A High Court judge has ordered a county council to take over immediate responsibility for public areas and services on two new housing estates following a legal dispute with the builders.
In a decision affecting local authorities’ special arrangements for taking over such responsibilities, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan ruled that Donegal County Council was not entitled to rely on a scheme created by it for that purpose but was obliged to deal with the matter in accordance with national law.
He said neither the council nor the local town council had offered an acceptable reason for failing to discharge their legal obligations to two building companies relating to two estates built by them at Maple Drive and Ross View, Magheracar, Bundoran.
White Maple Developments and Castlewin Properties built the 167 houses in 2006. They later asked the county council to take it “in charge”, meaning take over responsibility for public services including roads, open spaces, water pipes and sewers.
After attending to further works identified by the town council, the companies formally applied to have the estates taken in charge in May 2010. The application was made under a procedure set up by the council which runs parallel to a procedure set up under statute by the Planning and Development Act 2000.
Dermot Flanagan SC, for the council, argued that the non-statutory procedure enabled the council to take a transfer of title to roads and common areas whereas the 2000 Act was more limited in its scope.
Ordering the council to take steps to comply with its obligations under the 2000 Act, Mr Justice Hogan said the “taxpaying public are entitled to suppose their applications will be dealt with in accordance with law and not by reference to non-statutory schemes which the council has itself been pleased to create”.