Ballyogan and Environs LAP

It is proposed to prepare a Local Area Plan (LAP) for Ballyogan and Environs, an area covering Ballyogan, Kilgobbin, The Gallops/Glencairn (Leopardstown) and parts of Carrickmines and Stepaside. An LAP is a land use planning tool that guides the development of an area by way of policies and objectives.

In advance of preparing a draft LAP, DLRCC is engaging in public consultation, to help determine the planning issues the LAP should address. DLRCC is seeking views of individuals and organisations with an interest in the area. Submissions may be made online or by post any time up to 5pm on Thursday 24th May by clicking this Make a Submission link. This link also contains details of Public Information Meetings.

To help inform this consultation, the DLRCC Planning Department has prepared a Story Map, which provides a context for the area by way of online interactive maps and images, and an Issues Paper which pulls together baseline information by way of a study of various planning themes relevant to the area. Just click on the links.

You are invited to consider these in advance of making your observation, as they may help in framing your submission. Printed copies of the Issues Paper are available for inspection at the County Council offices in Dun Laoghaire and Dundrum, and at all DLR libraries. Link to DLRCC website here. If you need help making a submission contact bps here.

PROPOSED DEANSGRANGE LOCAL AREA PLAN

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council proposes to make a Local Area Plan for Deansgrange.

A copy of the Proposed Local Area Plan will be available for inspection from Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) from Tuesday 23rd February, 2010 to Tuesday 6th April, 2010.

Fror all submissions and observations in respect of the Proposed Deansgrange Local Area Plan, please contact bps on 087-2615871.

www.buckplanning.ie

LOCAL AREA PLAN FOR DUNBOYNE/CLONEE/PACE

Meath County Council proposes to prepare a Local Area Plan for Dunboyne/Clonee/Pace.
Submissions must be made no later than 3.30pm on Monday 8th December 2008.

bps planning consultants is a firm of professional town planners who can make submissions on your behalf. Please call Brendan or Tony on 0404-66060 or email:
admin@buckplanning.ie. For further details about bps visit www.buckplanning.ie

Deansgrange Local Area Plan deadline

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is preparing a Local Area Plan for Deansgrange. The County Council has invited any interested parties or individuals to make suggestions/observations with respect to the proposed Local Area Plan during the pre-draft consultation stage. Submissions may be made in writing during the six-week period from Friday 3rd October 2008 to Friday 14th November 2008 inclusive.

If you are interested in making a submission, contact bps on 0404-66060 and we can discuss the process involved.

www.buckplanning.ie

Politicians push for Drogheda development planning probe

The former environment minister Dick Roche and a local politician have called for an inquiry into recent planning decisions in Co Meath, after a Dublin developer threatened to take a multi-million euro High Court case against Meath County Council.

Dick Roche, Minister of State, confirmed he had written to environment minister John Gormley last week calling for a formal investigation.

Serious allegations regarding the way in which the planning authority has operated were made to Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Roche, who has expressed deep concern.

The allegations were made after the recent publication of the South Drogheda Environs Local Area Plan.

‘‘I am aware of the concerns that have been raised,” said Roche. ‘‘I was reluctant to get directly involved in this affair because of a family connection, but having been approached by local public representatives I feel the complaints are serious and warrant investigation.”

Shane McEntee, Fine Gael TD, has also written to the Taoiseach calling for a planning inspector to be appointed. He wants the planning decisions made in Meath over the past ten years to be examined. It is understood that this suggestion is under serious consideration.

McEntee believes there has been a pattern of worrying decisions and said the proposed Local Area Plan would scupper ‘‘the chances of Drogheda United building a new 10,000 seater state-of-the-art stadium in east Meath, as planned. What has been going on is a disgrace,’’ McEntee said.

The directors of Drogheda United had agreed a deal with Dublin developer Bill Doyle, in which Doyle would build a new stadium close to lands he purchased in Bryanstown, south Drogheda, in exchange for their existing stadium at United Park. Doyle spent an estimated €110 million on buying approximately140 acres of land in Bryanstown in recent years.

Under the proposed planning strategy for the greater Drogheda area - commissioned by Drogheda Borough Council, Louth County Council and Meath County Council - the Bryanstown area was earmarked for large-scale development including residential homes.

Developers and councillors often work together to deliver common objectives and sources close to Doyle claimed he had been given verbal assurances by planners that the land would be zoned residential, in line with the planning strategy. This was also reiterated by a number of senior officials at Drogheda United. Doyle is now believed to be considering legal action.

On that basis Doyle bought up land in Bryanstown, which is about three miles south of Drogheda town. In a previous interview with this newspaper he said he had plans to build 2,500 houses, a stadium for Drogheda United, as well as four kilometres of road linking theN1 with theM1.

His lands will now be zoned for open space and light industrial use, according to the proposed Local Area Plan that has just been published.

Other landowners in Bryanstown claimed the proposed Local Area Plan was ‘‘very materially different’’ to the planning strategy outlined for the area. The strategy is not a statutory document, however. Vincent Hoey, Drogheda United chairman, expressed huge frustration at what he described as a ‘‘major setback for the club.

‘‘We were leading the way for soccer in Ireland. We have been delayed by the planners for years and the situation has become intolerable. We had an agreement with a developer and we were assured by local planners that we would get planning. For us, it is checkmate,” said Hoey.

A spokeswoman for Meath County Council said it was ‘‘not aware of any investigation currently taking place or pending’’. She added that the council was satisfied that the plan has been developed in accordance with all the statutory requirements.

Sunday Business Post

www.buckplanning.ie

Property tycoons 'not losing sleep' over 80m interest bill for failed D4 plan

Councillors' rejection of Ballsbridge scheme will cost SeanDunne and his like an enormous amount of money writes Justine McCarthy.But the Dublin 4 developers are in this for the long haul SOME of Ireland's wealthiest property developers could be shelling out 80m-a-year in loan interest payments for landmark sites in Dublin 4 which failed to get the development green light from Dublin City Council last week.

But, according to sources close to a number of the developers, they are not perturbed about the escalating costs, which are running into figures that most mortals could not comprehend.

"I doubt if any of those boys are losing too much sleep over it, " opined another heavyweight developer.

An estimated 1.8bn has been splurged by Sean Dunne, Bernard McNamara and Ray Grehan, among others, on strategic properties in the capital's most desirable postal district. But councillors' rejection of a plan to raise the permissible height of buildings means that the developers' grandiose schemes to reconstruct Ballsbridge must remain on ice indefinitely. The council has said it will not revisit the issue for at least a year.

Dunne, who has plans for a 32-storey tower on the existing Jurys/Berkeley Court/Towers hotel lands, spent 370m acquiring the site as part of his dream to turn the area into Dublin's Knightsbridge. The hotels are due to close for business at the end of the summer.

His interest payments to Ulster Bank, based on a 4.5% fixed lending rate, are reckoned to be between 15m and 18m a year if he borrowed the entire amount. He also paid 130m for the Hume House office block near Jurys, plus 200m for his share of AIB's headquarters opposite the RDS.

While the colourful Tullow native has attracted most attention for his Dublin 4 acquisitions, he is pipped by former Fianna Fail county councillor Bernard McNamara in terms of spending. The latter has gone on a retail therapy spree worth nearly 900m, pushing the going rate for land in the area up to 60m per acre. His purchases include the Burlington Hotel ( 288m), the Allianz building ( 100m) and the Irish Glass Bottle site ( 412m).

Another developer, Ray Grehan, bought the former UCD Veterinary College for 171m and David Daly of Albany Homes spent 25m on Franklin House, an office block. Between them, the developers have spent more on buying up Ballsbridge than the total value realised from SSIA accounts in credit unions throughout the country.

Some of the borrowings are likely to have a no-payment period built into the agreement, on the basis that construction cannot begin until the planners amend the height restrictions; something generally regarded as inevitable.

Though the bill for their shopping spree equals 7% of the national debt, they are prepared to engage in a who-blinks-first contest with the planners, not sending in the wrecker's ball until their demands for taller buildings in Ballsbridge are conceded. A minimum of 20 storeys is considered the bare essential if the developers are to mine a profit from their investments.

Any fears that the growing financial pressure of having to sit out the stalemate might damage the national economy are dismissed by economists and other developers. One pointed out that Dunne's 370m price tag for the hotels represents only 1.5% of Irish banks' total lending for real estate.

"I think this will be an annoyance to them but nothing that wasn't expected, " said Paul Murgatroyd, economist with Douglas Newman Good estate agents. "I don't think any of them realistically expected to be on site within three years. They didn't buy the sites with their eyes shut. They knew the existing 12-storey ceiling was there and that they were going to have to win over the residents and the council."

A property developer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I wouldn't see any of them going bust. You're talking about five or six acres.

So what, in the overall context of the market?

Down along the docklands in Dublin, there are hundreds of acres being developed with land fetching 25m-an-acre. Development is a long-term game.

When you look at a scheme like Dunne's in Ballsbridge, you're talking about a five or 10-year job.

They're pretty solid people. They all have plenty of money and plenty of assets."

Sunday Tribune

Council blocks Dunne high-rise project

PLANS by developer Sean Dunne to build Ireland's first skyscraper in Dublin 4 have been dramatically shot down.

Dublin city councillors last night rejected outright a local area plan (LAP) for Ballsbridge that would have given the Carlow businessman the go-ahead to build a 20-storey apartment complex on the Jury's Hotel site.

Following a highly-charged debate where officials were accused of pandering to developers, all councillors bar one voted not to approve the plan, which called for 'landmark' buildings between 10 and 20 storeys to be allowed.

The decision will come as a bitter blow to developers, including Mr Dunne, Ray Grehan of Glenkerrin Homes and Bernard McNamara, who have spent millions acquiring land in the south Dublin suburb.

Upwards of €50m an acre have been spent acquiring some sites.

A spokesman for Mr Dunne's Mountbrook Homes said last night that the company would "consider its options".

"The site we have (Jury's / Berkerley Court) now reverts to the zoning it had when we bought it. In the light of the rejection of the proposed rezoning, we will consider that going forward," the spokesman said.

But planning sources said last night that the decision to reject the plan might not stop high-rise developments in the area.

A developer could still apply to build high-density tall buildings, and if a decision by the council to reject the application was appealed to An Bord Pleanala, the board might approve it given the area's close proximity to the city centre and good public transport links.

The draft local area plan voted down last night proposed increasing the zonings in the area to facilitate intensive development, and would allow 'district landmark' buildings of up to 20 storeys be constructed - two-and-a-half times the height of the tallest buildings already in the area.

The plan was put out on public display for three months and there were 266 submissions from the public.

However, councillors were very vocal in their opposition, with not one councillor expressing support for the plan.

The Labour group said it would apply the party whip compelling all its councillors to reject the plan, with claims made that the LAP was drawn up to facilitate developers.

"On behalf of the Fine Gael group we reject this in full," Cllr Gary Breen said.

"We're being asked to sign a blank cheque. This is the planning process in reverse, we're not responsible for the folly of a developer."

Fianna Fail's Michael Donnelly added there was 'no option' but to reject the plan given local opposition. His party colleague Deirdre Heney abstained from the vote.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

Council get hands-on in Phibsborough

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has agreed to draw up a Local Area Plan (LAP) for the Phibsborough region in response to concerns expressed by local residents about the possibility of widespread unregulated redevelopment taking place in the north city suburb.

Substantial construction projects are expected to get underway soon in the general area including the redevelopment of the 20-acre Mountjoy jail site, the 30-acre Broadstone/CIE site and the 65-acre Grangegorman campus where the Dublin Institute of Technology is to relocate.

The proposed Luas extension to Broadstone and the new Metro line extending through the north inner city are expected to further enhance development opportunities in the area.

"This is one of the biggest areas of potential change in the whole of the city, " says James Pike of O'Mahony Pike Architects who drew up a preliminary masterplan for the Broadstone site. "What happens to these three sites will have an enormous bearing on the future of the whole area."

"We're currently at the predraft consultation stage, " says city council assistant area manager, Hugh McKenna.

"We've had a number of public meetings with interested parties including local residents, public representatives and business owners in the area. We've also received about 70 submissions from members of the public. Issues like traffic, height and density and community facilities are high on everyone's agenda."

A draft document based on data collated from these sources will be drawn up and presented to city councillors.

After that a further period of public consultation will take place.

A LAP is made up of a written statement and maps, plans and drawings setting out objectives for the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Unlike the Framework Development Area Plan originally intended for the area, a Local Area Plan has a statutory basis and will oblige developers to adhere to specific criteria cited in the document.

Because it is a legally binding document, the planning authority and An Bord Pleanála must take account of the provisions of the LAP when considering an application for planning permission for a development located within the area defined by the plan.

"The plan should have been in place a long time ago, " says Labour party councillor, Emer Costello. "The fact is that development has been taking place in a piecemeal and ad hoc way. It's not organised, co-ordinated or structured. No-one has been looking at the overall picture and taking account of issues like drainage, water services and traffic.

"Residents are anxious that the LAP should now be put in place as soon as possible. We feel that any significant future development should take place within the context of the plan. There is concern locally that some pre-emptive development could take place with some builders effectively jumping the gun to start construction before the rules and regulations are set out."

Large parts of the area are zoned 'Z2' which means they are recognised as 'residential conservation areas'. "People are very anxious to maintain the architectural integrity of the area, " Costello says. "In relation to the redevelopment of an area like Dalymount Park or Mountjoy there would be concerns about the height of any new buildings erected there.

Density too is a major issue.

As councillors we're being told to zone for residential buildings because families are having to commute. But in reality what we see getting built are more and more apartments aimed at the investor market and which as a consequence attract a transient population with no real stake in the community."

Residential development is expected to form a sizeable part of any new construction projects undertaken in the area. "The Grangegorman campus alone will induce a lot of housing development, " James Pike says. Accommodating DIT's 39 current education centres at the location is expected to attract 20,000 pupils and 2,000 staff to the area.

"A very small portion of the subsequent residential demand will be satisfied on site. But the expectation is that there will be a lot of offshoot development including residential, commercial and retail too."

According to Marie Hunt, head of research with CB Richard Ellis, developers will analyse all potential land usage before proceeding with any specific projects. "Most of them will look at residential initially because it's probably the most profitable. After that you would look at what other uses could work on the site. For example, in relation to office development my gut reaction would be that Phibsborough isn't established as an office location so you wouldn't necessarily be thinking of putting the kind of blocks you see in the docklands there.

"There will certainly be demand for retail. I don't expect we're talking about shopping centres - what they call comparison retail. It's more probable you're talking about convenience type retail aimed at facilitating the expected rise in the local residential population."

The 18km-long Metro North line is expected to carry some 34 million passengers annually and should allow passengers to interchange easily to rail, Luas and bus services.

Marie Hunt believes the improved transport infrastructure will, to a large extent, shape the character of future development in Phibsborough. "If you look at what's happened with the Luas line for example, increased height and density have been allowed in areas adjacent to the tracks. Accessibility allows for the maximum use of public transport which is seen as a big plus.

Developers will even pay a contribution to the line going through their lands because that will allow them to get increased density and a better gain on the site."

Sunday Tribune

Bitter blow for Greencore as €1bn plan

LAOIS County Council has blasted a big hole in Greencore's controversial €1.1bn development of its land bank in Carlow/Laois. In a shock move last week, a local area draft plan failed to include a hundred acres of land in Laois owned by Greencore in its rezoning plans.
Greencore sources are playing down the move, maintaining that it is in separate discussions with Laois County Council. According to a spokesman, "it was agreed that the sugar factory would be considered separately."
But a senior Laois planning source has told the Sunday Independent that "we have an adequate amount of zoned lands within the area and we do not consider that we need to zone any more."
The Greencore lands are mostly located in Carlow but a hundred acres of the land bank is controlled by the local authority in Laois. The Greencore lands straddle the river Barrow which marks the border between the two counties. The Carlow and Laois lands owned by Greencore run adjacently along the river.
The decision by Laois County Council not to include the Greencore lands for 'mixed use' zoning could stymie the company's aim to become the major
property developer in the Carlow area. As currently proposed, the lands will now remain unzoned.
Political sources in Carlow have said that the decision by Laois County Council to frustrate the Greencore plans will boost political opposition to the company on next-door Carlow County Council.
Greencore faces a marathon task in persuading Carlow councillors to further its ambitions to become a big property player. Last night a leading Carlow politician told the Sunday Independent that "in current circumstances, Greencore hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of being given rezoning".
Greencore has won few friends in the Carlow region since its decision to close down the sugar factory and its failure to see local beet farmers compensated. Carlow has been the location of several popular protests against the company's behaviour with a battery of disaffected former workers, pensioners and beet farmers lobbying politicians to fight Greencore's plans.
The final decision on the zoning of Greencore's lands will rest with the county councillors (some of whom are themselves ex-employees) and not with the planners. A decision could be made as early as June. Carlow County Council has already employed consultants O'Mahony Pike to advise on the development of the town.
News of the danger to Greencore's plans came in a week when Greencore's shares saw another mystery buyer. Analysts were surprised to see bulk buying on Wednesday when the rest of the market was in retreat. A single transaction of 3.3m shares is understood to have taken place through Goodbody Stockbrokers. Speculation centred around developer Liam Carroll who already holds 22 per cent, but some brokers were suggesting that Mr Carroll had decided to reduce his interests because of the difficulties of developing the Carlow land bank.
Last November Greencore made an exotic submission to Carlow County Council with its proposals for its land bank. This included a promise to create 2,000 jobs by building "a sustainable enterprise-based community".
It promised a network of streets, squares and public parks and a mix of retail,commercial and residential buildings.
Shane Ross
© Irish Independent

NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO NEWBRIDGE LOCAL AREA

By Order of the High Court made on the 21st February 2006, in proceedings entitled Newbridge Community Development Limited –v- Kildare County Council, Judicial Review Record No. 254JR/2004, the High Court quashed the following part of clause 2.6.2. of the Newbridge Local Area Plan 2003 as adopted by Kildare County Council on the 29th September 2003 :-

“The amenity strip along the west side of the River Liffey at Kilbelin shall be reduced to 50m and public access to same shall be provided at the southern end of the zoning.”

The High Court also ordered Kildare County Council to propose and advertise, in accordance with the provisions of Section 20 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 –2004, an amendment to Clauses 2.6.2 and 4.1.4. of the Newbridge Local Area Plan 2003 with the consequential amendments to the map forming part of the Plan.

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 20 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 – 2004 that Kildare County Council proposes to make an amendment to the Newbridge Local Area Plan 2003 as follows:

The existing terms of Clause 2.6.2 of the Plan consequent upon the said High Court Order provide as follows:

Clause 2.6.2 “No development will be permitted on either bank within 80m of the River Liffey. Development along the river should front onto the river so as to ensure the passive supervision of the proposed linear park.”
It is proposed to amend the terms of Clause 2.6.2 by the addition of the following text at the end thereof:
“The amenity strip and the area where development will not be permitted along the west side of the River Liffey at Kilbelin shall be reduced to 50m of the River Liffey and public access to same shall be provided at the southern end of the zoning. The area between the 50m strip and the adjacent lands zoned New Residential to be zoned New Residential. “

The existing terms of the Clause 4.1.4 of the Plan provide as follows:

Clause 4.1.4. No development will be permitted within 80m of the banks of the River Liffey in order to facilitate the creation of a riverside linear park.
It is proposed to amend the terms of Clause 4.1.4 by the addition of the following text at the end thereof:

Along the west side of the River Liffey at Kilbelin, the area where no development will be permitted shall be reduced to 50m of the River Liffey.

The proposed amendments together with the map relating to the proposed amendments may be inspected for a period of 6 weeks between 14/12/06 and 25/01/07

Ballsbridge plans scuppered?

Did anyone catch that story in The Irish Times today about how Dublin City Council plans to cap the height of buildings in Ballsbridge? Will this scupper old Sean Dunne's plans for the area? His 32 storey building may now not be possible on the Jurys and Berkeley Court hotel sites.

The reason for this is the proposed local area plan that will restrict the height of buildings in the area. The plan, written by town planning consultants Urban Initiatives, has been presented to the local city councillors and will be put out to public consultation later this month. According to The Irish Times, it focuses on the "urban village" centre of Ballsbridge around the junction of Pembroke Road, Shelbourne Road and Merrion Road, especially the development opportunities presented by large sites such as the seven-acre Jurys/Berkeley Court site bought by developer Sean Dunne for €380 million last year.

Personally I think that this is not the ideal location for tall buildings, but the DEGW Study wasn't strong enough and only Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is funding a study on tall buildings at present. Hopefully the Local Area Plan will give some guidance.

For details on local area plans see my October blogs!

Local Area Plans in Irish planning

Local Area Plans in Irish planning

Since the emergence of planning in Ireland, and especially since it was placed on a firm statutory footing in 1963, action area plans, that is land use plans with specific objectives for a small areas, have been widely drawn up and implemented with various degrees of success. In cases where little success was achieved, it tended to be because such plans had no statutory basis. This changed in the 2000 Act, in which Section 18 provides a statutory basis. The Act now says: a planning authority may at any time, and for any particular area within its functional area, prepare a local area plan in respect of that area. Further, two or more planning authorities may co-operate in preparing a local area plan in respect of any area which lies within the combined functional area of the authorities concerned. The provisions of local plans (and draft local plans) must now be taken into consideration in assessing applications for planning permission. Such plans must indicate the period for which the plan is to remain in force (but no fixed period is stated – it doesn’t have to change as a development plan does, though in any conflict with a new development plan, a local plan is overridden). Such plans can be amended or revoked at any time.

Under section 19 of the act, a local area plan may be prepared in respect of any area, including a Gaeltacht area, or an existing suburb of an urban area, which the planning authority considers suitable and, in particular, for those areas which require economic, physical and social renewal and for areas likely to be subject to large scale development within the lifetime of the plan. But must be made for areas: (1) designated as towns in the most recent census of population, (2) A town with a population over 2,000. Where plans ‘must’ be made, it has to be within two years after a development plan made under the 2000 Act and every 6 years after.

A local area plan shall be consistent with the objectives of the development plan and consists of a written statement and a plan or plans indicating the objectives. It includes details on community facilities and amenities and on standards for the design of developments and structures. It must also contain information on the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the plan (in line with Strategic Environmental Assessment).

The procedure for the consultation and adoption of local area plans is laid out below (and in section 20 of the Act). A great deal of emphasis is laid on public consultation.

The Local Area Plan Process: A Local Area Plan (LAP) sets out a strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of a specific area within a local authority and for a timescale as specified by the authority. The plan must consist of a written statement and map or maps, which set out the local authorities’ objectives for the plan area. These objectives may relate to any or all of the following:

1. Land Use Zoning & Density

2. Public Open Space

3. Private Open Space

4. Car Parking

5. Provision of Infrastructure

6. Conservation of Built Heritage

7. Conservation of Natural Environment

8. Provision of Traveller Accommodation

9. Community Facilities

10. Design & Development Standards.

The policies or objectives contained in a Local Area Plan must be consistent with the objectives of the Development Plan and must include information on the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the Plan. A Local Area Plan is a legal document and must be prepared and adopted in a particular manner and within a strict timescale as set out in Part II Section 20 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 and as amended 2002. The Planning Authority must indicate the period for which the Local Area Plan is to remain in force and may at any time amend or revoke the plan.

When considering an application for permission within the boundary of a Local Area Plan, the Planning Authority or An Bord Pleanála must take account of the provisions set out in the LAP. The provisions of any relevant draft Local Area Plan may also be considered.

A Local Area Plan may be prepared by a Local Authority at any time and for any particular part of its’ functional area. Two or more planning authorities may co-operate in preparing a Local Area Plan where the area concerned crosses the boundaries of adjoining authorities. The preparation, amendment or revoking of a Local Area Plan includes periods of consultation during which the input of the public, interested bodies and service providers is invited and welcomed. The making of a Local Area Plan is a reserved function of Elected Members of the County Council (Councillors). The Members can adopt, amend or revoke the Plan following consideration of any issues raised.

The following is a summary of the timescale and processes involved in the preparation and adoption of a Local Area Plan (LAP).

1. Pre-Draft Public Consultation Phase

Prior to preparing a draft Plan, the local authority takes whatever steps it considers necessary to consult the public including public bodies, non-governmental agencies, residents’ associations, community groups, and business interests in the area.

2. Draft Plan Preparation

The draft plan is prepared by the County Council for display taking into account issues raised during the pre-draft consultation phase.

3. Public Notice & Plan Display

An advertisement is placed in national newspapers announcing the preparation of a Local Area Plan. Notice and a copy of the Draft Local Area Plan is also sent to bodies such as the E.S.B., Department of Education and Science, etc, which are called “prescribed bodies.” The Draft Plan goes on display for a minimum period of 6 weeks during which submissions / observations are invited from the public and all interested parties.

4. Preparation of Manager’s Report on Submissions / Observations

This report must be submitted to the elected members of the County Council for their consideration not later than 12 weeks after notice is published in the national newspapers.

5. Manager’s Report Submitted to Elected Members for Consideration

Elected Members have 6 weeks to consider the report and adopt / amend the plan.

6. Amendment of Local Area Plan

If the Elected Members decide to amend the Local Area Plan otherwise than is recommended in the Manager’s Report, the Planning Authority must publish notice of the proposed variation or modification not later than 3 weeks after the passing of a resolution to materially alter the plan.

7. Display of Proposed Variation

The proposed variation(s) of a Local Area Plan must go on public display for not less than 4 weeks. Written submissions / observations received in respect of material alterations to the Local Area Plan are put on public display.

8. Preparation of Manager’s Report on Submissions on Proposed Variation

Manager’s report to be prepared on submissions / observations received in respect of material alterations to the Local Area Plan not later than 8 weeks after notice is published.

9. Elected Members Consider Proposed Variation / Modification & Manager’s Report.

Elected Members to make or amend the Local Area Plan with variation(s) proposed by the Planning Authority or, if different as recommended in the Manager’s report not later than 6 weeks after receiving the report.

A Local Area Plan is prepared with input from many people and organisations including the following:

1. Elected Members of the County Council (Councillors);

2. Members of the Public;

3. Departments within the County Council;

4. Residents’ associations, community groups, non-governmental agencies, etc.;

5. An Bord Pleanála & Prescribed Authorities, e.g. the National Roads Authority, E.S.B. etc.

It is important that everybody who may be affected by the plan is given the opportunity to be involved in this process. A Local Area Plan is a plan, which will govern all development on the plan area for the timescale specified. Everybody including those not directly affected is entitled to give an opinion on any aspect of a Local Area Plan. All written submissions received during the draft display will be considered and reported on in the Manager’s Report.

Making a Submission on a Local Area Plan: All submissions should be clear and concise – to facilitate this, most councils provide a submission form. However, submissions do not have to be made on this form. Submissions can be made at pre-draft consultation phase or during the public display period of the Draft Local Area Plan.

All submissions must be made in writing to the planning Department:

Submissions / Observations should be marked X Local Area Plan and usually may also be made via e-mail to X and should state the name of the person making the submission and where relevant the body represented. For full details see Part II Sections 18, 19 & 20 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 and Sections 8 & 9 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2002.