Ireland’s planning regulator aims for coherent policies across the board

Paul McNeive

An Bord Pleanála is part of the planning process which OPR aims to improve

March 11 2021 02:30 AM

In 2013 I welcomed the recommendation of the Mahon Tribunal to establish an independent planning regulator, which was finally established in 2019.

Two years into his role, this week I interviewed Corkman Niall Cussen, chief executive and planning regulator at the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR).

Mr Cussen has degrees in regional and urban planning, environmental engineering and economics and geography, plus 30 years experience working in planning.

The OPR has a staff of approximately 26, including several senior planners, with a head office at Grangegorman, Dublin 7, and an annual budget of close to €3m.

It has three main functions, to assess local authority development plans for their adherence to national policies, to review the delivery of planning services by all planning authorities, including An Bord Pleanála, and lastly, training, public awareness and research, to support best practice in planning.

Whilst planning in Ireland has a chequered history, Mr. Cussen points to radical changes in recent years.

“In the 1990’s, we had 88 planning authorities, no regional planning and few guidelines for planning authorities,” he told me. “Now we have a National Development Plan backing the National Planning Framework with funding, Regional, Spatial and Economic Strategies and over 30 statutory planning guidelines.”

Mr Cussen believes that the OPR, with its brief to independently ensure that the system is delivering on government and regulatory policy, is the first of its type in the world.

For new development plans, the OPR engages with the local authority’s forward planning team and the OPR must receive all documents at every statutory stage of the process.

Mr Cussen stresses that the OPR review of the draft plan is a strategic one.

“We’re not the planning authority,” he said, “but we check that they have covered all the bases.”

The OPR can then issue observations and recommendations, and the latter must be addressed by the local authority.

If the OPR feels that there is a policy breach, it notifies the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who can direct the local authority to amend their plan.

In recent months the OPR has issued many observations and submissions on development plans, which can be seen on its website.

It intervened in a proposed variation of the Cork County Council Development Plan concerning “retail outlet centre” development outside the city. The OPR objected on the grounds that this contravened national retail development guidelines and the Minister issued a direction last December.

Mr Cussen told me that they are having great success with training webinars for Ireland’s 949 county councillors, over one third of whom were newly elected in 2019.

The OPR has had a very positive reaction to its webinars, which are attended by up to 250 councillors.

Mr Cussen feels strongly that the next generation of development plans must become much more climate oriented

Climate action, he says, is a major focus for the forward planning teams and the councillors, and they have a major part to play if Ireland is to meet its target of doubling renewable use by 2030.