Local authorities that flout Government Regional Planning Guidelines launched yesterday will not face any sanction from the Department of the Environment.
The guidelines were announced in Ennis by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, who described them as a milestone in the implementation of the Government's National Spatial Strategy. Thousands of planning decisions taken by local authorities will have to comply with the guidelines.
Addressing an audience of county managers and directors of regional authorities, Mr Roche said that for the first time Ireland now had in place the entire hierarchy of strategic plans, ranging from the spatial strategy at national level to regional planning guidelines at regional level, and to city, town, county and local area plans.
Mr Roche said: "The preparation of the regional planning guidelines demanded an ability to take a broader and longer-term view, something that we have not always been so good at in the past.
"These regional planning guidelines seek to build on the strengths of regions and make them more competitive. They are also about ensuring a high-quality urban environment, as well as vibrant rural areas."
In an effort to ensure the effective translation of the spatial strategy and regional guideline policies to local authority plans, the Minister announced the establishment of guideline implementation groups.
However, Mr Roche confirmed yesterday that the implementation guidelines contained no penalties against local authorities whose planning decisions did not comply with them. At the launch in Ennis yesterday, Mr Roche said "there is no need to be adopting a carrot and stick approach on this and there is no reason to talk about penalties.
"The best way to get local authorities to comply with the guidelines is to ensure that the logic of the situation is understood and it is well understood. The rewards for doing planning well are self-evident. The guidelines have not been imposed on the councils by the Department. They have been agreed jointly and I expect that they'll deliver on them."
A spokesperson for An Taisce yesterday welcomed the launch of the guidelines. However, he said: "They will be rendered meaningless if the regional authorities are not given the resources to monitor and ensure that the local authorities comply with the plans." The decision not to include any penalties "is a bad signal and serves only to undermine the implementation of the guidelines".
