Planning Law
[in particular Part V of] Planning & Development Act 2000 as amended.
As most Builders and Developers know, this Act introduced the concept of Social & Affordable Housing.
Most Planning Permissions from then on have a condition which requires the Developer to provide for the County Council a number of houses in each development for Social and Affordable purpose.
This obviously can have grave financial consequences for the Developer and there are a number of cases before the Court at present relation to the interpretation of this Act and particularly the amount of money to be paid by the County Council for the houses in question and likewise the actual number of houses that has to be transferred.
We at Fleming & Barrett Solicitors currently have a case before an Arbitrator, appointed by the Supreme Court. We are contesting on behalf of a Developer the County Council`s claim in respect of their Social & Affordable provisions.
The most recent decision on this aspect of the law was given by Mr. Justice Clarke on the 18th of July 2007 in the cases of Glenkerrin Homes –v- Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council and also in the case of Murphy Construction –v- Cork County Council.
In effect Mr. Justice Clarke stated that it was very difficult to tell how the Oireachtas intended the legislation should be implemented. He also felt it was not clear as to how the units should be valued. He believed however that the construction of the legislation as proposed by Cork County Council should be accepted and was the most “harmonious approach”.
The views advocated by the Developers in the case of Glenkerrin Homes and Murphy Construction would have involved only about 7% of the units being allocated free to the local authorities. The result of the Judges decision is that the local authorities are now more likely to secure, at market rates, some 20% of the units in the developments for social purposes.
The decision has also meant that Property Arbitrators, when determining how Social and Affordable obligations should be met, will have to follow a detailed formula as set out by the Judge and this formula is along the lines favoured by the local authorities and not Developers.
At present we understand that Murphy Construction Limited are contemplating appealing this decision to the High Court but as far as we are aware no Notice of Appeal has yet been granted.
Mr. Justice Clark has now issued his written detailed judgement in this case which runs to fifty three pages and we are in a position to advise you on the detailed provisions of same and particularly in relation to the formula that he has stated must be followed in the case in calculating the Social and Affordable liability of each developer.
We will update this information as soon as any other information comes to hand.
There is further litigation pending in this very complex area and we are in a position to advise you fully in relation to any queries that you might have as a Developer here and hopefully in a position to save you money in relation to what the County Council want you to transfer over to them either by way of houses, sites or by way of payment of compensation.
For further information please contact: us at 023-8844211 or e-mail:
| Eamonn Fleming | efleming@bandonsolicitors.com |