The number of planning applications being deemed incomplete in Tipperary is a cause for concern according to a local councillor.
Between February 14th and March 14th this year the County Council ruled that 50 applications were invalid while 94 were put forward for processing.
Clonmel based Councillor John Fitzgerald feels planning officials may be sticking too rigidly to the guidelines.
“For some reason we appear trigger happy for invalids in Tipperary.
“I think in a housing crisis if we are preventing development of houses or slowing it down too much its certainly isn’t a good thing for the process.
“And it seems to be for smaller, spurious little reasons that these invalids are made.”
Councillor Fitzgerald accepts the planning rules exist for a reason but feels simple mistakes shouldn’t render the application invalid.
“If the reasons are ticking the wrong box or not blackening out something on the site notice – something very small – there’s a slip rule in most things nowadays for various government agencies so if you make mistake it can be quickly rectified by just a quick check back.
“That I think is where we’re becoming a bit of a slave of the regulations because those rectifications can be made – not sending it all back and make them reapply all over again. That is a nonsense nowadays.”
