A third of appealed Laois planning decisions overturned

A new report shows that the vast majority of planning applications submitted to Laois county Council were given the green light by planners but a higher than average rate of applications were reversed on appeal to An Bord Pleanála.

The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has found that just over 3% of decisions reached ended up with the planning appeals board. Of these a third were reversed which is 6% above the national average.

It's just one of the Laois findings in the Annual Overview of the Planning System 2021 published by the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) on December 30, 2022. 

The OPR says the report reviews key trends and outputs over the year in the wider planning system in Ireland. It includes a comparison with patterns in previous years and is the only analysis of its kind of the Irish planning system.

A statement from the Regulator says the report also identifies and makes observations on some of the key trends which reflect Ireland’s and each local authority’s planning performance in 2021. It includes key statistics and indicators relating to Laois County Council.

Some of the key findings in the report relating to Laois County Council are:

• The planning invalidation rate (the percentage of invalidated planning applications as a proportion of all applications made) in Co Laois decreased from 17.6% om 2020 to 17.4% in 2021;
• In Laois in 2021, 95% of all planning applications were granted permission while 5% were refused. The national average grant-rate in 2021 was 88.5%;
• In total, there were 632 planning applications approved and 35 refused by Laois County Council in 2021;
• Overall in 2021, 3.1% of planning application decisions made by Laois County Council were appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
• Of these, 33.3% were reversed. The national average rate of appeal in 2021 was 6.7%, the average reversal rate was 27.7%; and
• Laois County Council had a total of 68 sites designated by local authorities as either vacant and/or derelict. This contrasts with the CSO figure for the county of 3,007.1 

   

Niall Cussen, Planning Regulator, commented on the figures.

“2021 was a year in which local authorities such as Laois County Council continued to deliver key statutory planning functions within strict timelines and in an operational environment that was challenging due to public health restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid pandemic.

"It is a great credit to the planning process in general that high levels of throughput in handling planning applications and appeals continued despite the pressures.

"While core planning functions continue to experience high volumes of activity, more is also being asked of local authorities.

"2021 was also a year of very significant activity by local authorities in starting to implement funding streams aimed at securing urban and rural regeneration. However, a critical function to such investment will require concerted action on vacant and derelict buildings.

While core planning functions continue to experience high volumes of activity, more is also being asked of local authorities.”

The OPR was established in April 2019 on foot of recommendations made by the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments (the Mahon Tribunal).

Its purpose is to oversee the continuous enhancement of Ireland’s planning process and its outcomes by driving the co-ordination of planning policy implementation across national, regional and local levels, building a stronger knowledge base and ensuring regular reviews of the performance of planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála.

To coincide with the report, the OPR has also launched a new series of videos and flowcharts aimed at helping people navigate their way through the planning application process.