The Irish Government has begun consulting on draft new guidelines for planning authorities regarding the preparation of development plans.
The 134 page guidelines are designed to help planning authorities in the preparation of, and variation to, city and county development plans, as well as the Office of the Planning Regulator in undertaking the statutory evaluation and assessing plans.
Peter Burke, the minister with responsibility for local government and planning, pointed out that since the 2007 guidelines, there had been many changes to the planning system. Whereas now Ireland have a National Planning Framework which sets out the overall 'big picture' strategic objectives for the planning system to deliver.
Burke said: "These objectives have been incorporated into regional spatial and economic strategies for each of our three regional assembly areas, operating at the regional tier of our planning system and in turn, are being applied in more detail at a local level by each of the 31 planning authorities".
"The Office of the Planning Regulator has also been established to oversee the planmaking process and ensure that there is policy consistency across the system".
Also there are now metropolitan area strategic plans for each of the five cities in Ireland and metropolitan area transport strategies prepared for each of the cities by the National Transport Authority.
Burke added: "The planmaking function of a planning authority now operates in a much-changed and continually changing policy, institutional and regulatory framework to that which prevailed when the guidelines were last published".
