In the Irish planning process it is possible for every member of the public to object to planning applications, whether they are directly affected or not. The process carries a major risk for the developer, while it bears no risk to any objector.
If a house buyer purchases a house that needs to be upgraded and extended before he can move in, he needs in many cases apply for planning permission before works can progress. Until such permission is received, The house will sit idle and meanwhile the new owner is paying back the mortgage or at least the interest on his borrowings. Lets say on a 400k mortgage 3% interest alone would amount to 1000 Euro a month, plus whatever amount he is paying for his current accommodation.
The house buyer now applies (via his architect) for permission to develop, and within the first 5 weeks any person in the country can object to this permission, even if he is not a neighbour or lives in the neighbour hood. This will cost the objector 20 Euro. While I believe its fair that anybody can have their say in the planning process, I think the cost for the objector should be at a level where he will only object if the matter really affects him and it is worth it making claiming his position. A 20 Euro fee to object does not deter an objector who "doesn`t like the look of the proposal".
What happens now is the planners take all the facts into consideration and make their (professional) decision based on the county development policies. If the architect has done pre-planning consultations with the planners and the proposal gets permission by the Council, based on all the facts, our objector now can apply to An Bord Pleanala for a 250 Euro fee. While the objector is carrying a 270 Euro cost for his actions, the developer is now held to ransom. The appeals process will take 6-9 Month, which could cost the house builder a sum of up to 9000 Euro as in the case above.
This is a gross injustice in the planning system, that one can spend 270 Euro which would cost someone else more than 30 times the amount.
I believe the cost to appeal would need to be at a level which carries a much higher risk for the objector, or the outcome of the appeal should decide who bears the cost.
I believe once a developer is willing to invest a considerable amount of money in the domestic economy, supporting local jobs for many trades and professions, the planning process should be streamlined to avoid these injustices of the risk distribution.
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