Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

This section provides that the mandatory population threshold for preparing local area plans will be raised from 2,000 to 5,000 persons, after which it will be discretionary. Fine Gael also has an issue with this provision because the language employed in this section is similar to that being used by planners and managers in local authorities to justify, as previously discussed, the new trend of moving away from statutory local area plans in favour of non-statutory master plans such as urban framework plans. This move away from statutory plans gives planners and managers more control and lessens the involvement of the public and the local elected representatives.

Although I am unsure whether I can speak on this subject later, I refer to the proposal to increase the lifespan of local area plans from six years to ten years. This should be reviewed because the lifespan of local area plans should run concurrently with development plans. A ten-year time frame for a local area plan may seem excessive and would not allow for a quick response to changes in population or development contexts. It may be inappropriate for a local area plan to be in force for longer than a development plan. It projects how a local area plan should develop over a much longer period than a development plan and may not be responsive enough to trends within that area. We are concerned about that issue.