House builders rush to dodge levies

LOCAL authorities across the country are being swamped with planning applications by house builders as they try to avoid the cost of levies to be put on homes in the New Year.

The rush, mainly by those building one-off homes, is sparked by councils adopting the draft Development Contribution Scheme (DCS) due to be brought into force next March.

In the draft schemes, councils are proposing to place levies of up to €12,000 on some new homes, which will apply on developments that secure planning permission after March 10, 2004.

Galway County Council received 73 planning applications in one day alone last week compared to an average of more than 100 for the four weeks of October before the draft scheme was adopted. For the first two weeks of December, the local authority received 182 and 149 planning applications, respectively.

In Clare, the council received 101 planning applications in to the week ending December 12 a 100% increase on applications received for the last week in November.

In Cork, planning applications received in early December were up 37% on applications received at the end of October-early November.

House builders in Limerick have also rushed to secure a decision on their plans before the March deadline. Figures from the council show a 31% increase in plans received in the first two weeks of December compared to the last two weeks of November.

The scheme proposed for Dublin City Council is facing a High Court challenge from the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), which could affect the scheme's implementation in other local authorities.

Clare County Council's head of planning, Ger Dollard said yesterday the panic associated with the scheme was "misplaced".

"It probably arises from the focus on the €11,950 charge ... The position has not been adequately explained. The reality is that if the present draft scheme was introduced some would probably be paying less than the current charge."

Clare County Council member Cllr Patricia McCarthy said yesterday that the rush by house builders "seems unnecessary as the charges proposed by the county manager are unrealistic and councillors over a number of meetings said that we would be opposed to the charges.

"Ultimately is it the decision of the councillors as to what levies are put into place."