Pat Kenny: An Bord Pleanála should pay our legal costs
Presenter and locals win battle over Dublin harbour
BROADCASTER Pat Kenny has called on the planning authorities to pay his legal costs following his successful fight against a proposed luxury development near his home.
The Newstalk host was one of hundreds of local residents to fund a High Court challenge against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve the Bartra Property plan for Bulloch Harbour in Dalkey, Co. Dublin.
The Bulloch Harbour Preservation Association (BHPA) had applied for a judicial review of the decision and was told last week that the planning appeals board is conceding its challenge, resulting in the quashing of its decision.
Speaking after the victory, Mr Kenny slammed An Bord Pleanála and said it should pay all the costs incurred by him and his neighbours in opposing the development.
‘The council had rejected the development, the board’s own inspector rejected the development. And yet, the board saw fit to disregard the advice of their own inspector,’ he said.
The former Late Late Show host said that High Court ‘judicial review is outlandishly expensive’.
He continued: ‘There is no question that the board must pay all expenses incurred by the residents’ group in the preparation of their application for judicial review of the decision. But this gives rise to a fundamental question to be answered by the board: is this a responsible way to spend taxpayers’ money?
‘This is the second development in just a few weeks where the board has conceded that it was wrong and abandoned its defence of its decision in judicial review.
‘While these admissions of error by the board may be welcomed by the objectors and their communities, they have had to pay a heavy price, and not just in financial terms.
‘The stress and aggravation caused to communities by decisions which overrule the advice of the board’s own inspectors, cannot be overstated.’
Last year, the appeals board approved Bartra Property’s application for an apartment complex on lands beside the Kenny home in Dalkey. The decision came after the board decided to over-rule its own inspector who recommended the application be refused.
Mr Kenny said: ‘These decisions are often made by just two members of the board, with a third signing the decision. The sheer volume of decisions made by a handful of people demonstrates how little time they spend on each one. And yet they can, with the stroke of a pen, change the lives of people forever.’
Mr Kenny believes ‘there should be the creation of an independent planning ombudsman, which would be a relatively inexpensive course of last resort’.
He said: ‘The terms of reference could be tightly drafted to avoid mischief makers. Judicial review is outlandishly expensive. Currently the planning process favours only those with deep pockets. This is a fundamental denial of people’s right to be heard.
‘The new Ministers for Housing and the Environment may not have the appetite for pursuing this, but I think that all decisions, where the Board has overruled its own inspectors, must now be reviewed and, if necessary, quashed.’
The radio host said the planning authorities have an obligation to explain their decisions and make efforts to introduce transparency to the awards process.
‘We live in an era of transparency. The board must now explain in detail its decisions, most particularly where it overrules the advice of its own inspector, who is the only person who examines the proposals in detail.’
Mr Kenny stated that any future development ‘should focus on leisure and the marine’.
He added: ‘The value of the amenity was amply demonstrated during this pandemic period by the numbers using the harbour for boating, fishing, kayaking, scuba diving and swimming.’
A spokesman for An Bord Pleanála declined to comment on Mr Kenny’s comments.
‘Board must pay all expenses incurred’ ‘The stress cannot be overstated’