealing by its political boss, Martin Cullen.
As Fintan O’Toole wrote, “A public, internationally heralded policy of preserving and protecting one of the most important historical monuments in the country clashed with the interests of a local developer and the local developer won hands down.” Trim Castle Hotel opened in July 2006.
“Facilitating development” in Meath was the priority, no matter what the context. That explains why councillors were quite willing to rezone land for housing in known flood plain areas in Dunboyne and Bettystown. Many new homeowners in Dunboyne feared their houses would be unsaleable after severe flooding there in November 2002.
Meath councillors embarked on another rezoning mission in 2005, with hundreds of acres of land up for grabs around Bettystown, Laytown, Gormanston, Mornington and Stamullen. By that stage, prospective developers were offering to “donate” land for GAA pitches and other community facilities in return for being allowed to build more housing.
The councillors proceeded with rezonings despite being warned of “grave repercussions” by county manager Tom Dowling. In March 2007, they adopted a new county development plan, ignoring a call from the Department of the Environment that they should “de-zone” some of the excessive amounts of land then designated for development.
As a direct result of this developer-led “planning”, Meath now has nearly 4,100 acres of land zoned for residential use that has yet to be developed – one of the highest figures for any county; it is exceeded only by Cork, with 7,710 acres, Kerry with 6,250 acres (prior to the recent dezonings), Monaghan (4,360 acres) and Laois (4,148 acres).
Chickens are coming home to roost. A four-storey apartment block on the River Blackwater in Navan is being sold off on the instructions of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Agent HT Meagher O’Reilly is seeking offers of around €2 million for the 31 apartments and four retail units. The price equates to a bargain-basement figure of about €57,000 per apartment.
Six other apartments in the block were previously sold for over €250,000 each, so the bank stands to lose at least €3 million – and this is only one of several blocks around the town now lying vacant. A large number of houses bought by Dublin commuters at Johnstown are also empty and difficult to sell, with prices down by 60 per cent.
But at least Navan has its Solstice Arts Centre, a “black box” designed by Grafton Architects, who were also responsible for the civic offices in Dunshaughlin, and new civic space designed by Paul Keogh Architects to give the town some coherence. Which is more than can be said of the Office of Public Works’ new headquarters in a field on the edge of Trim.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label zoning and planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zoning and planning. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Leash put on rezoning, developer-led planning
Commuter Counties revisited: Co. Laois : When Laois councillors tried to earmark acres of land for ‘development’ the then minister for the environment, Dick Roche, stopped it
CO LAOIS has the distinction of being the first county in Ireland where a minister for the environment used his powers to overturn land rezoning decisions made by councillors against planning advice. And this served as a warning to others that they could be next in line for similar ministerial intervention.
The fact that it was a Fine Gael-led rezoning mission probably made Dick Roche’s decision to take action easier. So did the sheer brazenness of the councillors in designating hundreds of acres of land for residential development on the outskirts of 21 villages in Laois, including Borris-in-Ossory, Durrow, Stradbally and Timahoe.
Killenard, a village 5km from Portarlington, should have served as an object lesson in what not to do. With almost no warning and certainly no plan, it was swamped by suburban housing, gathered around the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort. And when the developers moved in, some of the local farmers became millionaires overnight.
The running was made by Portlaoise-based Tommy Kane, of Corrigeen Construction, when he got permission in 2001 for an 18-hole golf course designed by Seve Ballesteros and a road layout for future housing development. And since all of the land was unzoned, there was no obligation to provide any “social and affordable” housing.
His first salvo was followed by separate schemes for a five-star hotel, 82 semi-detached and terraced houses, a golf clubhouse, leisure centre, golf academy and driving range, indoor bowls arena, 18 “golf villas” (one of them built for Ballesteros) and a par-three golf course. This was classic “developer-led planning”, on a staggering scale.
A similar fate lay in store for all the other villages in Co Laois if Dick Roche hadn’t acted to stop the rezoning frenzy in 2005. All of it was being done behind closed doors, with the initiative coming from Fine Gael councillors supported by Progressive Democrat and Sinn Féin colleagues. Fianna Fáil opposed what it called “blanket rezonings”.
Of course, there was no provision in the Midlands Regional Planning Guidelines, adopted in April 2005, for the villages of Co Laois to become engulfed by suburban housing aimed at Dublin commuters; its focus was on building up the urban structure of the region based on a “hierarchy” of towns, such as Portlaoise and Portarlington.
An Taisce, among others, argued in favour of developing villages as a viable alternative to indiscriminate one-off housing in the countryside. But this would mean preparing detailed local plans, rather than simply zoning land as was being done in Laois. The Heritage Council also stressed the need to draw up “village design statements” first.
No such steps were taken before the council decided, by 12 votes to nine, to proceed with the controversial rezonings. Cllr John Bonham (FG) said they were taking “a holistic approach to planning. People want to live and be able to afford housing in local areas, go to local schools, support local businesses; this gives them that opportunity.” But Cllr Jerry Lodge (FF) said members of his party had walked out of the meeting after being “denied the opportunity” to speak.
“We had proposed that there should be local area plans for each of the villages to ensure there was proper and sustainable development in each case, but the chairman [Cllr William Aird (FG)] wouldn’t listen to us.” As minister for the environment, with powers to intervene under the 2000 Planning Act, Dick Roche gave them a hearing, however. This resulted in a submission being made on his behalf after the draft county development plan went on public display, in which it was made clear that he would use those powers if the rezonings were confirmed.
Roche said he intended to “frustrate” what the councillors were doing and later described as “insufferable” the council’s decision to proceed with the rezoning of sufficient land for 34,900 new homes – more than nine times what was actually needed – despite being told that this threatened to turn villages into dormitory towns.
He also became the first minister for the environment to enunciate as policy that publicly funded sewerage services would not be provided for land zoned in defiance of regional planning guidelines. This was one of the most effective weapons in the Department’s armoury to deter “maverick” rezoning decisions, yet it had never been used previously.
Finally, in October 2006, Roche refused to approve the Laois county plan, saying the councillors’ decisions to zone enough land to accommodate the entire population of the midlands up to 2020 were “grotesquely irresponsible”, and he had seen the negative effects of such activity in his Wicklow constituency over the previous 30 years.
Despite his intervention, Co Laois now has nearly 4,150 acres of zoned land available for residential development – sufficient for some 6,000 new homes at standard suburban densities, to accommodate a nearly 17,000 people. A recent survey by the Department found 632 newly built homes empty and as many again nearing completion.
Most of the development was taking place in and around Portlaoise and Portarlington – driven by Dubliners “leapfrogging” into Co Laois and commuting to work in the capital, usually by car on the newly-improved roads. Iarnród Éireann’s train services also found new patrons, many leaving their cars in park-and-ride sites at the stations.
The population of Portarlington has nearly doubled to 6,000 since the mid-1990s. But Laois County Council was ill-equipped to plan for this growth, as it had only two planners before 2000 and only set up a forward-planning unit in 2002 when the horse was “half-way out through the door”, as senior planner Peter Dolan conceded.
No wonder nearly 47 per cent of the council’s decisions were reversed on appeal by An Bord Pleanála in 2006. It was still happening in 2008, when the board overturned planning approval for Tesco to develop a new outlet in Portarlington; even the planning application acknowledged that the site was in the River Barrow’s floodplain.
A year earlier, the Office of Public Works announced a €9 million flood relief plan for Portarlington, involving the erection of flood walls and embankments along the Barrow and its tributaries. The avowed aim was to protect existing properties at risk while simultaneously improving the town’s development potential.
IN PORTLAOISE, things turned sour for the local GAA club after it agreed in 2007 to sell its grounds to Cork-based Firestone Developments for €19 million, to make way for retail, residential and commercial scheme. An Bord Pleanála refused permission, citing its edge-of-town location, and Firestone pulled out – leaving the club with a €6.5 million debt.
But Laois county manager Peter Carey was determined to capitalise on Portlaoise’s location at “the crossroads of Ireland” by facilitating the development of a “logistics and distribution park” on a site of 250 acres adjoining the M7. The scheme was to include 278,706sq m (three million sq ft) of warehousing and parking for up to 15,000 cars.
First unveiled in 2004, this ambitious development is taking a long time to materialise and has not been helped by the current recession. Apart from Iarnród Éireann’s national train depot, built at a cost of €65 million, it includes an “incubator unit” of 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) for business start-ups, developed by the council, and not much else so far.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
CO LAOIS has the distinction of being the first county in Ireland where a minister for the environment used his powers to overturn land rezoning decisions made by councillors against planning advice. And this served as a warning to others that they could be next in line for similar ministerial intervention.
The fact that it was a Fine Gael-led rezoning mission probably made Dick Roche’s decision to take action easier. So did the sheer brazenness of the councillors in designating hundreds of acres of land for residential development on the outskirts of 21 villages in Laois, including Borris-in-Ossory, Durrow, Stradbally and Timahoe.
Killenard, a village 5km from Portarlington, should have served as an object lesson in what not to do. With almost no warning and certainly no plan, it was swamped by suburban housing, gathered around the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort. And when the developers moved in, some of the local farmers became millionaires overnight.
The running was made by Portlaoise-based Tommy Kane, of Corrigeen Construction, when he got permission in 2001 for an 18-hole golf course designed by Seve Ballesteros and a road layout for future housing development. And since all of the land was unzoned, there was no obligation to provide any “social and affordable” housing.
His first salvo was followed by separate schemes for a five-star hotel, 82 semi-detached and terraced houses, a golf clubhouse, leisure centre, golf academy and driving range, indoor bowls arena, 18 “golf villas” (one of them built for Ballesteros) and a par-three golf course. This was classic “developer-led planning”, on a staggering scale.
A similar fate lay in store for all the other villages in Co Laois if Dick Roche hadn’t acted to stop the rezoning frenzy in 2005. All of it was being done behind closed doors, with the initiative coming from Fine Gael councillors supported by Progressive Democrat and Sinn Féin colleagues. Fianna Fáil opposed what it called “blanket rezonings”.
Of course, there was no provision in the Midlands Regional Planning Guidelines, adopted in April 2005, for the villages of Co Laois to become engulfed by suburban housing aimed at Dublin commuters; its focus was on building up the urban structure of the region based on a “hierarchy” of towns, such as Portlaoise and Portarlington.
An Taisce, among others, argued in favour of developing villages as a viable alternative to indiscriminate one-off housing in the countryside. But this would mean preparing detailed local plans, rather than simply zoning land as was being done in Laois. The Heritage Council also stressed the need to draw up “village design statements” first.
No such steps were taken before the council decided, by 12 votes to nine, to proceed with the controversial rezonings. Cllr John Bonham (FG) said they were taking “a holistic approach to planning. People want to live and be able to afford housing in local areas, go to local schools, support local businesses; this gives them that opportunity.” But Cllr Jerry Lodge (FF) said members of his party had walked out of the meeting after being “denied the opportunity” to speak.
“We had proposed that there should be local area plans for each of the villages to ensure there was proper and sustainable development in each case, but the chairman [Cllr William Aird (FG)] wouldn’t listen to us.” As minister for the environment, with powers to intervene under the 2000 Planning Act, Dick Roche gave them a hearing, however. This resulted in a submission being made on his behalf after the draft county development plan went on public display, in which it was made clear that he would use those powers if the rezonings were confirmed.
Roche said he intended to “frustrate” what the councillors were doing and later described as “insufferable” the council’s decision to proceed with the rezoning of sufficient land for 34,900 new homes – more than nine times what was actually needed – despite being told that this threatened to turn villages into dormitory towns.
He also became the first minister for the environment to enunciate as policy that publicly funded sewerage services would not be provided for land zoned in defiance of regional planning guidelines. This was one of the most effective weapons in the Department’s armoury to deter “maverick” rezoning decisions, yet it had never been used previously.
Finally, in October 2006, Roche refused to approve the Laois county plan, saying the councillors’ decisions to zone enough land to accommodate the entire population of the midlands up to 2020 were “grotesquely irresponsible”, and he had seen the negative effects of such activity in his Wicklow constituency over the previous 30 years.
Despite his intervention, Co Laois now has nearly 4,150 acres of zoned land available for residential development – sufficient for some 6,000 new homes at standard suburban densities, to accommodate a nearly 17,000 people. A recent survey by the Department found 632 newly built homes empty and as many again nearing completion.
Most of the development was taking place in and around Portlaoise and Portarlington – driven by Dubliners “leapfrogging” into Co Laois and commuting to work in the capital, usually by car on the newly-improved roads. Iarnród Éireann’s train services also found new patrons, many leaving their cars in park-and-ride sites at the stations.
The population of Portarlington has nearly doubled to 6,000 since the mid-1990s. But Laois County Council was ill-equipped to plan for this growth, as it had only two planners before 2000 and only set up a forward-planning unit in 2002 when the horse was “half-way out through the door”, as senior planner Peter Dolan conceded.
No wonder nearly 47 per cent of the council’s decisions were reversed on appeal by An Bord Pleanála in 2006. It was still happening in 2008, when the board overturned planning approval for Tesco to develop a new outlet in Portarlington; even the planning application acknowledged that the site was in the River Barrow’s floodplain.
A year earlier, the Office of Public Works announced a €9 million flood relief plan for Portarlington, involving the erection of flood walls and embankments along the Barrow and its tributaries. The avowed aim was to protect existing properties at risk while simultaneously improving the town’s development potential.
IN PORTLAOISE, things turned sour for the local GAA club after it agreed in 2007 to sell its grounds to Cork-based Firestone Developments for €19 million, to make way for retail, residential and commercial scheme. An Bord Pleanála refused permission, citing its edge-of-town location, and Firestone pulled out – leaving the club with a €6.5 million debt.
But Laois county manager Peter Carey was determined to capitalise on Portlaoise’s location at “the crossroads of Ireland” by facilitating the development of a “logistics and distribution park” on a site of 250 acres adjoining the M7. The scheme was to include 278,706sq m (three million sq ft) of warehousing and parking for up to 15,000 cars.
First unveiled in 2004, this ambitious development is taking a long time to materialise and has not been helped by the current recession. Apart from Iarnród Éireann’s national train depot, built at a cost of €65 million, it includes an “incubator unit” of 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) for business start-ups, developed by the council, and not much else so far.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 20 April 2009
Keegan overruled in Carrickmines retail zoning
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council has cleared the way for a much bigger retail development on land part-owned by developer Michael Cotter in Carrickmines, despite objections from the county manager.
Councillors voted to redesignate the site a "district" centre, increasing the level of retail space permitted by 6,000 square metres to 25,000 square metres. The decision, which was carried by one vote, was made against the recommendation of county manager Owen Keegan, who was concerned the move would lead to retail space well in excess of the area's needs.
The site is just 2.5 kilometres from a 35,000 square-metre retail centre planned for Cherrywood and two kilometres from a proposed "neighbourhood" centre in Kiltiernan. Councillors were warned that redesignating the Carrickmines site might have to be offset by a reduction of both of these developments because the road network cannot support all three. Nonetheless, the change was supported by a combination of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and independent councillors.
The move is likely to lead to the redesign of The Park Village scheme being developed by Cotter's Park Developments and private investors. The site is already home to around 31,000 square metres of retail warehousing with retailers including PC World and TK Maxx on site.
Permission for a "neighbourhood" centre including about 7,000 square metres of retail and retail services was approved in April last year.
The scheme also includes 83,900 square metres of residential space comprising 331 units and 20,783 square metres of offices space as well was provision for a health centre, crèches, restaurants and a gym. However, the council rejected a subsequent application to include a cinema and bowling alley in the development in February.
The redesignation was requested in a submission on behalf of the developers, with the company claiming that a bigger centre would attract quality retailers and create jobs.
"High-profile, quality international-brand potential tenants have expressed significant interest in acquiring units in The Park. However, this is currently not possible due to the neighbourhood centre designation on the site.
"The reclassification of The Park, Carrickmines as a district centre would attract many quality retailers to the centre, greatly enhancing the vitality and viability of the area... It is considered that the redesignation of the centre would lead to immediate job announcements," they state.
Labour Councillor Aidan Culhane, who was among those who voted against the motion, said intensifying the retail offering in the area was unnecessary.
"There is very little evidence that south Dublin needs more shopping at the moment, particularly this kind of 'side of the motorway' shopping. I would be very doubtful that another shopping centre on another motorway interchange is really the way to go," he said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Councillors voted to redesignate the site a "district" centre, increasing the level of retail space permitted by 6,000 square metres to 25,000 square metres. The decision, which was carried by one vote, was made against the recommendation of county manager Owen Keegan, who was concerned the move would lead to retail space well in excess of the area's needs.
The site is just 2.5 kilometres from a 35,000 square-metre retail centre planned for Cherrywood and two kilometres from a proposed "neighbourhood" centre in Kiltiernan. Councillors were warned that redesignating the Carrickmines site might have to be offset by a reduction of both of these developments because the road network cannot support all three. Nonetheless, the change was supported by a combination of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and independent councillors.
The move is likely to lead to the redesign of The Park Village scheme being developed by Cotter's Park Developments and private investors. The site is already home to around 31,000 square metres of retail warehousing with retailers including PC World and TK Maxx on site.
Permission for a "neighbourhood" centre including about 7,000 square metres of retail and retail services was approved in April last year.
The scheme also includes 83,900 square metres of residential space comprising 331 units and 20,783 square metres of offices space as well was provision for a health centre, crèches, restaurants and a gym. However, the council rejected a subsequent application to include a cinema and bowling alley in the development in February.
The redesignation was requested in a submission on behalf of the developers, with the company claiming that a bigger centre would attract quality retailers and create jobs.
"High-profile, quality international-brand potential tenants have expressed significant interest in acquiring units in The Park. However, this is currently not possible due to the neighbourhood centre designation on the site.
"The reclassification of The Park, Carrickmines as a district centre would attract many quality retailers to the centre, greatly enhancing the vitality and viability of the area... It is considered that the redesignation of the centre would lead to immediate job announcements," they state.
Labour Councillor Aidan Culhane, who was among those who voted against the motion, said intensifying the retail offering in the area was unnecessary.
"There is very little evidence that south Dublin needs more shopping at the moment, particularly this kind of 'side of the motorway' shopping. I would be very doubtful that another shopping centre on another motorway interchange is really the way to go," he said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 7 November 2008
'Excessive zonings' must be reversed
LOCAL AUTHORITIES will have to undo some of the "indiscriminate and excessive zonings" of land that are "now completely out of line with current imperatives", according to the chairman of An Bord Pleanála.
Speaking at the launch of its annual report yesterday, John O'Connor identified these imperatives as the economic downturn, climate change, energy costs, maximising return on infrastructural investment and avoiding "unnecessary sprawl" into agricultural land.
Referring to goings-on involving councillors zoning more and more land against planning advice, he said the appeals board would continue to refuse permission if the zonings were in conflict with national policies or regional planning guidelines.
In such cases local authorities could face massive compensation claims from developers. This should be taken into account by councillors when they rezoned land in response to "special pleadings by landowners and other vested interests".
"The idea that every place must get development, no matter how thinly spread, was never sustainable, but will be distinctly less sustainable in the future," he said. Local authorities needed to realise that investments in infrastructure "cannot be replicated everywhere".
In dealing with planning appeals, Mr O'Connor said the board "is constantly coming across zoned sites that are too far removed from developed areas, too remote from public facilities such as piped services, footpaths, lighting and with no prospect of public transport".
Welcoming the recent publication by the Minister for the Environment of draft planning guidelines on flood risk management, he said the board hoped that these would lead to fewer appeals against permissions granted in floodplains. Water resources were another constraint that had to be taken into account, he said. Already, some urban areas were having difficulties in sourcing drinking water and finding suitable water bodies in which to discharge treated sewage.
"This will mean tough decisions directing development to areas that don't have such constraints . . . The long-term economic and environmental costs of pumping water or sewage over long distances will have to be factored into planning."
Mr O'Connor said the board also had concerns about the number of decisions on individual schemes that did not reflect planning policies. The appeals board was often "a stronger defender of the development plan than the local authority who adopted it".
"This has serious implications for the credibility of the whole system . . . If councils are not seen to respect their own plans, developers and the general public are less likely to do so," he said. This applied, in particular, to local authorities approving out-of-town shopping centres even in defiance of their development plans. But despite some "patchy decisions", the 2000 retail planning guidelines had "served us well".
"There is an onus on planning authorities to protect town centres from being denuded of their retail function, to preserve the capacity of major road junctions, to ensure the local availability of retail services [and] to reduce reliance on private transport."
Mr O'Connor added that "there is a risk that the long-term price to the community of permitting huge megastores . . . outside our towns and cities could be much greater than any short-term gain in terms of grocery prices".
On the growing number of applications for nursing homes, he said some were being proposed for "singularly inappropriate" locations, notably "isolated greenfield sites remote from towns or villages, shops or services of any description". The proportion of local authority decisions reversed by the board in 2007 remained steady at 32 per cent.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Speaking at the launch of its annual report yesterday, John O'Connor identified these imperatives as the economic downturn, climate change, energy costs, maximising return on infrastructural investment and avoiding "unnecessary sprawl" into agricultural land.
Referring to goings-on involving councillors zoning more and more land against planning advice, he said the appeals board would continue to refuse permission if the zonings were in conflict with national policies or regional planning guidelines.
In such cases local authorities could face massive compensation claims from developers. This should be taken into account by councillors when they rezoned land in response to "special pleadings by landowners and other vested interests".
"The idea that every place must get development, no matter how thinly spread, was never sustainable, but will be distinctly less sustainable in the future," he said. Local authorities needed to realise that investments in infrastructure "cannot be replicated everywhere".
In dealing with planning appeals, Mr O'Connor said the board "is constantly coming across zoned sites that are too far removed from developed areas, too remote from public facilities such as piped services, footpaths, lighting and with no prospect of public transport".
Welcoming the recent publication by the Minister for the Environment of draft planning guidelines on flood risk management, he said the board hoped that these would lead to fewer appeals against permissions granted in floodplains. Water resources were another constraint that had to be taken into account, he said. Already, some urban areas were having difficulties in sourcing drinking water and finding suitable water bodies in which to discharge treated sewage.
"This will mean tough decisions directing development to areas that don't have such constraints . . . The long-term economic and environmental costs of pumping water or sewage over long distances will have to be factored into planning."
Mr O'Connor said the board also had concerns about the number of decisions on individual schemes that did not reflect planning policies. The appeals board was often "a stronger defender of the development plan than the local authority who adopted it".
"This has serious implications for the credibility of the whole system . . . If councils are not seen to respect their own plans, developers and the general public are less likely to do so," he said. This applied, in particular, to local authorities approving out-of-town shopping centres even in defiance of their development plans. But despite some "patchy decisions", the 2000 retail planning guidelines had "served us well".
"There is an onus on planning authorities to protect town centres from being denuded of their retail function, to preserve the capacity of major road junctions, to ensure the local availability of retail services [and] to reduce reliance on private transport."
Mr O'Connor added that "there is a risk that the long-term price to the community of permitting huge megastores . . . outside our towns and cities could be much greater than any short-term gain in terms of grocery prices".
On the growing number of applications for nursing homes, he said some were being proposed for "singularly inappropriate" locations, notably "isolated greenfield sites remote from towns or villages, shops or services of any description". The proportion of local authority decisions reversed by the board in 2007 remained steady at 32 per cent.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Nuns seek for 32.5 acres to be zoned residential
A RELIGIOUS order has applied to Clare County Council to have 32.5 acres rezoned for housing.
In the submission, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Wood, based at Carrigoran, Newmarket- on-Fergus, are seeking that a sizeable portion of their land at Carrigoran be rezoned for residential use. Since 1974 the order has operated a 116-bed retirement centre, including a 20-bed dementia unit, at Carrigoran.
The centre is run on a not-for-profit basis and receives no direct State funding. With the Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass, the lands at Carrigoran have been cut in two. The nuns are seeking for a large proportion of their lands on the Newmarket side of the land bank to be rezoned.
The submission says the nuns own 95 acres including 22 acres of Lough Gash and they are seeking that 32.5 acres be rezoned for housing and 40 acres for open space.
The order has employed architects Murray Ó Laoire to lodge a comprehensive submission, noting that the 72 acres of land on the Newmarket side of the bypass was zoned for community use without the nuns having been consulted.
The submission states this was done “apparently at the behest of a third party who had no proprietary interest in the land but who had an interest in developing portion of the lands for community use”.
It argues: “The area zoned community use is clearly disproportionate to the scale of Newmarket and way beyond planned or projected need, as is evident from the existing local area plan map. The zoning also places a grossly unfair burden on the owner to provide such a disproportionate area of community zoned land for the benefit of community.”
The submission states that the proposed rezoning allows for 55 per cent of the site to be zoned as “open space” and protected woodlands and preserved as a natural amenity for the enjoyment of the entire community.
“These lands, if zoned as residential and open space, have the opportunity to help Newmarket- on-Fergus attract the critical mass of population required within the gateway corridor and to allow the town to grow commercially, socially and within a sustainable framework.”
In a blow to the nuns’ prospects, council planners have opted to retain “community zoning” in the draft plan presented to the council. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In the submission, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Wood, based at Carrigoran, Newmarket- on-Fergus, are seeking that a sizeable portion of their land at Carrigoran be rezoned for residential use. Since 1974 the order has operated a 116-bed retirement centre, including a 20-bed dementia unit, at Carrigoran.
The centre is run on a not-for-profit basis and receives no direct State funding. With the Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass, the lands at Carrigoran have been cut in two. The nuns are seeking for a large proportion of their lands on the Newmarket side of the land bank to be rezoned.
The submission says the nuns own 95 acres including 22 acres of Lough Gash and they are seeking that 32.5 acres be rezoned for housing and 40 acres for open space.
The order has employed architects Murray Ó Laoire to lodge a comprehensive submission, noting that the 72 acres of land on the Newmarket side of the bypass was zoned for community use without the nuns having been consulted.
The submission states this was done “apparently at the behest of a third party who had no proprietary interest in the land but who had an interest in developing portion of the lands for community use”.
It argues: “The area zoned community use is clearly disproportionate to the scale of Newmarket and way beyond planned or projected need, as is evident from the existing local area plan map. The zoning also places a grossly unfair burden on the owner to provide such a disproportionate area of community zoned land for the benefit of community.”
The submission states that the proposed rezoning allows for 55 per cent of the site to be zoned as “open space” and protected woodlands and preserved as a natural amenity for the enjoyment of the entire community.
“These lands, if zoned as residential and open space, have the opportunity to help Newmarket- on-Fergus attract the critical mass of population required within the gateway corridor and to allow the town to grow commercially, socially and within a sustainable framework.”
In a blow to the nuns’ prospects, council planners have opted to retain “community zoning” in the draft plan presented to the council. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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