The Office of the Planning Regulator claims it’s ‘inappropriate’ to include a potential future Strategic Development Zone in the new Clare County Development plan.
A joint application between Clare County Council and the University of Limerick for the development of a new town on the Clare/Limerick border is currently with Government.
The Council and UL applied to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to designate lands adjoining the north campus of the University as an Economic SDZ back in February.
It’s hoped it will enable a future expansion of the north campus at the University into county Clare, with the proposal being included in the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029.
In a submission on the plan, part of which has been seen by Clare FM, the Office of the Planning Regulator has acknowledged the ‘general ambition’ for the project to be developed in the long term.
However, it noted that it believed it was ‘inappropriate’ and ‘premature’ to include the SDZ in the plan, as it might be seen to pre-empt a decision of the Government.
While the OPR has no role in deciding the designation of an SDZ, Clare County Council will now have to outline how this recommendation will be addressed.
Should the matter not be addressed sufficiently, the Minister for Local Government and Planning could compel the local authority to address it accordingly.
Both UL and Clare County Council say designating the land as an economic SDZ would enable the site to generate more than 3,500 jobs.
Statement from Office of Planning Regulator
‘One of the key functions of the OPR is to ensure that policy set by the Government and regional assemblies is appropriately applied at local level in statutory plans, such as county development plans.
To achieve this, the OPR independently assesses local authority plans to ensure that while they do respond to local circumstances, they also properly apply these important national and regional policies.
This means that the development plans councillors adopt across the 31 local authorities collectively address societal and environmental issues and ensure that communities develop in a sustainable and balanced way.
In our submissions to local authority development plans, we may make recommendations on matters considered to constitute a potential clear breach of planning policy or guidelines.
In our recent submission on the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029, one of our recommendations relates to the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area (LSMA).
Our recommendation acknowledges the ambition of Clare County Council working with the University of Limerick, in seeking designation of a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) for an area adjacent to Limerick City. However, we pointed out that pending the Government’s deliberations on the proposal, it wouldn’t normally be appropriate to include an SDZ in a draft county development plan as it might be seen to pre-empt the decision of the Government.
In relation to SDZs, applications and decisions for the designation of SDZs are made directly by the Minister. The OPR has no role in this process.
Once we have made our recommendations, the local authority must outline how these recommendations will be addressed. Ultimately, if a plan adopted by a local authority is not consistent with one of our recommendations, following our recommendation, the Minister for Local Government and Planning may use the powers of direction, specified in the planning act to compel the local authority to address the matter.
Since our formation in 2019, we have made almost 400 recommendations relating to local authority plans, the vast majority have been implemented which will lead to better planning outcomes.’
