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GAZETTE
JULY-AUGUST 1981
efficient way of providing homes for young people. It is
the most cost effective way. Our tax and subsidy system
is geared towards encouraging home ownership and that
is a policy to be commended. It was not however enough.
Policies would also have to be devised to encourage the
industry to become involved in the first-time buyer market
which, after all, has a much higher risk factor than
upmarket housing. If that argument were accepted then it
must follow that changes in the CRV system were
necessary.
Mr. John Prendergast's Paper
Of particular value to practitioners was the paper read
by Mr. John Prendergast, (Assistant City and County
Manager of Dublin), entitled "Planning Permission and the
Environment", in which Mr. Prendergast did much to
assist a balanced appreciation of the underlying aims of
planning bodies and the inherent difficulties facing them.
Having reminded his audience of the obligation
imposed on planning authorities to prepare and review
Development Plans for their functional areas, Mr.
Prendergast went on to say:-
"Development Plans for Dublin City and Dublin
County contain land use provisions for their respective
a r e a s, i d e n t i fy the a r e as for d e v e l o pme nt and
conservation, indicate obsolete areas for which the
p l a nn i ng au t ho r i t i es are c omm i t t ed to
s e c u re
redevelopment, objectives on roads and the relief of traffic
congestion and areas of non-development consisting
mainly of agricultural land and amenity lands in the
mountains, river valleys and adjoining the sea shore. The
Plans also contain objectives and advice in relation to
development control for the benefit of intending
applicants. There are two strands to implementation of
objectives — one which can be implemented by the
planning authority and one which aims at controlling the
activities of the private sector. Both derive from policies
set out in the Development Plan and aim at implementing
them. The intention behind development control is
positive and should not be regarded in a negative way.
The Development Plan
"In considering the proper planning and development of an
area in relation to a planning application regard must be
had,
inter alia
to the provisions of the Plan. Development
Plans, therefore, contain many provisions relating to
control of development such as density, site coverage,
plot ratio, car parking, tree planting and provision of open
space, all of which will have a beneficial effect on the
quality of the environment.
"The two planning authorities for which I have been
delegated the planning functions are Dublin Corporation
and Dublin County Council and the planning problems
for each area are quite different. The City is built up and
the County is developing. The present population of the
Dublin area is estimated at just over 1 million and is
projected at between 1.2 and 1.3 million by 1991.
Virtually all the increased population will be housed in the
County area and the planning priority in that area is to
ensure that they are housed in a satisfactory environment.
Simultaneously it is necessary to provide for employment
opportunities and other necessary community services
and for an increasing demand for better amenities in both
City and County.
"Of course, environmental improvement in the centre
city areas, particularly in the Inner City, has other
aspects. The biggest problems result from traffic
congestion and rundown areas. The provision of an
adequate roads system, development of public transport
and limitation of parking, particularly long-term parking,
are all prime objectives of the planning authority.
Planning studies are going on in the Inner City to
determine planning priorities in the area and already, on
publicly owned property, considerable improvements in
public housing and amenities are being effected.
Amenities
The provision of better amenities in built up areas is easier
said than done. Such undeveloped property as exists is
predominantly in the ownership of religious bodies and
private sports clubs. While the lands are not generally
available for recreation to the general public, they do
provide a welcome lung in a developed area and the
planning authorities are reluctant to see them developed.
Development Plan objectives usually zone these areas
either for institutional or amenity use, but financial
considerations often frustrate the objectives. Assuming no
non-com pensat able impediments
to
development,
preserving these open areas would require either the
payment of substantial compensation at development
land values or the purchase of the lands by the planning
authority, if that option were available. In practice, the
planning authorities seek to obtain a larger element of
open space than the normal minimum 10% of the site and
this approach has met with reasonable success. Its effect
is to protect, to some extent, the amenity enjoyed by
adjoining residents. However, both Dublin Corporation
and Dublin County Council consider that it should be
open to the planning authority to purchase such land for
amenity purposes at a price related to its existing use (thus
b r o a d ly
s upp o r t i ng
K e n n y)
and
h a ve
ma de
representations to the Minister for the Environment in this
regard.
"It is in the developing areas that the planning authority
has the greatest opportunity of adopting policies that will
favourably affect the environment. The concept of
community development in neighbourhoods, protected
from heavy through traffic and catering for about 5 , 0 00
people, is surely the correct approach. Neighbourhood
Action Plans provide for:-
1. Adequate road systems to cater for diverting non
essential traffic away from residential areas.
2. Sufficient land at an appropriate density to facilitate a
suitable housing layout and variety of design.
3. Land uses within the neighbourhood to ensure that
enjoyment of residential amenity is not impaired by
intrusive non compatible uses.
4. Properly located and sufficient open space, both active
and recreational, to enable all sections of the
community to enjoy the facility.
5. Central location of neighbourhood shopping and other
community facilities to ensure ready access.
A neighbourhood will normally support a church,
primary school, district shopping centre and community
hall. It will also normally have about 20 acres of local
amenity open space at suitable locations within the
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