Independent Senator, Victor Boyhan, has today (Tuesday) called on the Government to introduce legislation to provide for neighbourhood development plans, to empower neighbourhood councils to influence how communities should develop.

“Neighbourhood development plans, which are popular in the United Kingdom, provide an opportunity for local communities to organise themselves into councils and neighbourhood forums to make polices in relation to the development and use of in land in a designated area.

“I propose that such plans, once approved in a local vote, should form part of the local development plan for the particular local authority area.

“As we have seen with major infrastructural developments in Ireland, particularly in the energy sector, local community involvement and participation at an early stage of development is crucial in order to guarantee the success of a development.

“Collaborative decision making should be at the heart of local government and planning and I am confident that the introduction of neighbourhood development plans would cultivate active participation by communities in how their local area is managed.

“As a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, I will be urging the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney TD, to consider the introduction of neighbourhood developments plans as an effective way of preventing planning disputes and promoting community involvement in the planning process.”

- Senator Victor Boyhan, 30th August 2016