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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

QUESTION NO. 17

QUESTION: Councillor Shane Moynihan

To ask the Chief Executive for the number of planning enforcement files opened in the Lucan-Palmerstown-North Clondalkin area in 2021, by month, the number of inspections undertaken for each file, the number of inspections pending and the outcome of files that have been closed.

REPLY:

The Planning Authority has opened 38 files to date in the Lucan-Palmerstown-North Clondalkin area in 2021. The 38 files are at various stages of investigation, some awaiting a submission from a developer and others are referred to the planning inspector for a site inspection. 6 files to date were closed in 2021 for a number of reasons including exempted development and notices complied with.

Please note that a site inspection is only part of the enforcement process and are generally conducted to investigate if unauthorised development exists after the intial investigation and warning letter has been issued and ideally once a response to the warning letter has been received from the developer/ land owner. The number of inspections undertaken on a enforcement file is not a recorded statistic.  If the planning authority determines that there is an unauthorised development, an enforcement notice can issue under Section 154 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). The Enforcement notice is a legal document which details the expectations of the planning authority to the landowner on how it expects the development to be rectified / regularised.  Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and may result in legal proceedings being initiated.

The mechanisms at the planning authorities disposal for Enforcement are set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). A development which has been built without planning permission (where one is required) or is in breach of the conditions of its planning permission is classed as unauthorised development.  When a planning authority receives a complaint in relation an alleged unauthorised development or non-compliance with planning conditions, the matter is thoroughly investigated. The planning authority can decide that the complaint is frivolous or without substance. The planning authority alone has the discretion to decide this having regard to the current planning legislation/regulations.

Where a complaint is found to be valid following consideration, the planning authority may issue a warning letter, served under Section 152 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). A warning letter must issue within 6 weeks of receipt of a valid compliant.  The respondent has 4 weeks to submit their response. On receipt of the submission or expiry of the timeline, the planning authority will decide if further enforcement action is warranted.

During the covid pandemic there were initially disruptions to site inspections.  Planning inspections resumed as of July 2020.  Risk assessments are conducted before a site inspection can take place. There has been a significant increase in complaints from the public during the past 18 months and the correspondence and enforcement complaints to the Enforcement Team has increased by c.63% when comparing complaints and correspondence with the public between 2019 to 2020. Whilst the number of complaints has significantly increased in a short space of time, the rate of new Enforcement cases being opened is generally consistent across 2019 (252), 2020 (269) and 2021 (192 year to date). It is recognised that with the current increase in complaints there is increased demand for inspections and currently the Planning Authority are having to prioritise site inspections accordingly.