Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2020
380. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will review restrictions on planning permissions for dwellings on the national secondary road network in instances in which the proposed dwelling would be located in an area of reduced speed limit such as 80 km/h (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15171/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that the Deputy may be referring to the Spatial Planning and National Roads Guidelines 2012 issued by the then Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. The Guidelines were prepared in consultation with the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport, local authorities and the National Roads Authority (NRA - now Transport Infrastructure Ireland - TII).
Planning authorities are required to have regard to the Guidelines in the performance of their functions under the Planning and Development Act 2000. The Guidelines set out planning policy considerations relating to development affecting national roads (including motorways, national primary and national secondary roads) outside the 50-60 kmh speed limit zones for cities, towns and villages.
The Guidelines state that local authority Development Plans must include policies which seek to maintain and protect the safety, capacity and efficiency of national roads and associated junctions, avoiding the creation of new accesses and the intensification of existing accesses to national roads where a speed limit greater than 50 km per hour applies. Planning authorities must also ensure that they consult with TII in preparing any local area plans or other non-statutory plans where there may be material implications for national roads. I would also note that planning authorities are strongly recommended to identify, as part of the development plan process, those stretches of non-national roads outside the 50-60 kmh speed limit zones where it would also be appropriate to apply the Guidelines.
The Guidelines do state that, in certain circumstances, planning authorities may identify stretches of national secondary roads where a less restrictive approach may be applied as part of the process of reviewing or varying the relevant development plan. This includes the form and suitability of development, the volume of traffic to be generated and the implications for safety, capacity and efficient operation of national roads including any future upgrades and consistency with other planning guidelines issued under section 28 of the Act such as the Retail Planning Guidelines 2012 and Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines 2005.
