An Bord Pleanála has 'nothing to add' on deputy chair's failure to declare ownership of Cork site

The site owned by Paul Hyde is located beside the refused Hewitts Mills development in Blackpool 

An Bord Pleanála last month refused planning permission for a strategic housing development in Blackpool.

An Bord Pleanála has said it has “nothing further to add” regarding the fact its deputy chair failed to declare ownership of a site in Cork city beside a proposed housing development which it recently refused.

Last month ABP refused planning permission for a strategic housing development (SHD) in Blackpool, which would have seen the construction of 191 build-to-rent apartments and the renovation of a former distillery mills, Hewitts Mills.

Not mentioned

The Ditch website reported that deputy chair of ABP Paul Hyde part-owns a plot of land at Pope’s Hill in Blackpool, the site of a residential apartment block just 50m from the proposed development, via a company called H20 Property Holdings.

Mr Hyde owns 25% of H20, the remainder belonging to his father.

The Pope’s Hill site was bought nearly 20 years ago under H20’s previous name Fingerpost Builders Limited.

Mr Hyde, who is also the head of An Bord Pleanala’s SHD division, makes no mention of either the Blackpool property or any others in his declaration of interests signed in January of this year.

He was one of three ABP members present at the board meeting to discuss the Blackpool SHD on March 9. Permission was subsequently refused to the applicant, Eichsfeld Limited.

Another view of the strategic housing development plan apartments on the N20 in Blackpool, which was refused planning permission.

Ownership

Asked whether or not the fact Mr Hyde part-owns a neighbouring property represents a conflict of interest, or if it invalidates ABP’s decision regarding the Eichsfeld application, the board said:

 “Please see sections 147 and 148 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in relation to the declaration of interests”.

“The board has nothing further to add.” 

The cited sections of the 2000 act relate to declarations of property interests, made annually, required by members of An Bord Pleanála, and to disclosures necessary where board members have interests “material to” any “determination... which falls to be decided or determined by the board”.

Mr Hyde had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

In its board direction regarding the application, ABP said the proposed development “represents over-development of the site, would lead to conditions injurious to the residential amenities of future occupants, would not be in compliance with... the operative Cork City Development Plan and would conflict with Ministerial guidelines”.

Local Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould has written to the chair of An Bord Pleanála requesting a “full investigation” be carried out regarding the potential conflict of interest of Mr Hyde’s ownership of the neighbouring site.

Approved

The SHD process, which was initially designed to expedite development, is currently in the process of being phased out.

Some 80% of SHD applications were approved in 2020. However, almost 90% of the 33 legal objections lodged regarding SHD decisions taken between 2017 and 2021 were lost by ABP.