“Labour Bill to tackle housing estate 'taking in charge' delays welcomed”
Issued : Tuesday 20 October, 2009
Areas : South Tipperary
South Tipperary Labour Cllr. Darren Ryan has welcomed the publishment of his parties Bill, the Planning And Development (Taking In Charge Of Estates) (Time Limit) Bill 2009, which would make it easier for residents in housing estates to force developers to complete to the satisfaction of their local authority, any work that may be required on roads, open spaces, car parks, sewers, watermains, drains or other public facilities.
According to Cllr. Ryan “As the law currently stands, residents can only initiate the process of taking an estate in charge, seven years after the relevant planning permission has expired. That period of time is far too long, and it means that residents can spend years living in estates where roads have not been finished to spec, where open spaces are unusable and dangerous and where drainage and water supplies are not up to scratch.”
“Residents may already be living in the estate before the expiry of the planning permission, and the process of taking in charge can itself take years, so seven years in reality is more like 10 years, 12 years, or even more, for some householders.”
Welcoming the publishing of the bill, Cllr. Ryan said “Our Bill will go some way at least to addressing this problem and will to reduce from seven years to three years the period after expiry of a planning permission for which residents in an unfinished estate must wait before they can initiate proceedings. In South Tipperary alone, there are a number of residents associations who have been in contact with me in relation to this matter.”
