George Lee (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 372: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 953 and 971 on 3 November 2009, when a decision will be made; his views on the advantages and disadvantages of agreeing to request by a county council (details supplied). [40399/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Strategic Development Zones were introduced in the Planning and Development Act 2000 to ensure that sites considered to be of strategic national importance in economic or social terms can be developed with a much greater degree of certainty both in relation to securing planning permission and the time horizon for development. This does not involve any weakening of control systems but provides a means of resolving the major planning issues before an individual project is developed.

One of the significant benefits arising from SDZ designation is that a planning authority can grant permission in respect of an application for a development within an SDZ with no right of appeal, where it is satisfied that the development would be consistent with the adopted SDZ planning scheme, which itself has been subject to extensive consultation and may have been considered by An Bord Pleanála, thus providing greater certainty and a speedier decision-making process.

I expect to make a decision in relation to the Cherrywood SDZ proposal shortly.