Planning and development is one of the most important functions of local authorities. Development plans and local area plans, as adopted by the elected members in line with the broader regulatory and policy context for planning, set the local policy context for individual decisions on planning applications by the planning authority.
The Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) provides the legislative basis for the formulation of statutory local authority plans, and is supplemented by guidelines issued by my Department under section 28 of the Act, which are available on my Department's website at the following web link: www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Planning/FileDownLoad%2C14468%2Cen.pdf.
Section 9(4) of the Act requires that, in making a development plan, planning authorities must have regard to the development plans of adjoining planning authorities and co-ordinate the objectives of their development plan with the objectives of adjoining plans, except where the planning authority considers it to be inappropriate or not feasible to do so.
Moreover, section 9(5) of the Act requires that planning authorities take into account any significant likely effects of the implementation of their development plans on the area of adjoining planning authorities, having regard in particular to the observations or submissions of those authorities.
