Detail of new development plan is something everyone should examine
THE long awaited new draft Development Plan for Louth has just been released.
To many that news would hold little or no real interest because they see planning matters as just a matter for the officials, property developers and the planners.
The reality is a lot different for everyone, every citizen should have more than a passing interest in the Development Plan for their county or immediate area.
This new plan will map out the future shape of development in the county for the next six years (2021 - 2027) and has been longer in gestation than many anticipated, or that regulations preferred.
The new plan will concern such matters as the height of town centre buildings, plans for the re-energising of town centres, the adaption of vacant town centres buildings, the protection of recreational amenities such as sports fields, the location of new school buildings and a host of other matters, such as the designation of green field sites for housing.
Naturally not everyone will be concerned about the building of high rise apartments in the town centre, but on the other hand residents of existing housing estates would not like to see open spaces that may have been developed by local sports clubs now designated as development land.
Even individual land owners, or maybe a family in possession of a site for a house might find that the land on which the site stands is not zoned as development land as previously and therefore cannot be built on.
For that reason it would be wise for those interested in such matters and especially those with a keen concern for the future development of their county, town or area, should interest themselves in taking a look at the draft plan.
Otherwise when the plan is approved it is impossible to change and some with prime building sites have discovered in the past that they were unable to get planning permission to build because the land was not zoned as development land in the plan.