Galway Bay FM Newsroom - Issues regarding the services from the planning section were again raised by Councillors at this week’s meeting of Galway County Council.
Questions about the enforcement of the planning regulations and advice to potential applicants were put by a number of Councillors.
Councillor Tim Broderick stated there appeared to be a problem as regards the implementation of planning enforcement procedures. He said he had seen instances where developments had taken place even though they had been refused by the Council. How he asked could “big guns” - as he put it – get away with that.
Jim Cuddy said family members could be refused permission while others carried out unauthorised work free of sanction.
Councillor Joe Beirne called for the reinstatement of pre-planning meetings. These meetings give potential applicants a chance to discuss their plans with the planning sections in advance. Councillor Beirne said that applicants had an entitlement to such a service.
The Director of Planning Services, Michael Owens said he was assessing the pressures on the planning section and that it was not feasible to re-establish the service yet. He stated that there were over 40 applications for pre-planning meetings with the Council.
Councillor Declan Geraghty said it was unfortunate that these services were again pushed down the line.
