Will Environment Minister John Gormley’s new Planning Bill, which becomes law later this summer, finally lead to consistency between local development and national planning?
THE DECISION by the Environment Minister John Gormley to review some of the planning practices in six county and city councils is being seen as a mere warm-up exercise for his new Planning Bill which comes into law this summer.
Planning has been one of the most contentious and corrupt areas of local government since the 1950s. A rezoning of land for development can greatly enhance its value and confer immediate wealth on its owners. Just as in many other countries, the system here has been greatly abused over the years by politicians, lobbyists, landowners and developers.
Officials too can be vulnerable to temptation as we now know from the activities of George Redmond. It is difficult to keep everything above board where a small number of people exercise control over a valuable resource – permission to build or not to build.
With widespread suggestions in recent years that some local councillors have been bribed to support land rezonings, it is hardly surprising that the new Planning Bill sets out to tighten up on the powers and responsibilities of local representatives. The legislation has been designed as a watershed in local government planning and in time we will know whether it changes the landscape.
The ambition is to have a clear consistency between a local development plan. the national spatial strategy and regional planning guidelines. On the face of it there should be no room for confusion or backhanders.
To be passed, a development plan must in future be ratified by two-thirds of the councillors as opposed to the current majority vote. And once development plans have been subject to public consultation, any changes made to them can only be of a minor nature.
The Planning Bill will also give the Minister of the day a greater legal role in formulating local authorities’ development plans. Since taking office, Gormley has been forced to intervene where councillors zoned far more land for development than was required.
In Monaghan and Mayo, he used his powers to overturn zonings that were in conflict with national planning policy. One of the key ambitions of the bill will be to give greater legal force to ministerial guidelines in areas such as development planning, flood risk management and sustainable residential development.
Many people lost faith in the planning process last summer when they watched TV news coverage of badly flooded housing estates in Sallins and other towns. Within days it was confirmed that many of these houses had been built along flood plains despite the obvious risks.
For now, the issue seems to have been forgotten; the weather has changed for the better and the councils probably fear that any further public attention could undermine values on these estates.
Many people will be watching closely to see whether the new planning act will have any affect on the largely laissez-faireapproach to one-off housing in rural areas. Local councillors lobbying on behalf of politically well-connected applicants have been blamed in the past by the Irish Planning Institute for some of the worst blots on the landscape.
Fianna Fáil councillors in particular will be anxious to safeguard their role as lobbyists and will be keeping a close eye on any attempts by Gormley to use EU regulations to tighten up on rural housing.
Another issue rarely mentioned but still central to the planning and property market is the vast number of unsold apartments in many of Dublin’s outer suburbs as well as in adjoining towns and villages.
During the property boom there was a rush to build apartments rather than houses but with the market now on the floor, it is likely to take years to clear unsold stock even at seriously discounted prices.
One study has estimated that about three-quarters of all unsold new homes in the greater Dublin area are apartments. The mismatch in the supply chain could hardly have been worse and it raises questions about the merits of always favouring high density developments as a means of halting urban sprawl.
That policy can work well in out-of-town sites with good transport links but not necessarily in other outlying areas with poor access.
Whether the planners like it or not, there will be a swing back to the conventional three-bed semi whenever building operations resume.
