88% of planning applications granted permission by council

NEARLY 90 per cent of all planning applications were granted permission in 2021 by South Dublin County Council.

According to a report published by the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), there were 836 planning applications approved and 109 refused by South Dublin County Council in 2021.

The OPR’s Annual Overview of the Planning System 2021 reviews the wider planning system in Ireland – identifying key trends and outputs which reflects each local authority’s planning performance in 2021.

It includes a comparison with patterns in previous years and is the only analysis of its kind of the Irish planning system, according to the regulator.

Some of the key findings in the report relating to South Dublin County Council are the planning invalidation rate (the percentage of invalidated planning applications as a proportion of all applications made) in the county was 4.9 per cent.

In South Dublin in 2021, 88 per cent of all planning applications were granted permission while 12 per cent were refused. The national average grant-rate in 2021 was 88.5 per cent.

Overall in 2021, 10.7 per cent of planning application decisions made by South Dublin County Council were appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Of these, 25 per cent were reversed. The national average rate of appeal in 2021 was 6.7 per cent, and the average reversal rate was 27.7 per cent.

South Dublin County Council had a total of 222 sites designated by local authorities as either vacant and/or derelict.

Planning Regulator, Niall Cussen said: “2021 was a year in which local authorities such as South Dublin 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.”

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.

“These videos and flowcharts clearly explain the main steps involved in making a planning application and are a great resource if you are thinking about applying for planning permission,” said Mr Cussen.