Vol. 475 No. 4
174 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment in view of his claim that planning authorities have adequate powers to ensure housing estates are completed, if he will advise these authorities on the way they can successfully apply these powers as many estates in Dublin North, as elsewhere, are often left for several years in an unfinished state. [5122/97]
175 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to require developers to finish a housing estate before being granted permission to build another or before being reformed as a separate development company so that in future, there will not be unfinished housing estates. [5123/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 174 and 175 together.
Responsibility for the enforcement of planning control is a matter for the planning authority concerned. Where a development has been carried out without the benefit of planning permission, or where development does not comply with the conditions of the planning permission, it is a matter for the relevant planning authority to take enforcement action. In addition, it is open to any person to seek an Order in the High Court or Circuit Court under section 27 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976, as amended, requiring compliance with conditions laid down by the planning authority.
The Planning Acts specifically allow for conditions about the giving of security, the phasing and completion of works and the occupation of structures. Effective use of such conditions by local authorities, the follow-up enforcement action, can do much to obviate the kind of problems that arise in unfinished estates.
Under the Planning Acts, decisions on planning applications must be based on physical planning criteria, and for this reason, refusal of permission on the grounds of the character and past record of an applicant, or requiring developers to finish a housing estate before applying for permission to build another, would not be possible under existing law. However, this matter will be borne in mind in the ongoing review of planning law.
