An Irish Planning Students Blog

The announcement can be found at the following link along with the details: Proposed Additions and Deletions from the Record of Protected Structures

Particulars of the proposed additions and deletions may be inspected at the Planning Office, Kilkenny County Council, County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny and at the Castlecomer, Thomastown, Callan and Newrath Area Offices for a six week period from the 30th July 2010 to the 10th September 2010, inclusive, during office hours 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

During this period any person may make a written submission or observation in writing to the
Planning Authority, County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny
or
by email to aine.doyle@kilkennycoco.ie, on or before the 10th September 2010,
with respect to the proposed additions to and deletions from the Record of Protected Structures and such observations will be taken into consideration before the making of these additions.

DEVELOPERS ARE facing severe restrictions on the construction of high-rise buildings in Dublin city following the introduction of the new Dublin City Development Plan next year.

City councillors last night agreed to ban the construction of buildings above 28m (92ft) – about half the height of Liberty Hall – unless a statutory plan called a Local Area Plan (Lap) was drafted for the area in question. Such a plan could take several years to develop.

This would block the construction of any further high-rise or even medium-rise buildings in areas previously earmarked by the council for tall buildings such as the Docklands, Heuston and Connolly stations and George’s Quay.

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Decisions made this week by Dublin city councillors will determine the height and scale of future developments, writes FRANK MACDONALD

WHETHER NEW buildings in Dublin should be relatively high or low has become the most contentious issue confronting councillors as they begin a series of special meetings today to deal with the draft Dublin City Development Plan 2011-2017.

On the one hand, An Taisce maintains the current draft prepared by city planners “will fuel a future splurge of land speculation and undermine decades of the planning control that has maintained Dublin as a historic low-rise major European city”.

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DEVELOPING THE regions will benefit all sectors of the economy and should not be viewed as an isolated or sectoral issue, a Western Development Commission (WDC) report states.

The full potential of the State’s less developed regions is not being realised, leading to a “waste of talent and opportunity”, according to the commission study, which is due to be published tomorrow.

It recommends that an “identifiable single figure at national level” is required to implement an effective co-ordinating role in regional development.

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It will be interesting to see how much opposition will be put up against the de-zoning. Looking forward to reading the Draft Gorey Development Plan, a summary will be provided here at dt106ers.com.

MORE THAN 250 acres of land zoned for residential or commercial development around Gorey, Co Wexford, in 2002 is to be “dezoned” under a new local area plan.

This is in line with advice that local authorities have received from the Department of the Environment that they should take account of new planning legislation, currently before the Oireachtas, that provides for more “sustainable” land use zoning.

The land proposed for dezoning under a plan adopted by councillors last Friday, includes 36 acres owned by the family of former Wexford county councillor Lorcan Allen (Fianna Fáil), adjoining the new Gorey bypass.

It was advertised for sale as a “superb development holding” in October 2006.

So much land was zoned for residential development in the 2002 plan that it could have accommodated a sixfold increase in the town’s population. Even then, up to 70 per cent of the new residents were coming from Dublin.

The population of Gorey has grown from about 4,500 a decade ago to nearly 8,000. It is home to the country’s largest second-level school, with over 1,600 students. A new second-level school has been approved and is scheduled to open in 2012.

The controversial 2002 plan was primarily promoted by Mr Allen and Michael D’Arcy (Fine Gael) and supported by councillors Joe Murphy (Fianna Fáil) and Deirdre Bolger (Fine Gael). Some of the land rezoned for residential development was owned by Ms Bolger’s husband’s firm, J Bolger and Co.

Mr Allen and Mr D’Arcy also sponsored the proposed rezoning of Gorey’s 11-acre showgrounds, of which they were both trustees at the time. But this proposal was overturned in response to public protests, led by dissident Fianna Fáil town councillor Malcolm Byrne.

Formerly the venue of the Gorey Agricultural Show, the land was given to the public by the Land Commission in 1937 for sporting and recreational uses. It has been acquired by Wexford County Council for the development of community and sporting facilities.

None of the four councillors involved in adopting the 2002 plan are still members of the council. Three of the new five-member Gorey district committee, which took the decisions to dezone land, were elected for the first time last year. They include Cllr Byrne.

“I would estimate that over a third of the new residential rezoning from 2002 has been removed,” he said. “There are still over 200 acres of land zoned as residential, all close to the town, and this is more than adequate to meet likely future needs this decade. It is, in my view, a much more balanced plan than that adopted in 2002. There is significant additional zoning for community and educational facilities and the main street is properly recognised as the social and economic heart of the town.

“I think that we have provided for very balanced and sustainable development of Gorey and will preserve the character of the town – although I have no doubt we will come under pressure from landowners to rezone in the coming weeks.”

The draft Gorey plan will go on public display within a fortnight.

A new development plan for nearby Courtown and Riverchapel is also being prepared.

IrishTimes

Waterford Draft County Development Plan 2011 – 2017 and associated documents may be inspected, at the Planning Department, Civic Offices, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford; Civic Offices, Tramore, Lismore and Kilmacthomas and at all branches of the Waterford County Libraries during normal opening hours from Monday 22nd February, 2010 to Tuesday 4th May, 2010.

Written Submissions or Observations regarding the Draft Plan should be sent to the Development Plan Review, Planning Department, Waterford County Council, Civic Offices, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. or can be emailed by logging on to waterfordcoco.ieand following the appropriate link before 5.00 p.m. Tuesday 4th May, 2010

MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has told Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to reconsider plans to rezone land in south Dublin as part of its county development plan or he may make a direction forcing it to do so.

Councillors voted to accept a motion to rezone the Park Village, Carrickmines, close to the N11 motorway, to district retail centre status despite the opposition of county manager Owen Keegan.

The motion was tabled by Fine Gael councillor Tom Joyce and Fianna Fáil councillor John Byrne and passed in November by a majority of two. Some councillors complained of excessive lobbying before the vote. District retail centre status increases the space available for retail development to 25,000square metres, 6,000 more than the site’s current zoning of neighbourhood centre.

The Park Village is being developed by Park Developments Ltd. Mr Gormley wrote to the council to express his concerns about the rezoning last year. A further letter was sent to the council last Friday as part of the final consultation phase for the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2010-2016.

In it, the Department of the Environment on behalf of Mr Gormley expressed the Minister’s “serious concern that the council had failed to act on his previous advice and recommendation”.

The rezoning did not accord with the “hierarchy of retail centres in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown”, in the Greater Dublin Area Retail Strategy agreed by all planning authorities. The strategy would be “seriously compromised and undermined” if the rezoning went ahead. The rezoning would attract significant amounts of car-based traffic.

The department asked the council to indicate what steps it intended to take to address the Minister’s concerns.

“Failing a satisfactory response, the Minister will have to strongly consider whether further action is warranted, including the use of powers of direction under the Planning and Development Acts,” the letter said. The powers allow the Minister to order the council not to rezone lands.

The preparation of the Draft Naas Town Development Plan 2011 – 2017 is currently underway with the Manager expected to present the Draft Plan to the Councillors in early February 2010. The Draft Plan will be put on public display in April 2010 with submissions being invited for a period of 10 weeks.

The Draft County Development Plan 2011 – 2017 is currently being prepared by the Manager and is expected to be presented to the Councillors in early Feburary 2010. The target date for the public disply of the Draft Plan is mid April 2010. Submissions will be invited by the Council for a period of 10 weeks.

Don’t Forget to get your submissions in before the 12th March. Need a Planner try The Irish Planning Institute Planner Search

NO NEW lands will be rezoned for housing in Dublin city until after 2017, under the new draft city development plan which has been released for public consultation.

Assistant city manager Michael Stubbs said there was already sufficient residentially zoned land to meet demand and that some land which had been zoned residential under the last development plan would be rezoned for other uses.

Undeveloped land which had been zoned solely for housing is now being considered for a newly created zoning “Z10A”. This zoning would be similar to the existing Z10 zoning which allows for mixed use development of residential, commercial and retail in urban centres, but would have lower densities.

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