Developers should explain failure to complete projects before starting new ones, Government told

Developers who get planning permission for big projects but do not actually start building them should have to say why when applying for permission to develop other sites, an Oireachtas committee has told the Government.

Developers who get planning permission for big projects but do not actually start building them should have to say why when applying for permission to develop other sites, an Oireachtas committee has told the Government.

Furthermore, new planning legislation should opt not to rename An Bord Pleanála because it “has a unique identity and has been viewed as an independent, impartial and ethical organisation for almost half a century”.

This comes in the wake of a year when An Bord Pleanála was embroiled in scandal, which included the resignation of deputy chair Paul Hyde and a number of investigations into conduct at the planning body.

These recommendations form just two of 153 made by the Oireachtas housing committee to the new draft Planning and Development Bill.

The Government has said the mammoth 738-page piece of legislation will bring “greater clarity, consistency and certainty to how planning decisions are made”.

Proposals include statutory mandatory timelines for all consent processes, including ABP decisions, and changes to the judicial review process for planning decisions.

Criticism

However, the bill has also been subject to criticism in many quarters, which was aired in numerous hearings before the housing committee.

The Irish Planning Institute said the bill would be a “complete waste of time” unless planning bodies were properly resourced and current understaffing tackled, while the Irish Environmental Network warned uncertainties within the law would “spread like a virus through the whole system”.

In the foreword to the committee’s report, chair and Green Party TD Steven Matthews said the proposed legislation would “profoundly impact legal and planning professionals, as well as citizens and communities”.

In its 92-page report on the bill, the committee said the legislation should have a new section to include an objective that developments align with climate action, nature restoration, sustainable housing and transport, as well as aligning with the Aarhus Convention.

This convention is an international agreement, which Ireland is signed up to, on accessing justice for environmental issues. Critics have claimed the bill could see Ireland breach the Aarhus Convention.

The committee also recommends the planning bill include a provision whereby the Office of the Planning Regulator would conduct annual reports to monitor uncommenced planning permissions and unactivated residential zoned land.

This would show data on how many sites with planning permission have not been built and where they are.

Last month, the Irish Examiner highlighted how the new planning laws would prevent opponents of controversial telecommunications masts from appealing the granting of licences for them.

This is also addressed by the committee, which said: “Due to public concern regarding the removal of the right of the public to appeal against the location of masts, the committee asks that this is dealt with in the bill that the public retains the right to appeal against this.” 

The report will now be considered by the Government before it amends and moves the legislation on further.