Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 July 2012
472 Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the guidance in place for local authorities taking residential estates in charge; if he will provide a breakdown by local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35935/12]
View answerIn February 2008, my Department issued Circular Letter PD 1/08, Taking in Charge of Residential Developments/Management Arrangements. The policy guidance set out in this circular was subsequently incorporated into the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in May 2009. The circular is available on my Department's website www.environ.ie.
A new local government service indicator in relation to taking in charge was introduced in 2008 onwards. Planning authorities are required to provide the following information in respect of the previous year:
The number of residential estates for which the planning permission has expired in respect of which formal written requests for taking in charge (from residents or developers) were on hands at the beginning of the year;
The number of estates that were taken in charge in the year in question;
The total number of dwellings in these estates;
The percentage of estates, where requests were made to be taken in charge, not completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority;
The number of such estates in respect of which enforcement action was taken in the year in question and/or the bond was called in; and
The number of such estates in respect of which works were undertaken by the authority to bring the estate to taking in charge standard.
In 2010, 321 estates were taken in charge. Further statistics on this issue, including a breakdown by local authority area, are outlined in the 2010 Service Indicators Report which is available to view and download at www.lgmsb.ie.
