Council gives go-ahead for 7,600 homes in two years

THE high number of planning permissions granted in Kerry, in just over two years, rebuts the frequently made claim that planning is difficult to get in the county, a senior planning official has said.

Since November 2003, Kerry County Council has granted planning for about 7,600 dwellings. This figure does not include the urban areas of Tralee, Killarney and Listowel.

County manager Martin Riordan said this number of houses was well in excess of the needs of the population.

“At an average occupancy of three persons per dwelling, this level of development is sufficient for the housing needs of 22,800 persons,” he said while reviewing progress of the county development plan.

“Considering that the population of the county, including the town council areas, grew by approximately 6,000 in the period, 1996-2002, it is clear that the level of planning permissions being granted is more than sufficient to cater for the growth in population of the county.”

Senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said the statistics showed the public perception that it was very difficult to get planning in Kerry was not correct.

“About 85% of applications are granted in Kerry, which is better than the national average,” he said.

He also said the decreasing size of households and increasing affluence may also be factors in the rise. But, compared to other EU countries, we still had fewer dwellings per 1,000 population.

Mr Sheehy stressed that all the house for which planning had been granted may not be built.

“Part of the reason for the increase in applications may be that landowners with young children are now applying for planning because they may feel it will be more difficult to get planning in the future,” he said.

He also pointed out that holiday homes were no longer allowed in rural areas of Kerry.

Between 2000 and last year, the number of planning applications received by council jumped from 2,635 to 4,500.

Meanwhile, an order from the European Commission to abolish planning permissions granted after construction has taken place could have serious implications for Kerry.

The commission says loopholes in the planning laws, which allow people to seek permission to retain structures built without planning approval, must be closed and all illegal buildings demolished.

At least one house in Kerry which was built without planning permission has been demolished by order of the council.

There have been a number of controversial applications for retention in the county in recent years, after people began construction without planning permission.