Vol. 569 No. 4
279 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the legislation which deals with sterilisation of development land, in view of the problems being encountered by applicants in regard to such sterilisation; his plans to legislate for the removal of such sterilisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18050/03]
Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 enables planning authorities to enter into agreements with any person with a legal interest in land in their area for the purpose of restricting or regulating the development or use of the land, either permanently or for a specific period. Such agreements may be used, for example, where applications are made for housing for family members on farm land where, under the development plan, planning permission for housing would not normally be granted.
In circumstances such as these, where it is proposed to grant permission as an exception to the general planning policy for the area, permission for a house may be granted subject to a requirement that the house is occupied by a family member and to a requirement that a section 47 agreement is signed to ensure that remaining land is kept available for farming by restricting further housing development. I have no proposals to amend these provisions.
