Mr. Colin Ryan:

Again, it becomes an issue for the planning authority to make a decision around that and whether it is appropriate to extend it at that moment. As it stands, under section 42 of the current Act, we are left with the situation whereby once a person complies with it, within one year of the end of the five-year period, he or she has no choice but to extend it. There is a period of time in terms of that extension, however. We would not seek for it to be an unlimited extension of time.

At the end of the day one is looking to enact and develop a planning application and to carry out works and be in the process of carrying out works. We look at the wording to see if there any issue with it but the broad parameter is that "extent and duration" are to do with a development being carried out. Time is needed to finish that development rather than reapplying.