Planners ‘should favour family members’
Problems in getting planning for one-off houses have led to ongoing controversy in Kerry and Mr Riordan has been consulting with councillors and senior officials on the issue since he was appointed last August.
At present, up to 20% of applications are turned down.
His statement on the issue was welcomed by councillors - especially as favourable consideration is to be given to people wishing to build on family land in their native areas.
Independent FF Councillor Michael Healy-Rae said the manager was dealing with the problem in a “very fair and reasonable way”.
Mr Riordan said permission would be granted subject only to road safety and public health issues. There would also be a strict occupancy clause, stipulating people would be expected to live in their house “in perpetuity” but wording would be inserted to allow that condition be lifted in certain circumstances.
He also said planning applications would be considered from Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
A new pre-planning process in relation to one-off houses is seen as critical to the success of Mr Riordan’s proposals. Planners will hold on-site meetings with applicants before an application is submitted.
“In this way, applicants will get a clear view of what’s acceptable on a site.
“Initially, they will be given a very clear idea whether an application can get through, or if there are problems that can’t be surmounted,” he said.
He said 75% of a decision on an application could be made at the pre-planning consultation. Also, applicants could be saved the cost of an application that was likely to be rejected. Four extra planning staff are to be appointed.
FF councillor Paul O’Donoghue welcomed the proposals which, he said, were reflective of FF proposals made in discussions with Mr Riordan.
He said agents for applicants should attend site meetings so applications with no chance of being successful were not submitted. “Agents must behave in a more responsible fashion,” he said.
Cllr O’Donoghue said he was happy the manager’s proposals were in the line with what most councillors wanted; the chance for a local person wishing to build on his or her own land to be taken care of.
FG councillor Tim Buckley described the on-site consultation as a major step forward but time should be given to see how the manager’s proposals worked.
Labour councillor Pat Leahy sounded a cautionary note, saying they had pre-planning meetings in the past and still applications were refused. Independent councillor Brendan Cronin, chairman of the council’s special planning committee, said the attitude of planners when they first met an applicant on-site was important.
He called for a positive attitude and said a planner’s personal likes and dislikes should not influence a decision.
Cllr Michael Healy-Rae said some agents did a lot of “sloppy” work, submitting applications that had no chance of being approved.
