Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1999

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1999
• Citation: IR SI 92/1999

The Minister for the Environment and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 10 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 (No. 28 of 1963), and by section 25 of that Act (as amended by section 39 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 (No. 20 of 1976), article 7 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 349 of 1989 ), article 5 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 84 of 1994 ), article 3 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 351 of 1998 ) and article 4 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999), section 78 of that Act (as amended by article 10 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 349 of 1989 ), section 3 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1993 (No. 12 of 1993), article 8 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 84 of 1994 ), article 5 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 351 of 1998 ) and article 5 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999), and section 7A of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1992 (No. 14 of 1992) (as inserted by article 6 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999), hereby makes the following regulations:—

PART I Preliminary and General

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1999.

(2) These Regulations and the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994 to 1998, may be cited together as the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994 to 1999.

2. (1) Subject to sub-articles (2) and (3) of this article, these regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of May, 1999.

(2) Part II of these regulations shall not apply to an application for planning permission, an appeal to An Bord Pleanála or an application for certification under Part IX of the 1994 Regulations, as the case may be, made before the date referred to in sub-article (1) of this article.

(3) Where an application for planning permission, an appeal to An Bord Pleanala or an application for certification under Part IX of the 1994 Regulations is made before the date referred to in sub-article (1) of this article, the provisions of the 1994 Regulations, before they were amended by Part III of these regulations, shall continue to apply to the application or appeal concerned.

3. In these Regulations:—

“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 (No. 28 of 1963);

“the Act of 1992” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1992 (No. 14 of 1992);

“the Birds Directive” means Council Directive No. 79/409/EEC of 2 April, 1979, on the conservation of wild birds (O.J. No. L. 103, 25 April, 1979);

“Habitats Directive” means Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May, 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (O.J. No. L.206, 22 July, 1992);

“the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994 to 1998” has the meaning assigned to it in the Local Government (Planning and Development) (No. 2) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 194 of 1998 );

“special area of conservation” has the meaning assigned to it in Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 94 of 1997 );

“the 1989 Regulations” means the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 349 of 1989 );

“the 1994 Regulations” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 86 of 1994 ).

PART II Scoping of Environmental Impact Statements

4. A request by an applicant or a person intending to apply for permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963 to a planning authority for a written opinion on the information to be contained in an environmental impact statement (referred to in this Part as a “written opinion”) shall state:—

(a) the name, address and telephone number of the person making the request,

(b) the location of the land to which the request relates,

(c) a brief description of the nature of the proposed development and of its possible effects on the environment,

(d) if the proposed development comprises or is for the purposes of an activity in relation to which a licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992), or a licence under Part V of the Waste Management Act, 1996 (No. 10 of 1996), is required, this fact.

5. Where a planning authority, having received a request for a written opinion, considers that it has insufficient information to enable it to give the written opinion concerned, it shall require the person making the request to provide such further information or documentation as it considers necessary.

6. (1) A planning authority shall, not later than 3 weeks after having received a request for a written opinion or, where further information or documentation was required pursuant to article 5, not later than 3 weeks after such requirement was complied with:—

(a) give notice of having received the request concerned to the bodies referred to in article 32 of the 1994 Regulations (as amended), as appropriate, indicating that submissions or observations in relation to the information to be contained in the environmental impact statement concerned may be made to the authority within a period of one month beginning on the date of the notice, and

(b) give notice to the person who made the request concerned that a submission or observations in relation to the information to be contained in the environmental impact statement concerned may be made to the authority within a period of one month beginning on the date of the notice.

(2) A notice given by a planning authority pursuant to paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) of this article shall contain the information referred to in article 4.

7. A planning authority shall, not later than 3 weeks after:—

(a) the expiry of the periods referred to in sub-article (1) of article 6, or

(b) a requirement to provide further information or documentation pursuant to article 5 has been complied with,

whichever is the later, give a written opinion to the person who made the request concerned.

8. (1) A planning authority shall, subject to sub-article (2) of this article, in dealing with a request for a written opinion have regard to:—

(a) article 25 (as amended) of the 1989 Regulations,

(b) such information and documentation as has been provided to it pursuant to articles 4 and 5, and

(c) any submissions or observations received by it in response to a notice issued pursuant to article 6.

(2) If the proposed development comprises or is for the purposes of an activity in relation to which a licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992), or a licence under Part V of the Waste Management Act, 1996 (No. 10 of 1996), is required, the planning authority shall have regard to the matters referred to in sub-article (1) only insofar as those matters do not relate to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity.

(3) A written opinion shall indicate which of the information described in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to the 1989 Regulations (as amended) should be contained in the environmental impact statement concerned.

(4) In the case of proposed development referred to in sub-article (2), a planning authority shall, in giving a written opinion, notify the person who made the request concerned of any submissions or observations relating to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity.

9. (1) Where a...