Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Planning Information Seminar Needed- SF's Mc Daid

Published: 4 September, 2006

Sinn Féin County Councillor Tony Mc Daid is calling on the Planning and Economic Development Unit of Donegal Co. Council to consider organising an Information Seminar for Agents and Architects on the new planning guidelines contained in the Co. Development Plan 2006-2012.

Cllr Mc Daid said, " Planning has always been a complex issue but with the introduction of new guidelines under the Co. Development Plan just adopted by the Council there appears to be some confusion and a lack of understanding of what is now required when processing an application.

Within the last few weeks I have received more planning queries than I have had all year.

These queries have been generally related to the new guidelines, queries such as how to meet the criteria for establishing housing need in rural areas, demonstrating 'roots' in terms of urban generated rural housing, what does 'within the vicinity' actually mean.

There is now a Supplementary Planning Application Form that must accompany all applications for planning and it is my understanding that in a lot of cases this is not being submitted with the application proper resulting in the request for further information."

Cllr Mc Daid continued, " The Planning Section of the Council is the most busiest with some 8,000 applications for planning being received each year. Around 25% of those are invalidated because of the absence of all the relevant documentation. I would therefore be concerned that more and more applications are going to be invalidated or refused because of a genuine lack of understanding of the new guidelines. I am sure that even the Staff in Planning would confess to experiencing difficulties themselves getting to grips with the guidelines."

Cllr Mc Daid concluded, " As most people generally submit a planning application through Agents and Architects I think it would be in everyone's interests that consideration be given to organising an Information Seminar on the new guidelines for those bodies."