Councils zoning too far from services, say planners

LOCAL councils should not zone land for development which does not have access to public transport and services, the chair of the planning appeals board has warned.

Launching An Bord Pleanála’s 2007 annual report, John O’Connor said the board constantly comes across zoned sites that are too far removed from developed areas, too remote from public facilities such as piped services, footpaths, lighting and with no prospect of public transport. Many of the proposals are dependant on long-distance commuting by private transport.

“The idea that every place must get development, no matter how thinly spread, was never sustainable, but will be distinctly less sustainable in the future — either in the environmental or the economic sense.