The new septic tank inspection regime could cost rural dwellers up to €150m in upgrade costs. A proposed registration levy has already been set at €50 per household, which should net local authorities a cool €22m.
Nobody has been able to gauge what the potential upgrade costs might be for households with sewage systems that fail to pass the inspection.
However, a survey of 1,000 farmers carried out by the Farming Independent at the National Ploughing Championships clearly shows that one in six farm households are convinced that their tanks will not pass the inspection.
The Department of the Environment estimates that there are 440,000 rural homes with private sewage systems
The average cost of replacing or upgrading faulty tanks has been put at approximately €2,000. Based on these figures, up to 75,000 households will require upgrades amounting to €150m in order to pass the new septic tank inspection regime. This is after rural householders have stumped up €22m in registration fees to local authorities.
While two thirds of farmers in the survey said that they believed that their septic tanks would pass the proposed inspections, this fell to 55pc for partners and spouses of farmers who participated.
Tillage farmers and those with mixed or niche farm enterprises were the most confident sectors in relation to the performance of their sewage systems, while up to 20pc of beef, sheep and dairy farmers believed that their tanks would fail any proposed inspection.
One of the other key points to come out of the survey was the determination of young dairy farmers to expand over the coming year. Over half of all dairy farmers intend to expand over the coming months compared to less than one in three farmers in the sheep, beef or tillage sectors.
The hunger for expansion in dairying comes despite the admission by half of all dairy farmers that they are going to be over quota next March.
The survey will also give the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, cause for satisfaction, with less than one in 10 farmers rating his performance during his first six months in office as poor. His rating is particularly high among dairy farmers.
Farmers were unsure about how they would adapt to the possibility of 2014 becoming a reference year, although younger farmers indicated that they were more likely to lease extra land to maximise entitlements in any new regime.
Darragh McCullough
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label irish rural housing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irish rural housing. Show all posts
Monday, 3 October 2011
Friday, 30 October 2009
EU ruling on waste water hits permission for one-off housing
IT will be increasingly difficult to secure planning permission for one-off rural homes that aren’t connected to public sewers, following a judgment of the European Court of Justice yesterday.
The Luxembourg-based court ruled that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations to comply with an EU directive that waste water from septic tanks is recovered and disposed of without endangering human health.
The ECJ said standards used in granting planning permissions "did not ensure a level of environmental and human health protection as high as that pursued by [the EU] directive".
During the hearing in the case, the commission heavily criticised Ireland’s track record on environmental protection, especially in relation to the handling of waste from septic tanks. It argued that various Irish environmental laws had not enabled pollution to be reduced in practice. It is estimated there are around 400,000 households in Ireland which rely on septic tanks to collect waste water.
The commission claimed there were "serious shortcomings" throughout Ireland which were capable of adversely affecting the environment. EU officials claimed such problems were linked to deficiencies in construction, unsuitable siting, insufficient capacities, maintenance and inspection as well as "inactivity" by local authorities.
However, the commission said the sole exception were by-laws introduced in Co Cavan which had adequately addressed the issue of the disposal of domestic waste waters in the countryside through septic tanks.
In contrast, the Government insisted that, contrary to claims by Brussels, the existing national legislation fully met Ireland’s obligations under the EU directive.
However, State lawyers acknowledged that Ireland had not expressly or specifically transposed the 1975 directive into national legislation even though they argued that Irish law as a whole ensured compliance with all the obligations arising from the EU legislation.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The Luxembourg-based court ruled that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations to comply with an EU directive that waste water from septic tanks is recovered and disposed of without endangering human health.
The ECJ said standards used in granting planning permissions "did not ensure a level of environmental and human health protection as high as that pursued by [the EU] directive".
During the hearing in the case, the commission heavily criticised Ireland’s track record on environmental protection, especially in relation to the handling of waste from septic tanks. It argued that various Irish environmental laws had not enabled pollution to be reduced in practice. It is estimated there are around 400,000 households in Ireland which rely on septic tanks to collect waste water.
The commission claimed there were "serious shortcomings" throughout Ireland which were capable of adversely affecting the environment. EU officials claimed such problems were linked to deficiencies in construction, unsuitable siting, insufficient capacities, maintenance and inspection as well as "inactivity" by local authorities.
However, the commission said the sole exception were by-laws introduced in Co Cavan which had adequately addressed the issue of the disposal of domestic waste waters in the countryside through septic tanks.
In contrast, the Government insisted that, contrary to claims by Brussels, the existing national legislation fully met Ireland’s obligations under the EU directive.
However, State lawyers acknowledged that Ireland had not expressly or specifically transposed the 1975 directive into national legislation even though they argued that Irish law as a whole ensured compliance with all the obligations arising from the EU legislation.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Protest over rural planning policies - Irish Times letters
Madam, - At a rally in Tralee, Co Kerry organised by the Irish Rural Dwellers Association to protest against rural housing policies, IRDA founder Jim Connolly talked about rural dwellers suffering from imported "British ideology" (The Irish Times, April 22nd).
As a foreign national and planner working in Clare, I take strong exception to this sort of gratuitously offensive and paranoid drivel.
Local authority professional planners recommend policies and make planning decisions based on Irish law and Government guidelines. Mr Connolly is well aware of the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines, published by the Department of the Environment in 2005, which urge planning authorities to adopt the very policies against which he is protesting. Clare County Council, for example, has rural housing policies in its development plan which in general provide for local rural people to build in their own area.
By attacking local authority planners in this way and as a soft target, he does the IRDA no credit whatsoever. - Yours, etc,
BILL SANSUM,
Avondale,
Newmarket on Fergus,
Co Clare.
Madam, - I note from Tuesday's edition that the IRDA was protesting against the planning restrictions on selling and developing one-off sites.
At a time when we are daily being reminded of the looming food crisis, when the argument in favour of increasing locally produced food and reducing our dependence on imports becomes ever more imperative, it seems that what we are best at growing in this country is houses. The area north of Dublin, which was once the vegetable-producing centre for the country, has been sold off for more and more housing and commercial development. It is now almost impossible to buy an Irish-grown tomato in a supermarket at the height of the tomato season.
IRDA founder Jim Connolly complains that we are suffering from "British ideology". Perhaps the British model is one we should look at more closely.
In England, rural development is centred on villages. There is hardly any new one-off housing and you don't see ribbon development along country roads. The result is a sense of community which seems to be dying out in rural areas here. - Yours, etc,
SALLY SWEENEY,
Carrigavantry,
Co Waterford.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
As a foreign national and planner working in Clare, I take strong exception to this sort of gratuitously offensive and paranoid drivel.
Local authority professional planners recommend policies and make planning decisions based on Irish law and Government guidelines. Mr Connolly is well aware of the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines, published by the Department of the Environment in 2005, which urge planning authorities to adopt the very policies against which he is protesting. Clare County Council, for example, has rural housing policies in its development plan which in general provide for local rural people to build in their own area.
By attacking local authority planners in this way and as a soft target, he does the IRDA no credit whatsoever. - Yours, etc,
BILL SANSUM,
Avondale,
Newmarket on Fergus,
Co Clare.
Madam, - I note from Tuesday's edition that the IRDA was protesting against the planning restrictions on selling and developing one-off sites.
At a time when we are daily being reminded of the looming food crisis, when the argument in favour of increasing locally produced food and reducing our dependence on imports becomes ever more imperative, it seems that what we are best at growing in this country is houses. The area north of Dublin, which was once the vegetable-producing centre for the country, has been sold off for more and more housing and commercial development. It is now almost impossible to buy an Irish-grown tomato in a supermarket at the height of the tomato season.
IRDA founder Jim Connolly complains that we are suffering from "British ideology". Perhaps the British model is one we should look at more closely.
In England, rural development is centred on villages. There is hardly any new one-off housing and you don't see ribbon development along country roads. The result is a sense of community which seems to be dying out in rural areas here. - Yours, etc,
SALLY SWEENEY,
Carrigavantry,
Co Waterford.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Personal data put online by councils
Sensitive personal and financial information, such as bank statements, social welfare information and pay slips submitted by individuals seeking planning permission, have been put online by local authorities. Olivia Kelly and Mark Hennessy report.
Local authorities across the State have been publishing planning files on the internet, with the sanction of the Department of the Environment, for several years. This information could be accessed directly through a council's website, but also by typing an applicant's name into an internet search engine.
Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney yesterday criticised the Government for failing to protect citizens' personal information.
While many of these files just contain information about the development applied for and the name and address of the applicant or their agents, thousands of files contain personal information which anyone with internet access can view and retain.
This information is typically attached to applications made by individuals for one-off rural housing, where applicants have been required to show a long-standing link to the local community and a need for housing within that community.
Applicants have submitted receipts of social welfare payments and letters from parish priests detailing their personal circumstances and family history in order to support applications. Among the other information available to view online are details of bank accounts, including account numbers and balances, credit card bills, pay slips, Revenue information, including PPS numbers, and medical reports.
These planning files are not only available online while the application is "live", ie until the planning authority has made a decision whether or not to grant permission, but remain on the council's website in perpetuity.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it began receiving complaints in relation to planning applications being posted online in mid-2006 after a number of people were contacted by companies who had secured their details online.
"People were being exposed to direct marketing from building societies or DIY firms who had got information from planning applications that they were building a house," assistant commissioner Tony Delaney said.
The commissioner's concerns were brought to the Department of Environment which agreed to develop new regulations and issue new guidelines to local authorities.
"The new guidelines state that pay slips, bank statements, or any extraneous personal data which are not relevant to the application should not be accepted as evidence.
"There is also a box on the application that people must tick if they want to receive direct marketing," Mr Delaney said.
Local authorities have also been instructed to block the information from the searches of websites such as Google, Mr Delaney said.
The new guidelines came into force last year. However, they do not apply to applications made before this date and personal information remains online unless an applicant specifically requests its removal.
Fingal County Council, which has been placing information online for around five years said it has up to 10,000 files online and it would not have the resources to review them.
The council said it was changing its application forms to ensure people were aware that the information received would be published online.
However, Mr Coveney said the Government should ensure that such sensitive personal data is not stored online.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Local authorities across the State have been publishing planning files on the internet, with the sanction of the Department of the Environment, for several years. This information could be accessed directly through a council's website, but also by typing an applicant's name into an internet search engine.
Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney yesterday criticised the Government for failing to protect citizens' personal information.
While many of these files just contain information about the development applied for and the name and address of the applicant or their agents, thousands of files contain personal information which anyone with internet access can view and retain.
This information is typically attached to applications made by individuals for one-off rural housing, where applicants have been required to show a long-standing link to the local community and a need for housing within that community.
Applicants have submitted receipts of social welfare payments and letters from parish priests detailing their personal circumstances and family history in order to support applications. Among the other information available to view online are details of bank accounts, including account numbers and balances, credit card bills, pay slips, Revenue information, including PPS numbers, and medical reports.
These planning files are not only available online while the application is "live", ie until the planning authority has made a decision whether or not to grant permission, but remain on the council's website in perpetuity.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it began receiving complaints in relation to planning applications being posted online in mid-2006 after a number of people were contacted by companies who had secured their details online.
"People were being exposed to direct marketing from building societies or DIY firms who had got information from planning applications that they were building a house," assistant commissioner Tony Delaney said.
The commissioner's concerns were brought to the Department of Environment which agreed to develop new regulations and issue new guidelines to local authorities.
"The new guidelines state that pay slips, bank statements, or any extraneous personal data which are not relevant to the application should not be accepted as evidence.
"There is also a box on the application that people must tick if they want to receive direct marketing," Mr Delaney said.
Local authorities have also been instructed to block the information from the searches of websites such as Google, Mr Delaney said.
The new guidelines came into force last year. However, they do not apply to applications made before this date and personal information remains online unless an applicant specifically requests its removal.
Fingal County Council, which has been placing information online for around five years said it has up to 10,000 files online and it would not have the resources to review them.
The council said it was changing its application forms to ensure people were aware that the information received would be published online.
However, Mr Coveney said the Government should ensure that such sensitive personal data is not stored online.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Planning deferral system abused
SENIOR officials on Kerry County Council have claimed that a deferral system for planning applications is being abused.
A deferral on a decision is allowed when more time is sought to deal with a problem on a site, or with the application.
However, councillors are being put under undue pressure to push through planning applications even when there is little hope of getting planning, according to the county manager Tom Curran.
He said deferrals were being sought by applicants and agents in cases where there was no prospect of problems being resolved.
Mr Curran said planners and senior management were being put under pressure to meet applicants and agents to discuss issues even though it might be clear the granting of permission would be inappropriate.
"When an applicant gets an inkling they will not be granted permission, they then put pressure on councillors to change management's mind," he said.
In future, he stated, extensions of time or deferrals should only be requested where it was likely problems could be solved in a planning application and permission granted.
The council's planning department deals with about 5,000 applications each year. In some cases, people are putting in applications for one-off houses on sites which are completely unsuitable, according to planners.
For the past year in Kerry, on-site pre-planning consultations have been held between applicants and planning officials.
Senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said such consultations were "very helpful" and applicants could be given an indication of their chances of getting permission to build a house.
"It certainly helps when applicants can be told of the possibilities at an early stage when they have not, as yet, any money spent on preparing an application. The process can save applicants a lot of money, maybe €5,000 to €6,000," he said.
Mr Sheehy also said it would be helpful if applicants were prepared to consider alternative sites for a house on their own land.
Donal Hickey
Irish Examiner
A deferral on a decision is allowed when more time is sought to deal with a problem on a site, or with the application.
However, councillors are being put under undue pressure to push through planning applications even when there is little hope of getting planning, according to the county manager Tom Curran.
He said deferrals were being sought by applicants and agents in cases where there was no prospect of problems being resolved.
Mr Curran said planners and senior management were being put under pressure to meet applicants and agents to discuss issues even though it might be clear the granting of permission would be inappropriate.
"When an applicant gets an inkling they will not be granted permission, they then put pressure on councillors to change management's mind," he said.
In future, he stated, extensions of time or deferrals should only be requested where it was likely problems could be solved in a planning application and permission granted.
The council's planning department deals with about 5,000 applications each year. In some cases, people are putting in applications for one-off houses on sites which are completely unsuitable, according to planners.
For the past year in Kerry, on-site pre-planning consultations have been held between applicants and planning officials.
Senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said such consultations were "very helpful" and applicants could be given an indication of their chances of getting permission to build a house.
"It certainly helps when applicants can be told of the possibilities at an early stage when they have not, as yet, any money spent on preparing an application. The process can save applicants a lot of money, maybe €5,000 to €6,000," he said.
Mr Sheehy also said it would be helpful if applicants were prepared to consider alternative sites for a house on their own land.
Donal Hickey
Irish Examiner
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Planning officials may be breaching the property rules
LOCAL authority planners in Kerry and other parts of the country may be breaching private property rights by insisting that a person must live where they build, it has been claimed.
Senator Paul Coghlan said it is his view that restrictions imposed by a number of planning authorities may be illegal and unconstitutional.
He successfully called for an adjournment debate on planning with the Minister for the Environment in the Seanad.
The Kerry Fine Gael senator remarked: “I put it to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Batt O’Keeffe, that restrictions on residence as a condition of planning are misplaced and have nothing to do with planning.
“I pointed out that one county council has inserted a planning condition that a person must reside in the domicile for up to 10 years before he or she is permitted to sell on the property.”
He said considering planning permissions only obtain for a period of five years, it is clear this situation is “ludicrous”.
“These are very unfair impositions and do not serve any legitimate planning aim,” Senator Coghlan complained.
“The minister confirmed that the European Commission has written to the Department of the Environment seeking a view on the compatibility of certain county development plans’ provisions with articles in the European Community Treaty on the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital.
“I accept that the minister is precluded from publishing correspondence from the Commission by legal advice. However, I made the point that, in the context of European law, the European Convention on Human Rights recognises the right to private property,” Senator Coghlan remarked.
“I believe that local authorities by imposing ownership restrictions as outlined above are breaching those rights in a blatant manner,” he added.
Friends of the Irish Environment
Senator Paul Coghlan said it is his view that restrictions imposed by a number of planning authorities may be illegal and unconstitutional.
He successfully called for an adjournment debate on planning with the Minister for the Environment in the Seanad.
The Kerry Fine Gael senator remarked: “I put it to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Batt O’Keeffe, that restrictions on residence as a condition of planning are misplaced and have nothing to do with planning.
“I pointed out that one county council has inserted a planning condition that a person must reside in the domicile for up to 10 years before he or she is permitted to sell on the property.”
He said considering planning permissions only obtain for a period of five years, it is clear this situation is “ludicrous”.
“These are very unfair impositions and do not serve any legitimate planning aim,” Senator Coghlan complained.
“The minister confirmed that the European Commission has written to the Department of the Environment seeking a view on the compatibility of certain county development plans’ provisions with articles in the European Community Treaty on the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital.
“I accept that the minister is precluded from publishing correspondence from the Commission by legal advice. However, I made the point that, in the context of European law, the European Convention on Human Rights recognises the right to private property,” Senator Coghlan remarked.
“I believe that local authorities by imposing ownership restrictions as outlined above are breaching those rights in a blatant manner,” he added.
Friends of the Irish Environment
Friday, 5 October 2007
Secret response to EU's rural house planning concerns
The Department of the Environment has responded to European Commission concerns about restrictions in local authority development plans. However, the department, which sent a comprehensive dossier on the subject to the commission last Friday, has refused to publish its views. A spokesman for the Minister, John Gormley, said the refusal was on foot of advice that the EU's interest could amount to the start of a legal action against Ireland for infringement of the EU treaty. The spokesman added that the department never publishes its responses in legal issues.
About half of the State's local authorities now include "local needs" restrictions in their development plans. The move restricts planning permission and sometimes ownership of homes to those who can demonstrate a local need - either that they are working in the area or already live in the area in a home which is not their own. The restriction initially applied to one-off housing but has spread to whole housing estates. Last June the EU told the Government that the restriction may be in breach of EU rules that guarantee the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital. The commission invited the Government to submit observations on the issues. The Minister's spokesman said yesterday that the response had gone to Europe last Friday, September 28th, but there would be no publication of the contents. The spokesman said letters of formal notice from the EU were frequently the start of proceedings, and as such the State's response was never revealed.
Tim O'Brien
© 2007 The Irish Times
About half of the State's local authorities now include "local needs" restrictions in their development plans. The move restricts planning permission and sometimes ownership of homes to those who can demonstrate a local need - either that they are working in the area or already live in the area in a home which is not their own. The restriction initially applied to one-off housing but has spread to whole housing estates. Last June the EU told the Government that the restriction may be in breach of EU rules that guarantee the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital. The commission invited the Government to submit observations on the issues. The Minister's spokesman said yesterday that the response had gone to Europe last Friday, September 28th, but there would be no publication of the contents. The spokesman said letters of formal notice from the EU were frequently the start of proceedings, and as such the State's response was never revealed.
Tim O'Brien
© 2007 The Irish Times
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Freeze on rural housing?
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív has called for a freeze on all new housing developments in commuter-belt villages like Barna, Co Galway, until adequate infrastructure is in place.
The Minister made his call on the eve of a crucial Galway County Council debate today on Barna's draft local area plan.
Unless a plan can provide specific infrastructure, such as schools, sporting areas and sewerage facilities, it should be postponed until such time as it has these commitments, Mr Ó Cuív told The Irish Times.
He cites Co Meath as an example where developers must sign up to land transfer directly to schools and sports clubs in advance of any zoning and planning approval for housing.
"Specifics like these, which could be pinned down in a plan within eight weeks, could avoid eight years of heartache by communities which were promised facilities and never got them," said Mr Ó Cuív.
A community group, Pobal Bhearna, has urged Galway county councillors to resist pressure from developers to make alterations to the draft plan.
According to the group, such alterations could pave the way for more intensive sprawl in the former fishing harbour, which lies several miles west of Galway city.
A strategic environmental assessment prepared for Galway County Council by CAAS Environmental Services Ltd shows serious pollution in the Truskey river catchment which drains a "sizeable portion" of Barna lands.
The report finds the most likely cause of the pollution is the use of septic tanks for waste water by over 93 per cent of Barna's population.
Pobal Bhearna has also met Connemara councillors but fears that developers are putting pressure on councillors from other parts of the county to try and influence the final blueprint today.
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times 24.09.07
The Minister made his call on the eve of a crucial Galway County Council debate today on Barna's draft local area plan.
Unless a plan can provide specific infrastructure, such as schools, sporting areas and sewerage facilities, it should be postponed until such time as it has these commitments, Mr Ó Cuív told The Irish Times.
He cites Co Meath as an example where developers must sign up to land transfer directly to schools and sports clubs in advance of any zoning and planning approval for housing.
"Specifics like these, which could be pinned down in a plan within eight weeks, could avoid eight years of heartache by communities which were promised facilities and never got them," said Mr Ó Cuív.
A community group, Pobal Bhearna, has urged Galway county councillors to resist pressure from developers to make alterations to the draft plan.
According to the group, such alterations could pave the way for more intensive sprawl in the former fishing harbour, which lies several miles west of Galway city.
A strategic environmental assessment prepared for Galway County Council by CAAS Environmental Services Ltd shows serious pollution in the Truskey river catchment which drains a "sizeable portion" of Barna lands.
The report finds the most likely cause of the pollution is the use of septic tanks for waste water by over 93 per cent of Barna's population.
Pobal Bhearna has also met Connemara councillors but fears that developers are putting pressure on councillors from other parts of the county to try and influence the final blueprint today.
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times 24.09.07
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
EU ruling could add to curbs on one-off housing
FIANNA Fail backbenchers have expressed concern about an EU ruling which could restrict one-off houses in rural areas.
The European Commission is expected to announce that many of the planning restrictions which favour people connected to the locality are illegal under European law.
This means that the development plans of 22 counties will now have to be re-written.
It may also make it more difficult to obtain planning permission for one-off rural housing.
At the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting last night, several rural-based backbenchers expressed concern about the effect the ruling could have on their constituents.
Minister of State Tony Killeen said that a letter from the European Commission on the issue had just been received by the Department of the Environment.
Mr Killeen reassured the backbenchers that the department had several months to examine the issue before it had to make a response.
The European Commission carried out its examination of county development plans of the counties following a complaint from an Irish citizen who was refused planning permission to build a house in Wicklow.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not attend the parliamentary party meeting last night because he was attending the removal ceremony of Health Minister Mary Harney's mother. Tanaiste Brian Cowen was also absent due to a speaking engagement in the Seanad.
Michael Brennan
Irish Independent
The European Commission is expected to announce that many of the planning restrictions which favour people connected to the locality are illegal under European law.
This means that the development plans of 22 counties will now have to be re-written.
It may also make it more difficult to obtain planning permission for one-off rural housing.
At the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting last night, several rural-based backbenchers expressed concern about the effect the ruling could have on their constituents.
Minister of State Tony Killeen said that a letter from the European Commission on the issue had just been received by the Department of the Environment.
Mr Killeen reassured the backbenchers that the department had several months to examine the issue before it had to make a response.
The European Commission carried out its examination of county development plans of the counties following a complaint from an Irish citizen who was refused planning permission to build a house in Wicklow.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not attend the parliamentary party meeting last night because he was attending the removal ceremony of Health Minister Mary Harney's mother. Tanaiste Brian Cowen was also absent due to a speaking engagement in the Seanad.
Michael Brennan
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Rural housing policies illegal
Over the last two weeks I have received about three calls a day from people asking if the locals only rules in Development Plans in Wexford and Wicklow had been removed. I have also spoken to people who have been refused planning permission on these grounds. All were hoping the rules would be found to be illegal and descriminatory. They have been, but where to next?
Debate about one-off houses is sure to grow to a crescendo now. The basis of how the National Spatial Strategy, Regional Planning Guidelines, Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines and many Development Plans treat rural housing as a policy issue will now need to be reviewed.
Given the extent to which this is being discussed on the ground illustrates how emotive this issue has become over many years. I look forward to watching this issue unfold.
Debate about one-off houses is sure to grow to a crescendo now. The basis of how the National Spatial Strategy, Regional Planning Guidelines, Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines and many Development Plans treat rural housing as a policy issue will now need to be reviewed.
Given the extent to which this is being discussed on the ground illustrates how emotive this issue has become over many years. I look forward to watching this issue unfold.
'Locals only' planning rule illegal and discriminatory, says EU
THE controversial 'locals only' and 'must speak Irish' planning rules have been challenged by the EU as illegal and discriminatory.
A landmark EU ruling yesterday will test the Fianna Fail/Greens coalition as the parties are poles apart on the issue of one-off houses in the countryside.
The move will put serious pressure on 22 local authorities to abandon their 'locals only' policies when granting planning permissions.
The EU ordered Ireland to explain why the 22 authorities discriminate in favour of local people.
The EU Commission has written to the Department of Environment asking it to show how its 'local needs' rules do not break several internal-market rules and are not discriminatory.
After months of examining the issue, officials believe the rules break articles 43 and 56 of the EC Treaty which guarantee freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital.
They examined planning rules in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Fingal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Laois, Longford, Limerick, Louth, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary North and South, Wexford, Westmeath and Wicklow.
These authorities require either residency or family ties to the area before permission for one-off family dwellings is given.
Several authorities require that an applicant be employed locally in agriculture while two counties can insist that an applicant must speak Irish.
The vast majority of EU citizens were unable to claim former residency, family ties or fluency in Irish, said a Commission official.
A 'letter of formal notice' asking how Ireland reconciles the rules with EU law has been sent to Environment Minister John Gormley, who has two months in which to respond.
The letter says: "The Commission requests observations from Ireland on the discriminatory aspects of the restrictions, their objectives, and the proportionality of the measures with the objectives pursued."
The issue is expected to provide one of the first of many expected tests of the Fianna Fail-Green partnership.
Within Fianna Fail many members believe people should be allowed to build on their own land as they see fit while the Green Party favours regulated, sustainable development.
One councillor admitted last night that his local authority was going to have to "revisit" the issue of planning permission to ensure it was not at variance with EU law.
Cllr Dermot Connolly, a member of Galway County Council, said he believed that the EU did not always have the best interests of regions and cultures at hand.
Mr Connolly said local authorities had to have practical measures in place to ensure cultures continued to flourish.
Last year, councillors agreed to make changes to the Galway County Development Plan which meant people in large sections of the county no longer had to fulfil stringent "local" rules when applying for planning permission for a family home.
In Clare, the development plan favours local rural people applying for planning permission.
West Clare councillor PJ Kelly, a member of Clare County Council, said the use of 'locals only' was a controlling mechanism by planners.
Mr Kelly said he agreed with the EU decision and he would be bringing up the issue of revamping the planning laws with the council.
"It's replacement will have to be intelligent, workable, functional and respectable," he said.
Mr Kelly said the moves to restrict planning to locals or Irish speakers had brought the system into disrepute.
In 2005, the Law Society warned that county councils discriminating in favour of family members over planning permissions for one-off rural housing were breaking the law.
The law reform committee of the society informed the Department of the Environment that positive discrimination in some cases breached the Constitution and EU law.
Bernard Purcell and Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
A landmark EU ruling yesterday will test the Fianna Fail/Greens coalition as the parties are poles apart on the issue of one-off houses in the countryside.
The move will put serious pressure on 22 local authorities to abandon their 'locals only' policies when granting planning permissions.
The EU ordered Ireland to explain why the 22 authorities discriminate in favour of local people.
The EU Commission has written to the Department of Environment asking it to show how its 'local needs' rules do not break several internal-market rules and are not discriminatory.
After months of examining the issue, officials believe the rules break articles 43 and 56 of the EC Treaty which guarantee freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital.
They examined planning rules in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Fingal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Laois, Longford, Limerick, Louth, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary North and South, Wexford, Westmeath and Wicklow.
These authorities require either residency or family ties to the area before permission for one-off family dwellings is given.
Several authorities require that an applicant be employed locally in agriculture while two counties can insist that an applicant must speak Irish.
The vast majority of EU citizens were unable to claim former residency, family ties or fluency in Irish, said a Commission official.
A 'letter of formal notice' asking how Ireland reconciles the rules with EU law has been sent to Environment Minister John Gormley, who has two months in which to respond.
The letter says: "The Commission requests observations from Ireland on the discriminatory aspects of the restrictions, their objectives, and the proportionality of the measures with the objectives pursued."
The issue is expected to provide one of the first of many expected tests of the Fianna Fail-Green partnership.
Within Fianna Fail many members believe people should be allowed to build on their own land as they see fit while the Green Party favours regulated, sustainable development.
One councillor admitted last night that his local authority was going to have to "revisit" the issue of planning permission to ensure it was not at variance with EU law.
Cllr Dermot Connolly, a member of Galway County Council, said he believed that the EU did not always have the best interests of regions and cultures at hand.
Mr Connolly said local authorities had to have practical measures in place to ensure cultures continued to flourish.
Last year, councillors agreed to make changes to the Galway County Development Plan which meant people in large sections of the county no longer had to fulfil stringent "local" rules when applying for planning permission for a family home.
In Clare, the development plan favours local rural people applying for planning permission.
West Clare councillor PJ Kelly, a member of Clare County Council, said the use of 'locals only' was a controlling mechanism by planners.
Mr Kelly said he agreed with the EU decision and he would be bringing up the issue of revamping the planning laws with the council.
"It's replacement will have to be intelligent, workable, functional and respectable," he said.
Mr Kelly said the moves to restrict planning to locals or Irish speakers had brought the system into disrepute.
In 2005, the Law Society warned that county councils discriminating in favour of family members over planning permissions for one-off rural housing were breaking the law.
The law reform committee of the society informed the Department of the Environment that positive discrimination in some cases breached the Constitution and EU law.
Bernard Purcell and Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Locals only' planning rule may be scrapped
This story has been carried by the national newspapers for about two weeks now. It is a huge story for Wicklow, but the Wicklow People gave it just a few lines:
Wicklow County Council's locals only planning rule may have to be scrapped following a complaint which is being examined by the European Commission.
Currently the council restricts non locals from being granted planning permission for one-off rural houses. The county development plan states that people must be local to the area or have a need to live locally in order to be granted planning.
However, this planning guideline is likely to be scrapped if the European Commission decides that it is illegal.
The commission has completed an examination of the development plans of 22 counties following a complaint from an Irish citizen who was refused planning permission to build a house in Wicklow because he was not a permanent native resident'.
It is expected to announce within the coming month that many of the restrictions in the county development plans are illegal under European law.
Wicklow People
Wicklow County Council's locals only planning rule may have to be scrapped following a complaint which is being examined by the European Commission.
Currently the council restricts non locals from being granted planning permission for one-off rural houses. The county development plan states that people must be local to the area or have a need to live locally in order to be granted planning.
However, this planning guideline is likely to be scrapped if the European Commission decides that it is illegal.
The commission has completed an examination of the development plans of 22 counties following a complaint from an Irish citizen who was refused planning permission to build a house in Wicklow because he was not a permanent native resident'.
It is expected to announce within the coming month that many of the restrictions in the county development plans are illegal under European law.
Wicklow People
Friday, 22 June 2007
The TD, the developer and the holiday haven
TONY Gaughan first came to public attention in 2001 when he was spotted accompanying Beverley Flynn during her libel case against RTE.
The 50-year-old property developer had already established himself as a major player in his native Mayo over the previous decade, building housing estates in Westport and Castlebar.
But he was a frequent visitor to Doohoma, the remote north Mayo village where he grew up.
Located more than 50 miles from Castlebar, it has always suffered from massive emigration due to the lack of employment.
A famous RTE documentary in 1972 showed how the men in the village spent nine months of the year labouring on farms and building sites in England to send money home to their families.
And Mr Gaughan followed this path, travelling to England as a young man to work in the construction industry there.
But while other emigrants suffered from the burden of exile or alcoholism, he prospered and returned to Mayo a wealthy man.
He set up his own building company, TJ Gaughan Construction, in 1990.
According to the most recent accounts filed by the company, Mr Gaughan and his two fellow directors shared a salary of €250,000 in 2005.
They also benefited from a €3.9m payment into their pension scheme, compared to just €200,000 in 2004. The company has stocks of €8.2m.
At some point, Mr Gaughan decided to build a holiday home in his native village but he wouldhave been well aware ofthe problems thispresented.
Although the planning climate was much looser in Mayo in 1997, it would still have been extremely difficult to secure a site in one of the most scenic parts of the village.
But there was a desirable site available, just 200 metres from the local beach, and with spectacular views of Tullaghan Bay and Achill Island.
It was owned by a local small farmer, John Cooney.
According to planning files provided by Mayo County Council to the Irish Independent , his daughter Breege applied for planning permission to build on the one hectare site in May 1997.
On the face of it, it seemed a curious decision.
Ms Cooney had a job in the village's only factory, the now closed Eagle Isle Seafoods, but as someone living in a council house, it would presumably have been difficult for her to raise the finance for a large house on the site.
But her connection to the land meant that her planning application was almost guaranteed to succeed.
Under the section which required Ms Cooney to state her interest in the site, it said: "owner is applicant's father".
The application included detailed architect's drawings of the proposed 120 square metre house, with four bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
There was provision for a winding driveway up to the house and a new entrance to the public road via "a 3.6m wide gate".
The planners were also supplied with a copy of a small advertisement in the 'Western People' newspaper in May 1997 to show that requirement to notify the public had been complied with.
The ad was signed "B Cooney".
The planning application was duly granted in September, 1997.
According to Mr Gaughan's account of events, he had "no hand, act or part" in Ms Cooney's planning application and wasn't even aware it was being made.
However, according to documents from the Land Registry, he was named as the "full owner" of the Doohoma site on December 9, 1997 - just four months after planning permission had been granted. He subsequently obtained a land registration certificate on July 6, 1998.
Around the same time, there was a dramatic improvement in the Cooney family's housing status. John Cooney and his family had been living in a run-down council house in the village.
But in 1998, Mayo County Council built a new house for the family on the same site.
Ms Cooney's father, John, died in 2004, but she is still living in the family's council house.
Her mother Kate is listed by Mayo County Council as the main tenant.
The village has a charming, old-fashioned shop which doubles as a post office and a travelling grocer who calls to houses every Friday in his lorry.
The young people of the area are still migrating for work - albeit to Castlebar, Galway and Dublin rather than Britain.
Meanwhile, Mr Gaughan went on to build a holiday home on the coastal site, with a garage and a conservatory. It is located on the hillside overlooking the bay, with a curved tarmac driveway leading down to a set of locked black gates with gold ornamental decorations.
It is just 200 metres away from a sandy beach. There is no post box or name plate.
According to the Land Registry, the site was once part of 107 hectares of commonage land, which was subsequently divided into 50 sections.
All of the owners have been trying for the past six years to get a vesting order from the Department of Agriculture which would give them full legal title to their lands.
Mayo County Council has conceded it is "highly unlikely" that Mr Gaughan would now be permitted to build a holiday home in the area using planning permission granted to another person.
Under the 2005 sustainable housing guidelines, householders generally have to declare that they intend to use their rural one-off house themselves and cannot sell it for at least seven years.
But there was no "owner occupancy clause" inserted in Ms Cooney's 1997 planning permission - meaning that her father was entitled to sell the land to Mr Gaughan for building.
Mr Gaughan is now building another home in Doohoma on the site of his grandfather's former house.
He said it was for a cousin of his who is living in England.
It is not yet finished, so there are heaps of sand, timber and concrete blocks.
There's a site office in a port-a-cabin and the window frames are covered by blue plastic sheeting.
There is also a telescopic loader with a "T Gaughan Westport Road Castlebar" sticker on it.
He and his long-term partner Beverley Flynn are well known in the area due to their frequent stays in the holiday house.
Indeed, her popularity in the area was reflected in the fact that she got 50pc of the vote (117 ballots out of 234) in Doohoma in the general election.
Mr Gaughan did his bit for her election victory, canvassing personally for her in the Erris peninsula.
He also provided the prime Castlebar town site for the 'Flynn Headquarters', which had been previously occupied by a fruit and vegetable shop. When she took the final seat in the Mayo constituency, Ms Flynn personally thanked him in her victory speech.
However, she will not welcome the publicity about her holiday home as she attempts to navigate yet another obstacle in her stormy political career.
Ms Flynn is depending on a verbal assurance from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that she will be re-admitted to Fianna Fail and appointed as a junior minister - if she can successfully deal with the bankruptcy proceedings being brought by RTE.
She did not return a call seeking comment.
There has been speculation that Mr Gaughan may step in as a "white knight" to save her but so far he has not done so.
If the couple married, he would avoid the prohibitive gift tax rate of 20pc (which could add another €600,000 onto the bill), but he has not done that so far, either.
Irish Independent
The 50-year-old property developer had already established himself as a major player in his native Mayo over the previous decade, building housing estates in Westport and Castlebar.
But he was a frequent visitor to Doohoma, the remote north Mayo village where he grew up.
Located more than 50 miles from Castlebar, it has always suffered from massive emigration due to the lack of employment.
A famous RTE documentary in 1972 showed how the men in the village spent nine months of the year labouring on farms and building sites in England to send money home to their families.
And Mr Gaughan followed this path, travelling to England as a young man to work in the construction industry there.
But while other emigrants suffered from the burden of exile or alcoholism, he prospered and returned to Mayo a wealthy man.
He set up his own building company, TJ Gaughan Construction, in 1990.
According to the most recent accounts filed by the company, Mr Gaughan and his two fellow directors shared a salary of €250,000 in 2005.
They also benefited from a €3.9m payment into their pension scheme, compared to just €200,000 in 2004. The company has stocks of €8.2m.
At some point, Mr Gaughan decided to build a holiday home in his native village but he wouldhave been well aware ofthe problems thispresented.
Although the planning climate was much looser in Mayo in 1997, it would still have been extremely difficult to secure a site in one of the most scenic parts of the village.
But there was a desirable site available, just 200 metres from the local beach, and with spectacular views of Tullaghan Bay and Achill Island.
It was owned by a local small farmer, John Cooney.
According to planning files provided by Mayo County Council to the Irish Independent , his daughter Breege applied for planning permission to build on the one hectare site in May 1997.
On the face of it, it seemed a curious decision.
Ms Cooney had a job in the village's only factory, the now closed Eagle Isle Seafoods, but as someone living in a council house, it would presumably have been difficult for her to raise the finance for a large house on the site.
But her connection to the land meant that her planning application was almost guaranteed to succeed.
Under the section which required Ms Cooney to state her interest in the site, it said: "owner is applicant's father".
The application included detailed architect's drawings of the proposed 120 square metre house, with four bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
There was provision for a winding driveway up to the house and a new entrance to the public road via "a 3.6m wide gate".
The planners were also supplied with a copy of a small advertisement in the 'Western People' newspaper in May 1997 to show that requirement to notify the public had been complied with.
The ad was signed "B Cooney".
The planning application was duly granted in September, 1997.
According to Mr Gaughan's account of events, he had "no hand, act or part" in Ms Cooney's planning application and wasn't even aware it was being made.
However, according to documents from the Land Registry, he was named as the "full owner" of the Doohoma site on December 9, 1997 - just four months after planning permission had been granted. He subsequently obtained a land registration certificate on July 6, 1998.
Around the same time, there was a dramatic improvement in the Cooney family's housing status. John Cooney and his family had been living in a run-down council house in the village.
But in 1998, Mayo County Council built a new house for the family on the same site.
Ms Cooney's father, John, died in 2004, but she is still living in the family's council house.
Her mother Kate is listed by Mayo County Council as the main tenant.
The village has a charming, old-fashioned shop which doubles as a post office and a travelling grocer who calls to houses every Friday in his lorry.
The young people of the area are still migrating for work - albeit to Castlebar, Galway and Dublin rather than Britain.
Meanwhile, Mr Gaughan went on to build a holiday home on the coastal site, with a garage and a conservatory. It is located on the hillside overlooking the bay, with a curved tarmac driveway leading down to a set of locked black gates with gold ornamental decorations.
It is just 200 metres away from a sandy beach. There is no post box or name plate.
According to the Land Registry, the site was once part of 107 hectares of commonage land, which was subsequently divided into 50 sections.
All of the owners have been trying for the past six years to get a vesting order from the Department of Agriculture which would give them full legal title to their lands.
Mayo County Council has conceded it is "highly unlikely" that Mr Gaughan would now be permitted to build a holiday home in the area using planning permission granted to another person.
Under the 2005 sustainable housing guidelines, householders generally have to declare that they intend to use their rural one-off house themselves and cannot sell it for at least seven years.
But there was no "owner occupancy clause" inserted in Ms Cooney's 1997 planning permission - meaning that her father was entitled to sell the land to Mr Gaughan for building.
Mr Gaughan is now building another home in Doohoma on the site of his grandfather's former house.
He said it was for a cousin of his who is living in England.
It is not yet finished, so there are heaps of sand, timber and concrete blocks.
There's a site office in a port-a-cabin and the window frames are covered by blue plastic sheeting.
There is also a telescopic loader with a "T Gaughan Westport Road Castlebar" sticker on it.
He and his long-term partner Beverley Flynn are well known in the area due to their frequent stays in the holiday house.
Indeed, her popularity in the area was reflected in the fact that she got 50pc of the vote (117 ballots out of 234) in Doohoma in the general election.
Mr Gaughan did his bit for her election victory, canvassing personally for her in the Erris peninsula.
He also provided the prime Castlebar town site for the 'Flynn Headquarters', which had been previously occupied by a fruit and vegetable shop. When she took the final seat in the Mayo constituency, Ms Flynn personally thanked him in her victory speech.
However, she will not welcome the publicity about her holiday home as she attempts to navigate yet another obstacle in her stormy political career.
Ms Flynn is depending on a verbal assurance from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that she will be re-admitted to Fianna Fail and appointed as a junior minister - if she can successfully deal with the bankruptcy proceedings being brought by RTE.
She did not return a call seeking comment.
There has been speculation that Mr Gaughan may step in as a "white knight" to save her but so far he has not done so.
If the couple married, he would avoid the prohibitive gift tax rate of 20pc (which could add another €600,000 onto the bill), but he has not done that so far, either.
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Board refuses to grant permission for luxury house
AN EXTENSIVE seven bedroom house with an artist’s studio and swimming pool over-looking Lough Beltra in the scenic area of Glenisland, Castlebar, has been refused planning permission.
The North Western Regional Fisheries Board lodged an objection to An Bord Pleanala against the development, which was upheld by the board. Arnold Wijnen had been granted permission, subject to 17 conditions, by Mayo County Council on November 6 last for the development at Barnastang, Glenisland. It was for the construction of a seven bedroom house with an integrated relaxation area, a pool, an artist’s studio, gallery and garage area, including a septic tank, proprietary effluence treatment plant, percolation area, associated services and to form a new access from the public road.
From the house site there are extensive views down the valley to Lough Beltra. There are also extensive views north-eastwards towards the mountains where a wind farm was in view.
The proposals for the two storey building included an entrance hall, living and sitting rooms, a gallery with mezzanine, dining room, kitchen, stores and utility, four toilets, a four space car garage, studio, swimming pools, sunbed, relaxation area and gym and pool plant area on the ground floor.
In its appeal, the North West Regional Fisheries Board said a previous application was withdrawn and the site was in the sensitive Lough Beltra catch-ment. The lake is an important spring salmon and sea trout fishery.
In his report to An Bord Pleanala, Mr John Bird, Inspector said in the absence of clear evidence of housing need and of adequate visual analysis and of details of fail-safe mechanisms relating to surface water, foul sewerage and swimming pools, he considered that the appeal by the Fisheries Board was reasonable and should be upheld.
He said permission should be refused on the grounds that the development would be located with access to a regional route in an area under strong urban influence from the town of Castlebar and within the environmentally sensitive catch-ment area of Lough Beltra, an important spring salmon and sea trout fishery. He said having regard to the watercourse running along the north-western boundary of the site, which discharges to Lough Beltra, it was considered the proposed dwelling and the development of an additional private wastewater treatment plant, notwithstanding the proposed use of a proprietary waste water treat-ment system, within the Lough Beltra catchment, by itself and by the precedent which permission would set, might endanger the water quality of the lake.
The Board upheld this decision, stating the development would constitute a threat of water pollution and would therefore be prejudicial to public health.
Majella Loftus
© Western People
The North Western Regional Fisheries Board lodged an objection to An Bord Pleanala against the development, which was upheld by the board. Arnold Wijnen had been granted permission, subject to 17 conditions, by Mayo County Council on November 6 last for the development at Barnastang, Glenisland. It was for the construction of a seven bedroom house with an integrated relaxation area, a pool, an artist’s studio, gallery and garage area, including a septic tank, proprietary effluence treatment plant, percolation area, associated services and to form a new access from the public road.
From the house site there are extensive views down the valley to Lough Beltra. There are also extensive views north-eastwards towards the mountains where a wind farm was in view.
The proposals for the two storey building included an entrance hall, living and sitting rooms, a gallery with mezzanine, dining room, kitchen, stores and utility, four toilets, a four space car garage, studio, swimming pools, sunbed, relaxation area and gym and pool plant area on the ground floor.
In its appeal, the North West Regional Fisheries Board said a previous application was withdrawn and the site was in the sensitive Lough Beltra catch-ment. The lake is an important spring salmon and sea trout fishery.
In his report to An Bord Pleanala, Mr John Bird, Inspector said in the absence of clear evidence of housing need and of adequate visual analysis and of details of fail-safe mechanisms relating to surface water, foul sewerage and swimming pools, he considered that the appeal by the Fisheries Board was reasonable and should be upheld.
He said permission should be refused on the grounds that the development would be located with access to a regional route in an area under strong urban influence from the town of Castlebar and within the environmentally sensitive catch-ment area of Lough Beltra, an important spring salmon and sea trout fishery. He said having regard to the watercourse running along the north-western boundary of the site, which discharges to Lough Beltra, it was considered the proposed dwelling and the development of an additional private wastewater treatment plant, notwithstanding the proposed use of a proprietary waste water treat-ment system, within the Lough Beltra catchment, by itself and by the precedent which permission would set, might endanger the water quality of the lake.
The Board upheld this decision, stating the development would constitute a threat of water pollution and would therefore be prejudicial to public health.
Majella Loftus
© Western People
Friday, 18 May 2007
Ferris says planning guidelines are a stunt
RURAL planning guidelines are not worth the paper they are written on and are little more than a publicity stunt Sinn Féin TD, Martin Ferris, has claimed.
He said that when Minister Dick Roche launched the guidelines in 2004, they were nothing more than a publicity stunt in the run into the local elections, a situation now being borne out in rural parts of Kerry.
Deputy Ferris said the inconsistencies and difficulties that people face when seeking planning permission in rural areas are as apparent now as they were three years ago.
"If there is to be fairness and consistency in rural planning then many of these guidelines will have to be written into legislation," he said.
"I will be proposing many parts of the guidelines to be written into legislation, particularly around people building on family land," the Kerry North TD said.
"I am acutely aware of many cases where young people seeking to build a home on plots given to them by their parents find it very difficult to get permission," Deputy Ferris added.
"If the minister and his government were serious about changing the planning system then they would have made sure that local planners were given a little more than just guidelines," the Sinn Féin Dail candidate said.
Mary Murphy
© The Kingdom
He said that when Minister Dick Roche launched the guidelines in 2004, they were nothing more than a publicity stunt in the run into the local elections, a situation now being borne out in rural parts of Kerry.
Deputy Ferris said the inconsistencies and difficulties that people face when seeking planning permission in rural areas are as apparent now as they were three years ago.
"If there is to be fairness and consistency in rural planning then many of these guidelines will have to be written into legislation," he said.
"I will be proposing many parts of the guidelines to be written into legislation, particularly around people building on family land," the Kerry North TD said.
"I am acutely aware of many cases where young people seeking to build a home on plots given to them by their parents find it very difficult to get permission," Deputy Ferris added.
"If the minister and his government were serious about changing the planning system then they would have made sure that local planners were given a little more than just guidelines," the Sinn Féin Dail candidate said.
Mary Murphy
© The Kingdom
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
PDs have new ideas for rural planning laws
THE Progressive Democrats have vowed to remove An Bord Pleanala's role in deciding rural planning matters if returned to government.
Launching its rural and agricultural manifesto yesterday, party president Tom Parlon proposed that three regional planning appeals boards will be established to decide if one-off housing should be approved.
Its package also contained provisions for more rural transport, tax breaks for farmers and support services for older people living alone in rural isolation.
Anyone living in a rural area for seven years will be entitled to build a home, while the party also plans a 'name and shame' campaign of those found to have breached planning laws.
Mr Parlon accused the Green Party of "disowning" a policy to ban live cattle exports.
"In this election campaign one of the most notable features has been the anxiety of some of the opposition parties to disown long-held policy positions in a bid to make themselves more acceptable to the voters before May 24th next," he said.
"The Green Party's animal welfare policy is very precise on this issue of crucial importance to the farming community. Let me quote directly from it: The Green Party does not promote or support live exports of animals.
"I leave it to the people of Ireland - and in this case the farmers of Ireland - to give their verdict on this kind of dishonest politics." But the Greens dismissed the comments as 'paranoid bluster', saying the party wanted to create local abattoirs and meat processing plants to encourage demand for fresh, healthy local produce rather than propagate a system that could place animals under undue stress.
"We recognise however that a viable alternative does not yet exist, and until it does we favour the phasing out over time of live exports," deputy leader Cllr Mary White said.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Launching its rural and agricultural manifesto yesterday, party president Tom Parlon proposed that three regional planning appeals boards will be established to decide if one-off housing should be approved.
Its package also contained provisions for more rural transport, tax breaks for farmers and support services for older people living alone in rural isolation.
Anyone living in a rural area for seven years will be entitled to build a home, while the party also plans a 'name and shame' campaign of those found to have breached planning laws.
Mr Parlon accused the Green Party of "disowning" a policy to ban live cattle exports.
"In this election campaign one of the most notable features has been the anxiety of some of the opposition parties to disown long-held policy positions in a bid to make themselves more acceptable to the voters before May 24th next," he said.
"The Green Party's animal welfare policy is very precise on this issue of crucial importance to the farming community. Let me quote directly from it: The Green Party does not promote or support live exports of animals.
"I leave it to the people of Ireland - and in this case the farmers of Ireland - to give their verdict on this kind of dishonest politics." But the Greens dismissed the comments as 'paranoid bluster', saying the party wanted to create local abattoirs and meat processing plants to encourage demand for fresh, healthy local produce rather than propagate a system that could place animals under undue stress.
"We recognise however that a viable alternative does not yet exist, and until it does we favour the phasing out over time of live exports," deputy leader Cllr Mary White said.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Friday, 23 February 2007
Louth planning rules 'victimising homeowners'
Planning requirements in Co Louth are "victimising homeowners and encouraging rentals", according to a local councillor who has persuaded his colleagues to vote for a review of strict planning criteria applying in the area.
Cllr Terry Brennan (FG) won the support of county councillors to carry out an interim review of the county development plan in relation to the strict criteria on applying to build one-off rural houses.
At the moment the plan states a housing need is established where "the applicant does not currently own a house or has not owned a house within the previous five years or where his/her current accommodation, as accepted by the Planning Authority, is insufficient to meet his/her accommodation needs".
Cllr Brennan said: "Our plan penalises home owners and discourages people from getting on the property ladder. I don't want a carte blanche here but I believe that local people are being victimised."
Last week 13 such planning permission applications were refused. "People are being forced to sell their own homes and rent another property" to meet the criteria, he said.
The guidelines were adopted with the plan last July and it dictates development in the county up to 2009. The official review of the plan is due to begin at the end of this year and usually takes up to two years to complete.
"Quite often the problem is the different interpretation by different planners of what an applicant's needs are, and I want this clarified so we all sing off the same hymn sheet," he said. "I also want people to be able to state what their own needs are."
The council's director of services and planning Rose Kenny advised that the issue was one interpretation of the guidelines and could be resolved.
Elaine Keogh
© 2007 The Irish Times
Cllr Terry Brennan (FG) won the support of county councillors to carry out an interim review of the county development plan in relation to the strict criteria on applying to build one-off rural houses.
At the moment the plan states a housing need is established where "the applicant does not currently own a house or has not owned a house within the previous five years or where his/her current accommodation, as accepted by the Planning Authority, is insufficient to meet his/her accommodation needs".
Cllr Brennan said: "Our plan penalises home owners and discourages people from getting on the property ladder. I don't want a carte blanche here but I believe that local people are being victimised."
Last week 13 such planning permission applications were refused. "People are being forced to sell their own homes and rent another property" to meet the criteria, he said.
The guidelines were adopted with the plan last July and it dictates development in the county up to 2009. The official review of the plan is due to begin at the end of this year and usually takes up to two years to complete.
"Quite often the problem is the different interpretation by different planners of what an applicant's needs are, and I want this clarified so we all sing off the same hymn sheet," he said. "I also want people to be able to state what their own needs are."
The council's director of services and planning Rose Kenny advised that the issue was one interpretation of the guidelines and could be resolved.
Elaine Keogh
© 2007 The Irish Times
Tuesday, 2 January 2007
Ever wondered what would happen if we stopped granting one-off houses?
Here's what's happened in NI since regs have become much tougher ...
Prices for rural housing sites have more than doubled in the 10-months since the introduction of controversial legislation aimed at tackling ‘bungalow blight’. Draft planning policy statement 14, more commonly known as PPS14, brought in tough restrictions on development in rural areas, effectively ending the rise in single rural dwellings. But with green field spaces becoming ever more valuable, property developers and desperate would-be homeowners are competing to snap up the few sites to have been granted planning permission.
In the 10 months since the new planning rules were introduced, prices for rural sites have rocketed, with a majority more than doubling in value. Half-acre sites in Tyrone which were valued at £100,000 just months ago are already being sold for prices in excess of £200,000, and the pattern is repeated in almost every rural community from Fermanagh to north Antrim.
Although PPS14 was generally welcomed by environmental groups, it has been heavily criticised by politicians across the political spectrum for damaging rural communities. Newry and Mourne is one of the areas worst hit by the increase in greenfield site prices. The district is within easy commuting distance to both Dublin and Belfast and sites are proving to be a lucrative investment for property speculators who were fortunate enough to gain planning permission before the new rules came into force.
Estate agent Martin Bradley, who works in the Warrenpoint area, said the new planning legislation has pushed land values “through the roof”. “Prices have definitely doubled,” he said. “I had one particular site that was on the market for £72,500 about 18 months ago. It went on the market again recently and sold for £180,000. It was just a single one-off site, around half an acre. It’s all to do with PPS14 – people are saying this will be our last chance to be a rural dweller.”
Although the boom in land values is good news for many developers, first-time buyers hoping to set up home in rural areas are being pushed out of the market.
Mr Bradley said he fears prices will increase further as sites become more scarce, leading to a drop in rural populations. “The days of a young fella trying to get a field off his father and building a three-bedroom house are long gone,” he said. “The inevitable consequences of this is falling populations in rural schools and the rural way of life being decimated.”
And he claims the problem is exacerbated by a reduction in the amount of land available for development. “If you take in Mayobridge and Hilltown the Planning Service have reduced the amount of land available in rural areas,” he said. “They will say they haven’t but in real terms there is less land than there was 20 years ago.”
Prices for rural housing sites have more than doubled in the 10-months since the introduction of controversial legislation aimed at tackling ‘bungalow blight’. Draft planning policy statement 14, more commonly known as PPS14, brought in tough restrictions on development in rural areas, effectively ending the rise in single rural dwellings. But with green field spaces becoming ever more valuable, property developers and desperate would-be homeowners are competing to snap up the few sites to have been granted planning permission.
In the 10 months since the new planning rules were introduced, prices for rural sites have rocketed, with a majority more than doubling in value. Half-acre sites in Tyrone which were valued at £100,000 just months ago are already being sold for prices in excess of £200,000, and the pattern is repeated in almost every rural community from Fermanagh to north Antrim.
Although PPS14 was generally welcomed by environmental groups, it has been heavily criticised by politicians across the political spectrum for damaging rural communities. Newry and Mourne is one of the areas worst hit by the increase in greenfield site prices. The district is within easy commuting distance to both Dublin and Belfast and sites are proving to be a lucrative investment for property speculators who were fortunate enough to gain planning permission before the new rules came into force.
Estate agent Martin Bradley, who works in the Warrenpoint area, said the new planning legislation has pushed land values “through the roof”. “Prices have definitely doubled,” he said. “I had one particular site that was on the market for £72,500 about 18 months ago. It went on the market again recently and sold for £180,000. It was just a single one-off site, around half an acre. It’s all to do with PPS14 – people are saying this will be our last chance to be a rural dweller.”
Although the boom in land values is good news for many developers, first-time buyers hoping to set up home in rural areas are being pushed out of the market.
Mr Bradley said he fears prices will increase further as sites become more scarce, leading to a drop in rural populations. “The days of a young fella trying to get a field off his father and building a three-bedroom house are long gone,” he said. “The inevitable consequences of this is falling populations in rural schools and the rural way of life being decimated.”
And he claims the problem is exacerbated by a reduction in the amount of land available for development. “If you take in Mayobridge and Hilltown the Planning Service have reduced the amount of land available in rural areas,” he said. “They will say they haven’t but in real terms there is less land than there was 20 years ago.”
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