James Pike

Leading architect criticises failure of local authority management to co-ordinate key infrastructure with development planning Many local authority Planning Departments are 'dysfunctional', opening up the potential for abuse and inconsistencies in the operation and management of the planning system, according to the President of The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Mr. James Pike. In his inaugural address to the members of the Institute, which took place on Monday, 2 October, James Pike also slammed the failure of management in local authorities to properly co-ordinate the provision of key infrastructure such as water supply with development planning.

He explained, "There are simply too many situations where lands zoned for development in Council Development Plans or even in Local Area Plans where essential infrastructure is not in place for years. There are many examples on the Dublin fringe for example where water supply is still not available ten years after lands were zoned."

James Pike, who is a Director and founder of O'Mahony Pike (OMP) Architects, criticised the operation and management of the Irish planning system, "There is an enormous variation in the performance of the planning system between county councils and other such planning authorities. In fact, the highest percentage of complaints to the RIAI and the key issue which arose in our recent survey of members relates directly to the operation of the system and the huge inconsistencies in the application of the planning system between the various local authorities.

"Some operate quite well and provide a generally good service to professionals and to the public, however others can only be described as dysfunctional. Such variations in performance and in how the planning laws and regulations are interpreted and applied means that the Irish planning system is potentially open to abuse."

He added, "Some local authorities with large numbers of applications validate nearly all applications from architects over the desk, while others take weeks, and reject applications for any fault, however petty. Some local authorities are readily accessible for enquiries and arrange meetings with applicants within one or two weeks, while others never agree to pre-planning application meetings and seldom make contact with applicants or their agents after an application has been submitted."

Some examples of poor practice in local authority planning departments forwarded to the RIAI by members of the Institute include;

• An amended and re-lodged application was invalidated by a city council because the site notice was the wrong colour - they were told it should have been yellow.
• A yellow notice was then erected and the application was re-lodged and again it was rejected because the site notice was the wrong colour even though it was the colour requested - the council had changed its mind on the colour issue. After another notice was erected the application was validated.
• A large city council invalidated an application for not showing internal room dimensions in an existing building for rooms which were not changed in any way.
• The use of an 'out of date' application form was the reason for invalidation by one county council even though they were taken from the counter in the council's own offices.
• A planning application for a protected structure was declared invalid because a photographic record of the protected structure did not form part of the application. 9 copies of the photograph record were returned to the applicant by the planning authority with the invalid application and the planning authority retained one copy for their records.

James Pike said, "In fact, the Institute was informed of so many outrageous cases in relation to validation that they initiated a prize for the most bizarre case. In 2005, the winner reported a case where he received a planning invalidation because they did not write the word 'dimension' after each dimension noted on their drawings"

He added that the dysfunctional nature of the planning system is down to poor management, and not a lack of resources, "We think the Department of the Environment should be setting down the preferred management structures and seeing that authorities set them up and employ the necessary staff appropriate to the volume of applications and to growth within their administrative areas. We are also recommending that qualified architects should also be used to advise on many planning applications, as most planners do not have any training in architectural design. All local authorities should employ architectural staff or failing that, use private sector architects to advise on drawing up plans and on key planning applications."

In his address, the RIAI President warned that necessary infrastructure for major developments provided for under Local Area Plans should be properly programmed and costed, and accompanied by a scheme of development levies and phasing arrangements to ensure that all infrastructure required is put in place.

He said, "For example, in the Local Area Plan for the North Drogheda Environs, which covers an area of 600 acres, the provision of infrastructure and its programme have been incorporated into a contract between Louth County Council and a company set up by the 22 principal landowners. Adamstown and plans for the Kilkenny South-West area also provide good examples of best practice in this respect."

"Lessons must be learned by planning authorities in terms of the failure to co-ordinate infrastructure with development planning.

"I am aware of at least one recent example where a Local Area Plan is in place, but applicants have been told the water will not be available for at least twelve years. In other locations sewers are not planned, and in others surface water disposal or flood levels and policies for dealing with them are not undertaken which can lead to endless delays."

The President continued, "The Planning Act sets out a comprehensive structure of statutory plans which local authorities are required to make, but many authorities are not drawing up the necessary plans for even their key development areas. Local Area Plans are a vital part of the planning process, but they must be more than just elaborated versions of the Development Plan and they should also include an Urban Design Plan.

"In addition, good Local Area Plans greatly reduce the subsequent work load on planning departments, and give much greater certainty to applicants and result in a lower number of planning appeals. It is also a straight forward process to progress a Local Area Plan to a Strategic Development Zone and thus avoiding third-party appeals altogether."