It’s great how hindsight works. Looking back at situations, suddenly the error of your ways seems so clear and uncomplicated, resulting in a confident decision to right your wrong in future situations.
Now this is all well and good on a personal level, but when it comes to a governing body looking back at ridiculous decisions it made and deciding to smite everyone around them, well that’s a problem isn’t it?
During the week the chairman of An Bord Pleanála warned that there could be possible dezoning of land. John O’Connor said the “excessive and unsustainable zoning of land” had contributed to a property bubble, and this had to be tackled by local authorities. Is it just me, or am I missing something here?
For the past 10 years or so there has been an unreal amount of housing estates sprouting up across the county. From small villages to already sprawling towns, these projects, while creating much needed homes for people, have also become major eye sores and a burden. Many estates have been left unfinished, leading to unnecessary problems for the council and home owners alike.
We all know of unfinished housing estates, left abandoned because greedy developers were desperate to cash in. And now the money has dried up, and no one can afford to buy these homes, they will be left abandoned for the near future anyway.
And in the meantime, councils are putting a major clampdown on new planning applications. O’Connor is insisting that local authorities now look beyound the basic zoning areas and focus on what services are available in the area, along with the density, height, impact on amenitites, and orderly urban expansion.
Understandably these new guidelines are being created with developers in mind who may be looking at lower density projects, but what about those looking for once-off planning?
At the October meeting of Westmeath County Council there was heated debate over planning. Accusations were flying that council officials were prolonging and nit-picking at planning applications in order to look busy for fear of a cut in working hours. Whether or not this is true, there are clearly a lot of anxious and angry people in the county waiting on an OK from Westmeath County Council so they can proceed with their new homes.
There is no doubt that applying for planning permission is an expensive game, especially if the council asks for further information or for plans to be changed. Several councillors have brought the issue of one-off dwellings to the council, asking why applicants who have lived in high amenity areas all their life, and are complying with all the regulations, are still being turned down.
Is it a case that those of us looking to get planning for our home, a one-off dwelling, are being punished for past mistakes with developers?
If this is the case, and if An Bord Pleanála thinks it’s aceptable to make the planning application for one-off dwelling as difficult as possible, then something needs to be done.
Our local representatives must be contacted and made motion these issues to the council at the next meeting. Unless of course you’re okay with moving into an unfinished home in an empty housing estate on the outskirts of Kinnegad!
