Ministerial guidelines
Local Area Plans: Guidelines for Planning Authorities
How a council prepares a local area plan for a town or district.
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government · June 2013 · 64 pages
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- 3 obligations on planning authorities to ensure that both existing and future local area plans comply with new core strategies which have been incorporated into city and county development plans. These new core strategies establish an evidential base for the zoning of land at national, regional and local levels through quantification of need and requirements for alignment of the quantity of land to be zoned for development, especially for residential purposes, between plans at national, regional and local levels. More than 350 local area plans have been adopted in Ireland across a wide range of planning contexts but mainly for: individual towns and villages;• parts of cities and towns, where, for example, significant regeneration is• anticipated; and urban extension projects for newly developing areas.• The flexibility of the legal provisions for local area plans enables different spatial contexts to be responded to by the different types of local area plans, including those types mentioned above, in setting more localised policy contexts for individual planning decisions. Local area plans are also important policy instruments by which local authorities can promote economic renewal, as in the case of regenerating city and town centres and ensuring protection of environmental qualities, including bio-diversity. 1.2 Aims of the Guidelines The aims of these guidelines are to: highlight best practice• and improve the quality of local area plans, especially in relation to their content and consistency with higher-level plans, thereby improving the quality, consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of decision making on planning applications and the quality of development in general; improve community and institutional participation• in the process of preparing or amending local area plans; and thereby enhance the co-ordination and provision of essential public infrastructure• within the planning process. These guidelines are relevant to both the executive of planning authorities who are responsible for preparing local area plans and the elected members of the planning authority who are responsible for decisions on the content of local area plans1. In particular, these planning guidelines outline advice on: the mandatory and discretionary content of local area plans;• the role of local area plans within the hierarchy of planning frameworks;• requirements for local area plan compliance with specific EU Directives such as• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) under the Habitats Directive; consultation procedures; and• implementation.• 1 Section 20(3)(d) of the 2000 Planning and Development Act, as amended by Section 9 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2002 and Sections 19 and 20 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010.
- 4 1.3 Status of the Guidelines The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has issued these Guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2012. Planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála are required to have regard to the guidelines in the performance of their functions under the Planning Acts. These Guidelines are accompanied by a non-statutory best practice manual, which may be updated and/or augmented reflecting innovations in local area plans over time.
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- 7 2 Local Area Plans: Legislative and Policy Requirements
- 8 Key Messages Consistency between local area plans and the core strategy of development plans• is an essential requirement, particularly in relation to the quantum and location of lands identified for development. A local area plan must be consistent with relevant planning guidelines issued• by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2012. Working within the wider planning policy and legislative context, local area plans• must also respond to and address the needs of local communities, as identified through public participation processes. Local area plans will also require, as a minimum, screening for both Strategic• Environmental Assessment in accordance with the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive and Appropriate Assessment in accordance with the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. 2.1 General This chapter summarises some of the key legislative and policy requirements that local area plans must address. Obligation to Make a Local Area Plan A planning authority may prepare a local area plan for any particular part of its functional area. Section 19 of the Act provides that a local area plan may be prepared in respect of any area, including a Gaeltacht area, or an existing suburb of an urban area as well as areas in need of renewal or areas likely to be subject to large-scale development. It is intended that, in line with the proposed reforms of local government referred to earlier in these guidelines, planning authorities will avail of the local area plan process to outline more specific planning policies at the local level. It is mandatory for a planning authority to make a local area plan in respect of an area which: is designated as a town in the most recent census of population;1. has a population in excess of 5,000; and2. is situated in the functional area of a planning authority which is a county council.3. A planning authority must also indicate land use zoning objectives for any town or village within its functional area where the population of that town or village is between 1,500 and 5,000 persons and in indicating the objectives above, the planning authority has the option of either preparing a local area plan or, alternatively, indicating such objectives in the development plan. Local Area Plans: Legislative and Policy Requirements 2
- 9 The decision as to whether to prepare a local area plan in a sub-threshold context or include specific objectives in a development plan is a matter for the planning authority. However, such a decision would normally take on board criteria such as the degree to which major development is anticipated such as to justify the preparation of a standalone local area plan, the resource implications and the need to focus resources in using the local area plan process for areas where major alterations to the built environment are anticipated. Some non-statutory studies or frameworks are prepared by local authorities to give guidance on specific development proposals working within the relevant development plan or local area plan parameters. As long as such documents work within defined policy and objective parameters of the relevant plan and do not set new policies or objectives outside the statutory process for defining such content, their usage is both appropriate and complementary to the preparation of statutory local area plans. Planning authorities may also make plans in co-operation with adjoining authorities2, in order to provide for the integrated planning of settlements and their hinterlands. Lifespan of Local Area Plans Section 19 of the Act provides that subject to the requirements below, a planning authority must commence a review of a local area plan six years after the making of the previous local area plan. However, this review interval can be deferred where: not more than five years after the making of the previous local area plan, the• planning authority by resolution defers commencing the review process for a further period not exceeding five years; and in considering this resolution, the planning authority has sought and obtained• the Manager’s opinion that the local area plan remains consistent with the objectives and core strategy of the development plan and that the objectives of the development plan remain to be secured. Essentially, the mechanism above enables a planning authority to defer the review of a local area plan where the objectives of that plan remain valid and consistent with a core strategy (for example, in the case of a plan for the regeneration of central urban areas) but development has not proceeded because of significant factors, such as an economic downturn. However, this deferral mechanism cannot be used to prolong the lifespan of a local area plan that is inconsistent with the core strategy of the development plan, e.g. if the level of development land zoned in that local area plan is inconsistent with the requirements of the core strategy as provided for below. 2 Section 18(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2012.
- 10 Section 19(2) of the Act requires local area plans to be consistent with the objectives of the development plan, its core strategy, and regional planning guidelines. Furthermore, Section 19(2B) of the Act requires a review of a local area plan where a plan is no longer consistent with a development plan within one year following the making of the development plan. Given the introduction of core strategies mentioned elsewhere in these guidelines, it is likely that this provision will require the review of most, if not all, local area plans. Preparation of Local Area Plan’s Adjoining Other Plan Areas Many urban areas transcend the boundaries of different planning authority areas. Notwithstanding this fact, the aims of the planning process should be to deliver seamless and consistent policies and planning services across those boundaries. Recent efforts to prepare and adopt unitary plans for urban areas encompassing both statutory development plans and local area plans have been challenging to carry out, despite strong political and administrative agreement on the need for such a co-ordinated approach by virtue of linking the varying legislative requirements and timelines for preparation of development plans and local area plans. Under the local government reform proposals encompassed in “Putting People First”, development plans will be prepared for city and county councils only with local area plans for all other urban areas. Such proposals would considerably simplify the coordination of plan preparation across administrative areas. Furthermore, the Minister can direct local authorities to prepare joint plans. However, a bottom-up approach is a more desirable from a number of perspectives. In this regard, the various Regional Planning Guidelines have identified a number of key towns straddling county boundaries where the preparation of unitary plans is a key objective. Accordingly it is anticipated that additional joint or unitary local area plans will emerge in the future, developed on a collaborative basis between the relevant local authorities at both administrative and political levels. Such a collaborative basis demands effective project management and co-ordination of the reserved powers of each Council in adopting its component of the overall plan. 2.2 General Content Section 19(2) of the Act also sets out that a local area plan shall consist of a written statement and a map or maps indicating objectives. These objectives may include: zoning objectives; and• such other objectives and in such detail as may be determined by the planning• authority, including objectives for phased development, community facilities and amenities and on standards for design of development. The provisions of the legislation, therefore, afford a high degree of discretion to planning authorities as to their content in respect of development objectives. That said, many planning authorities build their local area plan objectives around the templates provided by the mandatory and discretionary objectives outlined elsewhere in the
- 11 Planning Act for development plans. Such practice is appropriate but does not preclude the consideration of other development objectives as well. Consistency with Environmental Obligations Local area plans must be fully compliant with the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Appropriate Assessment requirements of the relevant EU Directives. In the case of the Habitats Directive, Section 19(5) of the Act now requires that an Appropriate Assessment of a draft local area plan is carried out in accordance with Part XAB of the Act. This provides for appropriate steps to be taken sequentially to ensure that plans are subject to screening and, if required, Appropriate Assessment, so that no plan, alone or in combination with other plans or projects, is adopted if there is potential for adverse effects on the integrity of a European site, except in certain exceptional circumstances where the requirements of Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directives can be met. The Department has already published Planning Guidelines on the SEA process and best practice guidance on the AA process (see Section 2.3 below). Consultation and Adoption of the Local Area Plan Section 18(6) of the Act provided a mechanism for collaborative development of a local area plan in partnership with broadly based community interests. Planning authorities should note that this provision was introduced to facilitate good community engagement rather than the preparation of local area plans, directly or indirectly by local developer interests and such latter arrangements are inappropriate as the community interests are paramount. Section 20(1) of the Act requires planning authorities to take whatever steps they consider necessary to consult with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the public in preparing, amending or revoking a local area plan, including consultations with: local residents and community groups;• public sector agencies;• non-governmental agencies; and• commercial and business interests within the area.• The accompanying best practice manual outlines some good examples in relation to innovative and participative approaches to local area planning. The level of consultation should be appropriate to the nature and scope of the local area plan being prepared. Under Section 20(2) of the Act, a planning authority must consult with Údarás na Gaeltachta before making, amending or revoking a local area plan for an area which includes a Gaeltacht area.
- 12 2.3 Local Area Plans and Implementation of Other Planning Guidelines Many of the planning guidelines issued by the Minister under Section 28 of the Act are particularly relevant to the preparation and implementation of local area plans. The Appendix contains a summary of the key provisions of other planning guidelines issued by the Minister under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000- 2012 that are also of relevance to the preparation of local area plans. 2.4 Local Area Plans and Higher-Level Plans and Strategies Local area plans must play a key role in achieving the objectives contained in higherlevel plans and strategies such as: the National Spatial Strategy (NSS);• Regional Planning Guidelines (RPGs);• City and County Development Plans; and• General Government Policy.• To comply with the requirements of the legislation therefore, the local area plan must be fundamentally guided and shaped by: any specific aims and objectives for the area of the local area plan in the relevant• Regional Planning Guidelines; more specific objectives for the area of the local area plan identified within the• core strategy of the relevant City or County Development Plan, including population targets and quantities of land required for residential or other purposes within such core strategy; and the capacity of existing essential social (schools, community facilities) and physical• (transport, water services, communications) infrastructure, including the realistic prospects for addressing capacity constraints. Core Strategies It is essential requirement that local area plans are consistent with the core strategies of the relevant development plan. An essential element of consistenty is that the quantum and type of development envisaged under a local area plan is in line with the core strategy of the relevant development plan, especially anticipated future levels of population, requirements for different categories of land for future development, particularly so in relation to residential development. In addition, development plans will, reflecting the NSS and RPGs, set out a settlement strategy for the functional area of the planning authority concerned, including the role, function and future scale of various cities or towns and villages. Such settlement strategies are an essential part of core strategies. Local area plans must also be set firmly within these settlement parameters to ensure consistency and co-ordination. Every local area plan must therefore contain a statement that clearly places the area in question within the settlement structure as established by the relevant development plan.
Source Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Area Plans: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (June 2013) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.