Sir, - Donabate Parish Council is an elected community council representing the Donabate-Portrane Peninsula in north Co Dublin. Over the years we have taken an active interest in planning matters and made detailed submissions on legislation, development plans and planning applications.
We studied your report (The Irish Times, August 26th) on the publication of the draft planning Bill with great interest. One aspect caused us immense concern, namely the proposed £20 charge to third parties, including community groups, making submissions on planning applications. We believe that these charges, if implemented, would severely curtail the ability of the community groups to represent their communities. As a voluntary organisation making several such submissions each month, our limited funds would not permit us to continue our present level of participation in the planning process.
We can only wonder whose interests would be served by such charges. Clearly not those of local communities. Nor, we believe, is the planning system served by this proposal. In many cases the planners appreciate submissions from community groups, based on their detailed knowledge of their localities. We call on the Minister of the Environment and on all elected representatives to ensure that the proposal to impose these charges does not pass into legislation, as it would be contrary to the principle of public participation and would not be in the common good. - Yours, etc.,
Valerie Henderson, Secretary, Donabate Parish Council, Co Dublin.