An Bord Pleanála chief Paul Hyde resigns amid probe into his planning decisions
Paul Hyde has tendered his resignation as deputy chair of An Bord Pleanála. Inquiries are ongoing into allegations that he failed to declare conflicts of interest. File picture
The deputy chair of An Bord Pleanála, Paul Hyde, who has been at the centre of rolling controversies for over two months, has resigned from his position.
Mr Hyde tendered his resignation to the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien on Friday, pre-empting the outcome of a number of inquiries into decisions he has made in his capacity as the second most senior board member at the state's planning appeals body.
In early May, the Housing Minister appointed senior counsel Remy Farrell to investigate allegations that Mr Hyde had failed to declare conflicts of interest in a number of planning decisions.
Mr Farrell was due to report at the end of June but his deadline was extended by a month.
An internal review of cases over which Mr Hyde presided is also being conducted in An Bord Pleanála, and the previously reported that an investigation by the chair of the board, under section 110 of the Planning Act, is under way.
On May 6, Mr Hyde stepped aside from his role while the various inquiries were being conducted but denied any impropriety or conflict of interest.
At the time, An Bord Pleanala issued a statement saying he was absenting himself “on a strictly without prejudice basis” which implied that he would likely resume his role once the inquiry was completed.
However, in the intervening period the and other media outlets have reported on a number of planning issues that have given rise to serious questions about processes and decision-making within the board.
Most of these have involved, to a greater or a lesser extent, Mr Hyde.
The initial allegations against him surfaced on The Ditch website and concerned planning decisions involving family members, in-laws and in one instance a company in which he himself was a substantial shareholder.
That case related to a proposed development in Blackpool in Cork City where he signed off a ruling denying planning permission for an apartment development.
In late April, it emerged that Mr Hyde and his father owned some land near to the proposed development but he had never declared his interest.
Since then, a whole array of decisions in which he played a role have raised serious questions, principally those involving strategic housing developments and communication masts.
Mr Hyde was appointed to the board in 2014 by then Environment Minister Phil Hogan.
He had previously served as a member of the Marine Institute, to which he was appointed by his long-time acquaintance, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.
In recent months it emerged that his appointment to An Bord Pleanála followed a nomination from the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, which had actually ceased to exist at the time of the nomination.
In 2019, Mr Hyde was promoted to deputy chair of the board and appointed chair of the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) sub committee.
The SHD system, in which large housing developments applied directly to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission, has been highly controversial and a number of decisions have in recent months been the subject of further investigation and analysis.
An architect by training, Mr Hyde had previously worked out of his native Cork in the Hyde Partnership.
His current term was due to expire in 2024 but he tendered his resignaton ahead of the completion of the reviews into his work.
A spokesman for the Department of Housing confirmed last night that the minister, Darragh O'Brien, “has this afternoon received notification from Mr Paul Hyde of his resignation as a member of An Bord Pleanala”.
Attempts to contact Mr Hyde were unsuccessful.
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