Vol. 531 No. 4
188 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if there is a statutory requirement for the provision of services and facilities, other than transport, in areas where renewal and redevelopment have resulted in population increases of 10,000; the criteria used in this regard; and the services concerned. [6219/01]
There is no specific statutory provision of the type referred to by the Deputy. The main instrument for the regulation and control of physical planning is the development plan. Each planning authority is required under section 9 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, to prepare a development plan for its functional area every six years. Section 10 of the Act provides that a development plan shall include objectives for, inter alia, the provision or facilitation of the provision of infrastructure including transport, energy, and communication facilities, water supplies, waste recovery and disposal facilities, waste water services, and ancillary facilities; the integration of the planning and sustainable development of the area with the social, community and cultural requirements of the area and its population; the development and renewal of areas in need of regeneration; the preservation, improvement and extension of amenities and recreational amenities; and the provision, or the facilitation of the provision, of services for the community including, in particular, schools, crèches, and other educational and child care facilities.
A development plan may indicate that specified development in a particular area will be subject to the making of a local area plan. The making and adoption of a development plan or a local area plan is a matter for the elected members of the relevant planning authority. There is no specific population threshold in relation to the making of a local area plan.
