Bord Pleananla appeals?

[billy no mates]

Just a couple of questions if I may about appeals to Bord Pleanala.

I've been looking on their website and under the decided ones I have the options to 'view the report', 'view the order' and 'view the direction'. I can see that 'view the report' appears to be the inspectors report but what exactly are the 'order' and the 'direction'?

Can anyone please explain step by step how exactly BP go about handling an appeal?

Finally how long do they usually take to decide and can the builder go ahead and start work in the meantime?

Thanks.

[Dieter]

For each case the Board normally puts three documents on the website:
1. The Inspector's Report compiled by the planner who visited the site and presided over the oral hearing (if there was one)
2. The conclusion reached by the Board following their consideration of the Inspector's report. This is called the Board's Direction and it explains why the Board did not (fully) accept the Inspector's Report
3. The order which is the final decision of the Board

[billy no mates]

Thanks for that Dieter,
So does one inspector actuall visits the site? Will he (or she) normally read the whole planning file including all the letters of objection and relevant correspondance or will they normally just decide on the basis of the letter of appeal?
Thanks

[Dieter]

The Inspector will
visit the site in practically all cases - unless the appeal is dismissed as vexatious or if there has been a recent appeal on the same site.
review all of the documentation on the planning authority’s file (assuming it has all been forwarded to the Board) as well as the appeal correspondence
carry out his/her own independent research of the topography of the area, the planning history of the site and adjoining lands and the wider policy context.
The best way to appreciate the scope of the Inspector’s review is to look through the paper file in the Board’s offices. The limited number of documents available on the website do not do justice to the extent and depth of the Board’s assessment of an appeal.

[billy no mates]

Thanks for that Dieter, most helpful
Can I just ask again if anybody knows how long (approximately) the appeal process can take before BP give their decision and can the developer proceed with the work before BP have decided?
Thanks

[ctesiphon]

ABP aims to deal with an appeal within 18 weeks, but this is not a statutory deadline with penalties if they miss it.

A developer may not legally proceed with any works until a decision has been reached.
(Just as the 'Decision to Grant' from the local authority differs from the Grant, which comes after the observation/objection period has elapsed, assuming there were no obs/objs).

[publicrealm]

I read (in Friday's I.Times I think?) the Senator Mary O' Rourke (leader of the Seanad) considers that the Board is 'a disgrace'.

Apparently they are unmoved by her political representations - they will take calls but that's as far as it goes.

Sometimes things seem so bleak and unprincipled, and then, out of the blue, the leader of the Seanad restores your faith that something, somewhere, is beyond corruption. I feel uplifted!

Must be immensely frustrating for the Senator and her colleagues however. Hopefully they will not have sufficient focus to return the Board to the bad old days, when it did (exactly) what it was told?