At its Autumn conference in Dublin today, Irish Planning Institute president Deirdre Fallon argued that the key to increasing housing supply is not necessarily making planning permission quicker to attain but in ensuring permissions already granted are built. 

The conference is being attended by 200 planning professionals, engineers, architects, councillors, surveyors, property and housing professionals, and policy-makers. Among the key speakers are officials from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government; Justin Gleeson, Maynooth University; Alice Whittaker, Philip Lee Solicitors; John Moran, former Department of Finance Secretary General and Jim Keogan, Assistant Chief Executive, Dublin City Council. 

Deirdre Fallon, President of the Irish Planning Institute said: “Planners in public and private practice recognise the gravity of the housing situation but we believe the proposal to transfer planning powers for applications over 100 units to An Bord Pleanála from local authorities is misconceived. In our view it will not speed up the delivery of housing, harms local democracy and risks increased judicial reviews. The proposal further removes communities from their local authority and development plan. To be effective we believe planning functions should be delivered at the lowest appropriate level. It is notable that this shift is occurring in the Republic while planning functions in Northern Ireland have been devolved down to 11 local councils.”

According to Fallon: “In the Dublin area there is potential to deliver over 46,000 homes on zoned lands with essential services already in place. 33,000 units have permission and another 7,000 are in the planning process.  Clearly, the issue is not the granting of permission as the Board legislation focuses on, it is how you activate those that are granted. The key to increasing housing supply at this time does not lie in increasing the number of permissions which are granted each year – though important – but in ensuring that those permissions which are granted are built out more quickly.”

Fallon continued: “Some of the demands of critics of our planning system are red herrings or ignore the substantial changes that have already taken place. Changes to planning legislation recently have reduced the costs of providing new homes. Initiatives include reduced development contributions, which it must be remembered have been calculated to amount to only 4% of the average house cost, and a targeted development contribution rebates scheme. The Part V contribution of social housing has been reduced. Apartment standards have been reviewed.”

Fallon said: “It is possible that dissatisfaction with third party involvement in the planning application process is generating these calls for reform. Third party appeals has always been a cornerstone of the Irish planning system. Are they now considered too great a price to pay for efficiencies, even by the elected representatives who often use them? The Housing and Homelessness Action Plan has set a timeline for a root and branch review of the planning system to be undertaken and completed by Q1 2017. We are unclear on what format this will take and if it can be accomplished in this timeline. We as an Institute have begun internal work on this and welcome such a review however its starting point cannot be the inaccurate one that planning is constraining supply. Instead it must be a wider one on what planning’s role is in future sustainable development.”

Fallon concluded “There has to be a focus on implementation, the vacant sites levy is a tool for this but as we outlined in our Pre Budget Submission if the Government are serious about long term sustainable housing and land management a site value tax system must be introduced. The recent Census and advances in technology also provide a real opportunity for evidence based – rather than developer led or anecdote led – planning. Census figures are an opportunity to utilise the most up to date information in formulating our planning policy and ensuring its effectiveness.”