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The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
has announced that he has received the approval of Government
to the drafting of the General Scheme of a Planning and Development
(Amendment) Bill to amend the Planning Acts.
The primary aim of this Bill will be to ensure a greater
coherence between the National Spatial Strategy, Regional
Planning Guidelines, development plans and local area plans
- particularly insofar as the zoning of land is concerned.
It will also bring greater transparency into the process of
zoning land and should help to secure a better return from
investment on infrastructure under the National Development
Plan and sectoral capital programmes.
The implementation of key areas of national policy - such
as the National
Spatial Strategy, the National
Development Plan, the White
Paper on Energy and the Climate
Change Strategy is dependent on an efficient and integrated
planning process. At a more local level, modes of transport,
the way homes and places of work are powered, the quality
of local community and recreational facilities, the provision
of educational facilities and the delivery of high quality
sustainable infrastructure, are also dependent on a quality
and effective development planning and management system.
“The Bill will help to reduce the need for central government
intervention in the local government development plan process
and will strengthen the local mandate by clarifying how planning
authorities can - and should - better align their local policies
and priorities with sound planning principles and with regional
and national guidance” - said Minister Gormley.
In the past, there have been instances where land zonings
or development policies set down in the 6-yearly development
plans have failed to provide a proper and sustainable planning
framework for the economic and social development of the area
- particularly in terms of the inappropriate scale, pattern
and phasing of development - and without sufficient regard
to national and regional policies and priorities.
Introducing greater transparency into the zoning process
Other proposals will include a legal requirement for development
plans to be consistent with the NSS and the RPGs, strengthening
the status of the Department’s planning guidelines and underpinning
the evidence base for decision-making - primarily by strengthening
further the development plan as the fundamental link with
national and regional policies.
The Minister also proposes amending the legislation to provide
that a resolution for a material alteration to a development
plan (or the making or amendment of a local area plan)
will require that 75% of the elected members vote in favour
- currently, a simple majority of those present is all that
is required. The 75% rule already applies where a local authority
decides to grant a planning permission that is a material
contravention of the development plan. Late modifications
to a draft (or variation to) a development plan/local area
plan will not include any increase in the amount of zoned
land beyond that in amendments already proposed and consulted
on at an earlier stage.
Address European Court of Justice Rulings
The Bill will also introduce further legal improvements to
the planning code in the interests of planning effectiveness,
efficiency and environmental sustainability and arising from
recent European Court of Justice cases.
“In response to the ECJ ruling on 3 July (Click
Here), I propose to remove the possibility of retention
for unauthorised developments, which would otherwise have
been subject to Environmental Impact Assessment. I also proposes
to put in place strengthened legal provisions in relation
to the Appropriate Assessment of development plans, local
area plans and planning schemes prepared for strategic development
zones under the Habitats Directives” - added Minister Gormley.
“The proposals for the Bill represent the latest instalment
of a package of measures that I have taken or planned since
I took office last year, to streamline the planning framework
and, where possible, achieve a better alignment with key national
policy objectives - including, in particular, addressing climate
change through the planning system” - concluded the Minister.
Other Planning System Improvements
Flooding Guidelines
The Minister, in conjunction with Minister of State Martin
Mansergh, will, shortly, publish for public consultation,
comprehensive draft guidance on flooding and the planning
system. These draft guidelines will put in place a systematic
approach to integrating flood risk management into the planning
process - building upon its long-standing acknowledgement
in legislation as an important planning issue.
Code of Practice on the Provision of Schools and the Planning
System
The proposals for a Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill
also coincide with the forthcoming publication of a Code of
Practice on the Provision of Schools and the Planning System,
agreed between this Department, the Department of Education
and Science and the City and County Managers’ Association.
This policy document will help to ensure that best practice
approaches are followed by planning authorities in facilitating
the timely and cost-effective roll-out of school facilities
by the Department of Education and Science.
These new guidelines form part of a wider package of initiatives
designed to facilitate the provision of schools and schools-related
infrastructure within the planning system. Among these initiatives
are amendments to the exempted development provisions of the
Planning and Development Regulations 2001 which were made
on 4 July under the Planning and Development Regulations 2008
(S.I. 235 of 2008).
The new Regulations include a number of exemptions providing
for temporary school facilities, where full or outline planning
permission has already been granted and provided certain conditions,
as outlined in the Code of Practice, have been complied with.
Exempting Certain Renewable Technologies
The Regulations also include provisions aimed at encouraging
the uptake of cleaner and cheaper energy from renewable sources
in the industrial, business and agricultural sectors by providing
exemptions facilitating a greater penetration of renewable
technologies in these sectors.
Sustainable Residential Development for Urban Areas
Draft Guidelines on Sustainable Residential Development in
Urban Areas, which issued for public consultation last February,
are being finalised later this year. They address best practice
in the design of new developments from the context of the
neighbourhood, the actual development and the homes within
it.
Energy Conservation
The new Part L Building Regulations, published last December,
are designed to achieve, on average, at least a 40% reduction
in primary energy consumption and a 40% reduction in related
CO2 emissions. The regulations will
be revised again in 2010 to achieve a 60% target in further
years.
The changes to Part L of the Building Regulations are supplemented
by the requirements of the Building Energy Rating System (BER)
which will provide clear information on the energy efficiency
of a building. The BER system, and the renewable technology
proposals contained in these Regulations, will help encourage
individuals and companies to improve energy efficiency in
their homes and buildings and, by doing so, secure significant
savings in energy costs over time.
Strategic Review of the Foreshores Licensing regime
Following the transfer of the foreshore functions to his Department
later this year, the Minister intends to undertake a strategic
review of the foreshore licensing regime. This will lead to
legislation amending the Foreshore Act 1933 and the Planning
and Development Acts - to achieve a maximum integration of
these consent processes.
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