The Irish Planning Institute has said that last Friday’s High Court ruling that a Blessington chalet erected without planning permission be demolished is a gentle reminder to all those engaged in development that ‘planning matters’. 

Discussing the ruling Irish Planning Institute Mary Hughes said “Mr. Justice Kearns has not only corrected a decision, which was ultimately considered by the planning profession to be flawed, but he has reinforced the core planning principle of the common good.  Deliberate, unauthorised development has consequences and it is a lesson that must be remembered as Ireland emerges as the fastest-growing economy in Europe.   Bad or absent planning is not victimless, rather its victims are too numerous to count.”

“Effective planning control is dependent on public compliance and acceptance of the rules.  But it is also dependent on a well-resourced planning system which has been threatened by a 32% drop in planning posts in local authorities since 2007.  Although the number professional planners working in planning enforcement increased by 4%, according to the Irish Planning Institute’s recently launched Survey of Professional Planners, planning enforcement only employs 9% of all local authority planners in the country.”