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Donegal bucks planning trend 01.10.08

by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent

DONEGAL continues to buck national trends in terms of confidence in the house building sector. In the period April-June, Donegal’s planning authorities granted planning permissions for new houses – more than any other county in the country other than Cork County Council, which granted permission in 511 instances.
Donegal granted more permissions for new dwellings than all of County Dublin (247), or the commuter counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow (405) combined.
In all, Donegal County Council and the three local town councils granted planning permission for 439 new dwellings, 111 ‘other’ new constructions (commercial property, farm buildings etc), 216 extensions and 24 alterations/conversions.
Figures are not available for Inishowen specifically.
The numbers surprised one local architect contacted by the Inishowen Independent last week. “We’ve noticed a slowdown starting around July 2007,” the architect said. “There’s been a massive drop in large developments and while the one-off houses held up well until recently, they’re now on the decrease too. Everyone seems to be panicking a bit.”
While the number of planning permissions for new houses granted in the second quarter of 2008 are more or less in line with 2007, they are 20% down on the same period in 2006 dropping from 548 to 439. Nationally, the drop was 16%.
Donegal County Council yesterday debated changes to the county development plan. “These are likely to give greater flexibility to planners in terms of so-called ‘ribbon development’ and ‘backland development’,” the architect said.
Culdaff-based Fine Gael Councillor Bernard McGuinness criticised the approach taken to date by planners under the development plan. “The planners have chosen to interpret the plan in a certain manner and that interpretation differs from that of councillors,” Cllr McGuinness said. “That should not have been the case. The only interpretation that should have been taken was that of those that framed the plan, namely, the councillors.”
Cllr McGuinness said the proposed revisions to the county development plan will give local people better prospects for building a home in their own local area.
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