Mr. Kevin Kelly:

I thank the Chairman and members. I am chief executive of Mayo County Council and a member of the CCMA committee on housing, building and land use. As the Chairman outlined, I am accompanied by: Ms Mary Henchy, director of services, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council; Ms Mary Conway, deputy city planner and head of development management, Dublin City Council; and Mr. Michael Rainey, director of services, Carlow County Council.

On behalf of the CCMA, I would like to thank the committee for its invitation to appear. We look forward to assisting the committee in its discussion on the general scheme of the planning and development (amendment) (LSRD) Bill 2021.

The introduction of strategic housing developments, SHDs, in 2017 was intended to provide a fast-track mechanism for planning permissions for housing schemes of 100 or more units and was based on the strategic development infrastructure legislation. Under the SHD process, the local authority makes a significant input into the overall process through pre-planning with the applicant and An Bord Pleanála. The local authority provides An Bord Pleanála with an assessment and recommendation on the SHD proposal, including third party concerns and a summary of matters raised by the elected members at area meetings.

The sector welcomes the intention, under the planning and development (amendment) Bill, to return decision-making on large-scale housing developments to local authority level and to reinstate the opportunity for appeals of decisions made. As the committee is aware, planning authorities were always required to operate within statutory deadlines and the heads of the Bill now extend this to the pre-planning process. I will set out some comments on the various heads and the explanatory notes provided.

Head 4 of the Bill amends the legal definitions of section 2 of the principal Act. The CCMA welcomes the increase in the gross floor space for other uses but we would have some concerns if those other uses were limited to commercial uses, as referenced in the explanatory note. The CCMA's preference is that this increase in gross floor space for other uses should include both commercial and other non-residential uses.

Head 5 of the legislation makes section 247 meetings at the pre-planning stage for a proposed application mandatory and requires the applicant to request a final pre-planning meeting and the local authority to provide written advice following on from that meeting. The heads of the legislation set out time limits for the local authority in terms of its engagement with the applicant. The sector does not have difficulty with the principle of this but it will have resource implications across several disciplines within a planning authority.

Head 6 provides for a new section 247A. The CCMA has concerns regarding paragraph 4, which makes reference to the knowledge and expertise of officials attending meetings. The placing of such a requirement in primary legislation should be considered carefully. The key issue will be the availability of staff within a tight four-week timeframe rather than a skills issue. The CCMA requests that consideration be given to clarifying head 6, paragraph (8). Pre-planning is without prejudice - while it is appropriate to give advice, the legislation should be clear that the decision is made having assessed the application and made a recommendation to the decision maker, not at pre-planning stage. The CCMA acknowledges the apparent intent that neither section 247 nor the proposed section 247A process shall prejudice the performance of the planning authority of its respective functions under the principal Act, but this should be clearer. The CCMA highlights concerns under head 6, paragraph (10) that advice, in some circumstances, may not be valid for a year where policy changes, development plan changes or other changes occur, such as adjoining sites getting permission which may impact on the advice given. The legislation currently puts no limitations on the validity period. A small but relevant point in paragraph (16)(b) refers to public and private open space provision. It should also include the term "communal" as communal space is used in higher density schemes.

Head 8 and the insertion of a new paragraph into section 33(2) raise significant concerns for the CCMA with the limiting of further information, perhaps even to issues not addressed at pre-planning stage. This would appear to run contrary to pre-planning being without prejudice to the planning application itself. The sector wishes to clarify that further information is only requested where a planning authority considers the proposal has merit and has the potential to be granted permission. The sector has concerns that limiting the further information which may be requested by a planning authority may well lead to more applications being refused.

The sector would welcome a fee being introduced for pre-planning meetings as set out in head 11. The proposed process will require additional technical and administrative resourcing by planning authorities and providing an on-demand service with these statutory timelines will be challenging. While not referred to, it is assumed that the SHD fee structure will be continued but will be amended to take account of the increased workload of local authorities. The timing of the implementation of the amended Bill and its alignment to the new development plans being drafted throughout local authorities is welcome and the CCMA notes the timescales proposed for the transitional arrangements.

The CCMA broadly welcomes the measures in the planning and development (amendment) (large-scale residential development) Bill. With increased clarity and reduced ambiguity in some instances, it will allow local authorities to deliver on the Government's objectives in respect of housing provision.