A Strategic Development Zone at Knock,

@old man troy wrote:

The chief planning officer for Mayo County Council, Ian Douglas, has advised that “to avoid appeals of development to An Bord Pleanála, the most appropriate mechanism under the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2006 is the establishment of a strategic development zone”.

Mr Douglas explained: “Once the overall planning scheme for an SDZ has been approved by An Bord Pleanála, and planning applications comply with that scheme, there can be no appeal to An Bord Pleanála on that development.”

To avoid appeals? That was hardly the intention behind the introduction of SDZs in the 2000 Act.

The article seems to suggest that an SDZ would be a fait accompli, when in fact public participation is central to SDZ preparation and would presumably throw up the same concerns as any individual appeal would, with the added advantage for observers/objectors of not having to pay to appeal the individual applications.

Perhaps an LAP (or similar, but it must be statutory) would be preferable? Local input = a sense of local ownership. Problem solved.

And if the area is unsuitable for the type of development proposed, then that would emerge in the due course too.

I like the cut of your jib Troy. This is some ridiculous stuff coming from a senior planning official. If the intention is to avoid appeals, then its obvious whatever they’re planning will be controversial. A Local Area Plan seems an option, if they are serious about expanding the airport’s operations. An SDZ? No way, Knock is not of strategic importance. Its a field in the middle of nowhere.

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I]Designation of sites for strategic development zones.
166.—(1) Where, in the opinion of the Government, specified development is of economic or social importance to the State, the Government may be order, when so proposed by the Minister, designate one or more sites for the establishment, in accordance with the provisions of this Part, of a strategic development zone to facilitate such development.[/I]

Agreed Ctesiphon, a LAP would be much more approriate.

Likewise HerrKev Its beyond me how a Senior Planner can put any weight behind this idea, surely he knows it would be doomed to failure. Knock is hardly of economic or social(not since Christy Moore had a hit single bout Fr. Horan) importance to the state. It is to Mayo maybe, and that is only a maybe. Maybe if they got a few new miracles going down there they could get a Lourdes buzz going. :rolleyes:

Cheers for posting the legal stuff OMT. I’m of the view that SDZs should be very carefully used. They have tremendous potential to be used to transform key areas of the country, but if we start designating any old place an SDZ, it will lose its impact, and undermine the planning system. I do support the Strategic Infrastructure Act though which I suppose you could say is SDZs for roads, but alas those hippie protesters are still holding the M3 up. These projects are too important to be delayed endlessly by people whinging over stuff that when the road is built we will all have forgotten about.

So an SDZ at an airport with regional and international* connections, and identified in the National Spatial Strategy, Regional Planning Guidelines and County Development Plan, is not of any strategic, social or economic importance, but private housing development sites in the suburbs of Dublin and Navan are? I must have drank too much holy water Troy, or maybe its my ignorance not being a graduate of the Cromwellian School of Planning, but you’ll have to explain that one for me, are all SDZs required to be within the GDA / The Pale?

Arguably, Adamstown should have been a LAP, and if Hansfield was so critical why is it still a greenfield site a year and a half after the SDZ was adopted? As for Clonmagadden SDZ, well, I’m sure the fact that the then Minister came from that constituency has nothing at all to do with that designation!! Some might think that of the four sites Knock is the only one that comes remotely near deserving of an SDZ, yet it’s a joke to the Dublin-based experts while the existing SDZs are not. Typical.

(*While I appreciate that most of the Dublin-centred contributors to this thread would not consider London a foreign destination – being part of the same Empire and all – nevertheless, and not wishing to offend anyone’s cultural identity, it is actually an international destination in transportation terms. In any event, Knock also has flights to North America and the continent.)

I disagree OnThe Job that Adamstown should not be an SDZ. The scale and complexity of the project necessitated the new planning structure offered by the SDZ. A LAP wouldn’t have achieved half what the SDZ will, because it is an imperative part of the SDZ that the full plans are achieved. A LAP might only see a fraction of proposed plans realised, because of objections and other hold ups which can be bypassed in the SDZ.

As for Knock, I can think of three more deserving places first. Shannon, Cork and Dublin Airports. These are the kind of developments that embody “social and economic importance” to the state. Maybe we’d have gotten that second terminal done sooner if Dublin airport was an SDZ.

It also appears Old Man Troy is from Cork, so you cant with certainty accuse him of being Dublin-centrric. I’m not from Dublin either, but I’m not going to be anti-Dublin just because I think Dubliners are anti the rest of the country. I accept that Dublin is growing fast and SDZs are necessary in certain cases for managing this growth as best we can, and that means housing too.

Local councillors have been asking council officials what can be done to prevent An Bord Pleanála refusing developments around the airport such as one by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

In June the board refused planning permission for the decentralised department office to be built on a site beside Knock airport.

The chief planning officer for Mayo County Council, Ian Douglas, has advised that “to avoid appeals of development to An Bord Pleanála, the most appropriate mechanism under the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2006 is the establishment of a strategic development zone”.

Onthejob. These are the reasons for trying to secure an SDZ, hardly the right ones. If they do try to push one through it will more than likely go before the bord and if they will not even approve a deceltrallised department office why would they approve this. I agree with you in relation to Hansfield, it was premature, especially considering the rail line to Navan has not even been approved yet.

The fact that it was approved is however gives no justification to doing the same thing at Knock. You can hide behind all the nationalist rhetoric that you like, but you still have not convinced me of Knocks national economic and social importance.

I’m not trying to convince anyone of the appropriateness of an SDZ at Knock, I remain to be convinced myself. But at least I remain open minded to hear the arguments. I think the An Bord Pleanala decision was the right one. An alternative site in a neighbouring town has been secured for the decentralised offices, so the idea that the SDZ can be used to circumvent the planning process in this instance does not hold up. However, it is interesting to note that herrkev is advocating just such a use of an SDZ in relation to Dublin airport.

herrkev has also, albeit inadvertently, put forward further strong arguments in favour of an SDZ at Knock. Of the 4 international airports listed, only one is within the EU designated BMW Region, and as such, should be prioritised for inward investment, an SDZ would be a good vehicle to deliver it. Of the 4 airports listed, only Knock, being a greenfield site, is ideal for an SDZ. An SDZ at Knock would also ensure that the dog’s dinner that is Dublin Airport will not be repeated down west, Shannon is not such a disaster as Dublin and that’s because it was part of a planned town not wholly dissimilar to the principle of an SDZ, I cant comment on Cork as I’m not sure where that is (I think it’s a separate republic down south somewhere, or dear, is that more republican rhetoric?)

This thread has gone some way in convincing me of the merits of an SDZ at Knock and, with reference to the poll result Troy, it would appear I’m not the only one. But as the democratic decisions of Local Government, the Regional Authority, Central Government and the EU, can be so easily dismissed in relation to designations at Knock, I’m sure you will have no problem dismissing a mere archiseek pole.

Onthejob,

I’m not saying making Dublin Airport an SDZ would be simply done to circumvent the planning process. In terms of economic importance to the state there is no more important site than this. Making it an SDZ would mean the badly needed infrastructure can be installed without prolonged public wrangling, as they can comment on, but not appeal the decision. We cant keep waiting years for this work to be started (never mind finished), it will cripple us.

As for Knock, I have to ask, why pump money into an airport in the middle of nowhere, with poor connections and no urban centre to provide critical mass of users. Shannon has served the entire West of Ireland for years (and if you live in Donegal you can use Derry) so why not expand its operations, the Air Lingus debacle aside? Limerick’s science and technology sector growth necessitates international connections and modern facilities far more than a shrine to Our Lady (who seems to get about just fine on her own). Knock may be of economic importance to a few Mayo developers, but not to the state, in my opinion. We cant have international airports in every corner of the country, it would spread resources too thin. Yes Knock can be modern and efficient, but at a smaller scale (regional connectivity) Our biggest airports should be world class in terms of facilities, connections and planning. The SDZ is a way to achieve this.

In short, let’s use the SDZ for the nation’s most pressing matters only.