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THE NATIONAL HERITAGE body says it has saved Ireland from incurring likely impaired loans of between €505 million and €752 million over the past decade by lodging appeals against unsuitable proposed developments around the country.
In a report released yesterday, An Taisce noted that 80 per cent of the planning applications objections it lodged over a ten-year period were upheld by An Bord Pleanála. It said that this resulted in savings of ten of millions of euro for the State, as it obviated the granting of loans “which would now likely be impaired be impaired and purchased by Nama” or would remain with financial institutions.
The report also raised concerns over the value of Nama’s development land portfolio in coming years – predicting that the value will “plummet”.
An Taisce said that, in addition to its roles in education and heritage conservation, it was also the prescribed body to act as a national independent watchdog for the Irish planning system, and identified its responsibilities as championing proper planning, environmental protection and responsible development.
The heritage body said that the “tremendously high” success rate of its appeals to An Bord Pleanála, and recent history as evidenced by the Mahon Tribunal, indicates that its position on planning matters over the past decade has been entirely justified and has “yielded significant financial savings”.
An Taisce broke down the estimated loan value, in terms of the range of borrowings, of applications that did not go ahead due to its objections:
Examples: County Meath, M3 – Rennicks site, Royal Gateway Site, and ‘SMART’ park at Carton House, in Wicklow between Newtown-mount-Kennedy and Kilcoole, and in South Tipperary, west of Carrick-on-Suir.
Examples: three hotels proposed along the M7 at Kill, Palmerston Demesne and Monasterevin, in County Wexford at Curracloe, in County Louth at Omeath, at Skibbereen in County Cork, Lough Key in County Roscommon, at Killaloe in County Clare, and Whitfield in County Waterford.
Examples: beside the rivers and lakes of the Shannon catchment, in Connemara in County Galway, Lough Oughter in County Cavan, and in West Cork and West Kerry.
Examples: in counties Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Offaly, Mayo and Waterford.
Examples: Chancery Street motor taxation office, the wide range of development proposed at Ballsbridge, at the Carlton site on O’Connell St, at Arnotts behind the GPO, the former ESB offices on Fleet St and skyscraper proposals for Bridgefoot St.
The report highlighted the link between bad planning and austerity, saying that the “unfettered zoning of land for new development by councils was a critical component of the toxic mix that created Ireland’s property bubble and financial crisis”.
It noted that, in 2008, Ireland had almost enough zoned land to almost double the national population to 8 million, with 42,000 hectares having residential zoning, almost all of which was greenfield land – and noted those figures did not take account of the “thousands of hectares” of land zoned for mixeduse, industrial, retail, commercial and other uses.
An Taisce said that zoning vastly inflated the value of land “turning green fields into ‘fields of gold’, providing an easy conduit to cheap credit and facilitating property speculation”. This behaviour contributed to the financial crisis and the creation of Nama, it added.
Accusing county councils across the country of “completely abandoning their fiduciary responsibilities and acting wholly contrary to national planning policy”, An Taisce noted that approximately 40 per cent of the €75 billion property portfolio transferred to Nama is categorised as development land.
It continued:
Much of what was hastily rezoned to ‘development’ is in truth pasture and tillage land for farming, and as it is officially reclassified to agriculture over the coming years, the value of Nama’s development land portfolio will plummet from a paper figure of €30 billion to a single digit figure, crystallising tens of billions in losses for taxpayers.
However, the report noted that the direct Nama loss did not take account of the additional billions to be written down on non-NAMA development loans, which it said would remain with financial institutions as nonperforming liabilities.
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An Taisce assisted me in running off yet another mindless and greedy planner and builder and the almost criminal destruction of a georgian building right on my doorstep they were just brilliant score one for us!!
An Taisce are rewriting their historical agenda methinks.
They were simply anti-development whether it was in a rural or urban location.
Next thing they’ll be claiming credit for trying to reduce obesity levels….
You may be right but you need to supply evidence.
Nonsense. There is no evidence to back up that claim. Everything that has happened has vindicated their position and it is only a pity we didn’t listen to them more instead of allowing our County Councillors and developers to wreck the place.
They aren’t simply anti development- they are simply one of the few groups in this country who take planning seriously. I’m surprised some people have such a negative opinion on a largely voluntary body who seek to prevent houses being built on flood plains and other planning fiascos. Apart from social and environmental implications, developer-lead planning actually defaces our beautiful country.
Is An Taisce just another snout in the trough.
Attached: a call for an audit following allegations of inappropriate spending of public funds.
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/paperstoday/index.php?do=paperstoday&action=view&id=14605
on obesity..
The National Obesity Taskforce in 2005 made a range of recommendations for Government, the health and education sectors, planners and the food industry to implement policies to curb the dramatic year-on-year increases in obesity in Irish society. A key recommendation of the Taskforce is that planning policies must be proactive and encourage spontaneous increases in physical activity in adults and children and deliver environments that support healthy food choices and regular physical activity including adequate walkways and amenities, and ensure public transport provision is explicit in the planning process.
Physical environment
The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should develop coherent planning policies for urban/rural housing, transport, amenity spaces and workplace settings to encourage spontaneous increases in physical activity in adults and children.
The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority should examine the high costs of public liability and their impact on physical activity. It should foster initiatives to address these costs.
The Taskforce is confident that the Report will assist those who are involved in developing policy as well as those who plan, manage and deliver services.
The Report will be brought to Cabinet by Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Seán Power TD.
also see the report of the Irish Heart Foundation
http://www.irishheart.ie/iopen24/pub/building_young_hearts_final_pdf_2010.pdf
Changes in the physical environment to promote and support increased levels of physical
activity have the potential to reach a greater population and therefore achieve greater public
health impact than individual measures. They are potentially less costly and more enduring
than traditional educational physical activity interventions. Research has shown that the way
communities are built either encourages or inhibits physical activity levels through influencing
how people move around and within their communities.
They’ve “saved” 505 million over 10 years. Well done lads…
Anyone know how much it costs to fund an taisce for 10 years?
It’s a voluntary organisation which receives about €20k a year from the State, not sure of the exact numbers. Are you suggesting that it was being given €50million a year?
Diarmuid 1
Hitthepotamus 0
Many of these super sized houses in the countryside will become vacant in the next few decades – not because of An Taisce or planning but because of the sheer cost of energy. If you’ve a massive house and you leave miles away from shops and basic services it’s going to get very expensive to a) heat it and b) get too and from services.
And that’s not even taking into account long distance car commuting to work. Fuel and energy is already expensive and is going to get even more so. This country has almost no oil and uses something like 160,000 barrels of oil per day for heating, electricity generation and transport. As oil runs out worldwide it’s going to affect everyone, but owners of big celtic tiger mansions will feel it worst. And you can’t blame an taisce for that.
how much did they cost the state in lost stamp duty and other construction related income??
Not as much as would have been lost to Nama, Rob. Sorry propertyphiles, the result of your building mania is a bankrupt state, suck it up and stop looking to blame An Taisce.
All these developments were disallowed by An Bord Pleanála for breaching good planning principles, having been incompetently or corruptly granted permission by the local authorities. An Taisce merely appealed them. You seem to be suggesting that badly planned developments be permitted purely for economic gain. Perhaps we don’t need a planning system at all, if that’s the priority?
It’s frightening how many people just still don’t get it. Have you not noticed that our economy has been destroyed by the property bubble that you are suggesting there should have been more of? Every cut, every tax rise, every household and water charge is caused by it. More revenue from Stamp Duty? Don’t you understand that any loan given for further building would have just added to the debts we have?
sorry folks – i’m simply pointing out that an Taisce is making an absolutely pointless statement!
nothing to do with my love or not for the property market!
and realistically whats 750m these days anyway? pocket change!
Rob- yours was the pointless statement! An Taisce doesnt make the decisions in merely refers inappropriate decisions. Are you telling me that we should have pocketed the stamp duty etc and let development on flood plains. We are all paying universally higher home insurance bills and other costs because of this incompetence.
but one off if they dont actually make any decisions then how do they think they’ve save us 750m????
They appeal the granting of decisions by County and City Councils to An Bord Pleanála who make the final decision. If they didn’t make the appeal then nothing would happen.
its complicated rob but basically local authority grant permission, if no one appeals the permission stands after 4 weeks. However, if someone lodges and appeal then it can be overturned..which they frequently are in the appeals An Taisce takes.
so in the case of boomtime speculative development this inappropriate development would have slipped through, leasing to more vacancy, land (now with the benefit of planning permission) being flipped, ghost development etc
An taisce are a bunch of self appointed middle class knobheads. They want us all living in feckin housing estates so they can potter around the boonies at weekends and not see the Culchies living in better houses than them.
The problem we face now is the disgusting houses blotting the countryside where no architectural input was given to the houses that were granted planning. Go for a drive in the country one of the days and look around. Built in unsuitable places and no design to them. An taisce should have stopped a few of them houses going up.
50,000 one-off’s built in 10 years. 170,000 one-offs granted planning permission in 10 years.
have your say