Labour bill to tackle hasty decisions on development

THE LABOUR Party will next month publish a Private Member’s Bill aimed at forcing Councils to give much more detailed consideration to county development plans.

Following recent re-zoning controversies in Wicklow County Council, Labour’s deputy leader Liz McManus said she was gravely concerned at the “rushed and incoherent approach” some councils adopted in preparing their development plans.

Councillors in Wicklow have come under particular scrutiny since a marathon 18-hour meeting in July made 17 re-zoning decisions, including one which got the go-ahead after members were incorrectly informed that Ardmore film studios would move to the site.

Under Labour’s bill, consideration of development plans would be suspended after local elections intervene, so incoming members would have time to consider the plan.

Any decisions based on false evidence could be overturned by the Minister for the Environment, and land which is the subject of an enforcement notice or of compulsory purchase proceedings could not be the subject of a rezoning motion until the conclusion of those proceedings.

Meanwhile, another Labour bill, aimed at regulating lobbyists, is to be debated when the Dáil resumes next month.