Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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459. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he has issued regulations, pursuant to section 180(3)(b) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended by section 59 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, to enable local authorities to ascertain the wishes of the majority of residents in estates yet to be taken in charge; if not, if he intends to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36140/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 applies to estates which have been granted planning permission and includes the construction of two or more houses (which as defined in the Act includes apartments) and the provision of new roads, open spaces, car parks, sewers, watermains or drains.

In relation to estates which have been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the permission, section 180 provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the developer or by the majority of the qualified electors who are owners of the houses involved, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 for declaring the road(s) to be public roads, for whose maintenance the local authority will then be responsible.

Section 180 was amended in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 to provide that a planning authority may take in charge an unfinished estate, at the request of the owners of the housing units, at any time after the expiration of the planning permission, in situations where enforcement actions have commenced or where the planning authority consider that enforcement action will not result in the satisfactory completion of the estate by the developer. Planning authorities have also been empowered to take in charge part of an estate or some, but not all, of the facilities in an estate.

The 'Taking in Charge' policies adopted by local authorities require them to have in place procedures for the actual process of 'taking in charge' a residential development in response to a request from either a developer or the majority residents. Further Regulations have not been made in this regard, and I have no plans to do so at present.