Planning permits for homes double last year’s figure

THERE has been almost a doubling in the number of homes granted planning in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.

According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday, planning was granted in the first quarter of 2004 for 25,401 dwellings, compared to 13,541 dwellings for the same period in 2003, an increase of 87.6%.

A CSO spokesperson said, however, they did not expect the level of permissions to be sustained throughout the rest of the year.