Thomas Gould
Question:112. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions that he is taking to ensure that strategic development in areas is plan led and not developer led. [62646/22]
View answerWednesday, 14 December 2022
Questions (112)
Written answers
A number of measures have been and continue to be implemented to establish our planning system as ‘plan-led’, where nationally agreed strategic development policies are followed through and developed in more detail at local level.
The National Planning Framework (NPF) is a long-term 20-year strategy to plan for identified future economic and population growth, supported by public investment through alignment with the National Development Plan (NDP). Following the adoption of the NPF and the three subsequent Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs), the process of reviewing city and county development plans by individual planning authorities is now nearing completion.
When finalised, this will be the first time that there has been an integrated hierarchy of statutory spatial plans, shaping the future pattern and form of development in Ireland and underpinned by public investment. Legislative requirements ensure alignment across these different scales of plan, whereby local choices made in city and county development plans are consistent with agreed national and regional planning policies – thereby integrating policy across the different scales of planning from the national, to the regional, to the local.
Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities were published under section 28 of the Planning Act by my Department on 1st July 2022, and set out national guidance for the preparation of development plans. These Guidelines provide a reference manual for the overall development plan process and assist planning authorities in ensuring that their plan is consistent with the strategic national and regional policy objectives of the National Planning Framework and RSESs. A fundamental task at the heart of the development plan process is to achieve a balance between national and local priorities in the common good, and to formulate agreed local objectives in compliance with national and regional policy. The policies of the development plan thereby establish the ‘plan-led’ context for the decision-making process on individual planning proposals in the development management process.
The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) was established in 2019 with a key statutory role to evaluate and assess development plans, during their preparation and making, in order to ensure that they set out a strategy for proper planning and development and are consistent with national and regional planning policies. In this regard, the legislation makes provision for the OPR to advise the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage where, in the opinion of the Office, a plan does not set out a strategy for proper planning and development or is not consistent with identified and established national and regional development policies. This process may be applied to remedy such circumstances and empowers the Minister to direct that changes are made to the relevant plan, where in agreement with the recommendations of the OPR. Such evaluation of plans is an important support to the ‘plan-led’ approach whereby the quality and consistency of plan-making is subject to rigorous independent examination.
The review and consolidation of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is one of the actions being undertaken further to the Housing for All strategy. This review has been led by the Attorney General and has involved extensive work, with engagement from my Department in terms of policy input and feedback from stakeholder engagement. A key aim of the review is to put plan-making at the heart of the planning system by bringing increased clarity and streamlining to planning legislation and improving the functioning of the planning process for both practitioners and the general public. An updated Planning and Development Act is intended be delivered in 2023 to further establish the ‘plan-led’ approach at the heart of our planning system.