Vol. 429 No. 3
135 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for the Environment if local planning authorities have to operate within the specified guidelines in granting permission or if they operate to suit any given circumstances within their area of control; the number of appeals against planning which have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála on projects within the jurisdiction of Cork Corporation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Under section 26 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, as amended, a planning authority, in dealing with planning applications, is restricted to considering the proper planning and development of its area — including the preservation and improvement of the amenities thereof — and must have regard to the provisions of the development plan and of any special amenity area order relating to the area. An authority must also have regard to any general policy directive issued under section 7 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1982. Two such directives have issued to date: one in relation to large retail shopping development (SI No. 264 of 1982) and the other in relation to air quality (SI No. 317 of 1988).
The numbers of planning appeals lodged each year in relation to the functional area of Cork Corporation are given in the Annual Reports of An Bord Pleanála for the years up to 1991, the most recent available copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library. Figures for 1992 are set out in the Environmental Research Unit's Planning Statistics quarterly reports which are also available in the Oireachtas Library.
