Mick Clifford: Planning rows show local development plans are at odds with reality 

Turning down planning permissions on the basis of targets that are known to be insufficient is a nonsense, writes Mick Clifford

In at least two proposed developments in the greater Dublin area in recent months, An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission largely because the system is so slow in catching up with prevailing reality. File picture

The housing crisis is replete with both big problems and silliness. The big problems take a lot of thought, resources, and a little imagination. There is no excuse for the silliness.

Two weeks ago, this newspaper reported on the silliness around disputes between government departments that held up plans since last September to advance social and affordable housing.

Reports suggest that is in the process of being resolved, but the fact that it could occur in the midst of a housing emergency beggars belief. Today, we have another example of the silliness that is having a real impact on getting more houses built.

In at least two proposed developments in the greater Dublin area in recent months, An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission largely because the system is so slow in catching up with prevailing reality.

The National Planning Framework (NPF) does what it says on the tin, setting out what is required for the future in terms of how much housing and infrastructure is needed based on population projections. It is important in terms of setting and attempting to meet targets.

The current framework dates from 2018 and was formulated on the back of the 2016 census. Under the Planning Act 2000, this was scheduled to be updated in 2024. 

Ordinarily, one might expect that — in an area as important as planning — everything would go to schedule and the new framework would have been in place last year. Except, there is nothing ordinary about the housing crisis.

Under the prevailing circumstances, surely it was not just important but absolutely vital that everything would be on schedule? Apparently not. If such lethargy wasn’t bad enough, there was another factor demanding immediate attention.

The 2022 census showed that, since the previous one in 2016, the population of the State has increased by 8% to 5.149 million. Surely that would have prompted anybody in government who knows what is going on to actually get cracking? Apparently not.

The new draft framework was published last November, about a year behind schedule and two-and-a-half years after the last census. New targets were published as part of an “ambitious plan” to build “over 50,000 homes per year, with a pathway to achieve 60,000 homes annually in 2030 and thereafter”.

All fine and dandy, but why had it taken so long?

Out-of-date targets

Meanwhile, out there where houses are — or in some cases are not — being built, life goes on. A few weeks after the new draft framework was published in November, An Bord Pleanála refused planning for a development in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

In May 2023, the county council had refused permission for the development of 98 homes and the developer, Cairns, appealed to the board. The board’s reason for upholding the refusal was that “the housing targets for the Greystones-Delgany settlement in the [county development] plan period have already been reached”.

Presumably, nobody told the planning board that the housing targets in question were out of date and that the government had indicated that a considerable increase was required in those targets.

The board could claim it was strictly invoking the law as it stands, but it could equally have granted permission on the basis that the framework was behind schedule and had not caught up with the real world.

In ordinary times, being pedantic in this manner might be acceptable — but we are in the midst of a housing crisis.

A similar situation arose this month when the board refused permission for 39 homes in Clane, Co Kildare. The proposal was contrary to “the core strategy of the Kildare County Development Plan 2023-2029”.

Another reason for the refusal was that “the housing targets for Clane over the development plan period have already been exceeded”.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Again, the ruling is not contrary to the letter of the law. However, neither would it have been contentious to allow the development on the basis that the existing targets are in the process of being updated, and the Government has stated that higher targets will be required.

In both of the proposed developments here, the sites in question were zoned and the land was serviced.

In all likelihood, there are more cases subject to a culture in which the basic application of common sense is superseded — either by rulings that are formulated in the abstract, or an approach dictated almost entirely by the remotest possibility that a decision might be challenged in the courts.

Why so late?

Ironically, that kind of culture might have served the country well during the years of the Celtic Tiger when development was driven more by greed than need. However, in the prevailing environment, it is one more example of the kind of silliness that is having a real impact on attempting to ramp up the building of houses.

None of this is to advocate for bad or shoddy planning. However, if there really is an emergency in attempting to house people, surely a few tweaks are required to a culture that operates in the abstract rather than taking consideration of the conditions that prevail.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said that the final draft of the new framework is complete and can now be approved by Government for introduction to the houses of the Oireachtas.

“Subject to government approval in the coming weeks, followed by a positive resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas, it may be possible to conclude the revision process in April 2025 and for the final revised NPF to be published,” the spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.

“Given the need to ensure that the updated housing requirements can be incorporated into the planning system as quickly as possible to address housing need and demand, it is intended that local authorities will be required to update their development plans in line with a clear policy direction and accompanying methodology that seeks to focus on areas where need and demand are greatest,” they added.

All of which is positive news, but the question remains: Why so late, and why is the reality of changed circumstances still being ignored in the planning process?