A 14-MONTH DELAY in issuing a final planning decision on the first phase of a 1,000 home development in Meath has been branded as “a joke”.

An Bord Pleanála (ABP), which was due to make a final decision on the Boyne Village project initial stage in June 2022, said an inspector’s report for the project has been completed and is now at board level. However, it did not say when a decision will be made.

Tommy Reilly, the chair of Meath County Council, said the delay was unacceptable, and urged ABP to issue a ruling.

“We need homes and need them badly. We have a housing crisis, this situation with the board is a joke,” he told The Journal.

A planning application was submitted to Meath County Council for the first phase of the Boyne Village development in May 2021.

The developer, the Fitzwilliam Group, intends to build up to 1,000 homes at a 120-acre site located just outside of Navan. 

Albert Developments, a firm connected to the Fitzwilliam Group, initially applied for permission to build 98 homes for the first stage of the project.

The council granted permission for the 98 home first phase in January 2022, however this was appealed to An Bord Pleanála in February.

ABP, which has a statutory objective to issue decisions on appeals within 18 weeks, was initially due to make a ruling in June 2022.

Gary Dorgan, an executive officer at ABP, issued a notice to Meath County Council in June that it would not be possible to issue a decision within this timeline due to a “backlog of cases”. He said ABP intended to make a final decision by 9 September 2022.

However, it has now been almost a year since this date has passed, with ABP yet to issue a final decision.

Tommy Reilly, the chair of Meath County Council and a Fianna Fáil councillor, said the long delays are holding up housing at a time when it is desperately needed.

“The time limit should be three months, not decisions taking 12 or more. Thousands of homes are being held up with objections,” he said.

“There is massive demand for housing in Meath. People spend hundreds of thousands on major planning applications, and then they end up with this..

“Everyone has the right to object, but there should be more planners in ABP. The board should be ashamed of themselves, and the Housing Minister has to act fast.”

The Boyne Village case was also raised in the Seanad in May by Fianna Fáil senator Shane Cassells, who said the matter was compounded by the fact that the road built to access the land for the development “was funded and provided for by the state”. 

“It is strategic land, and the Department paid for and constructed a road so that we could build homes,” he said.

Fitzwilliam Group did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement to The Journal, ABP said: “An inspector’s report has been completed in this case and the file is currently at Board level for decision.”

ABP then pointed to a statement it previously issued, which flagged an “ongoing delay in determining cases”.

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“There has been a significant turnover of personnel at board level in the organisation over recent months,” it said. 

“This has resulted in restricted capacity at board level and a consequent backlog of cases for determination. 

“Fifteen board members have now been appointed and recruitment of additional resources is progressing. This will provide the necessary capacity to address current delays in determining cases over time.”

ABP has been dogged by scandal in recent months, first being thrown into chaos after allegations that Paul Hyde, the deputy chairperson of the planning authority, had not declared a conflict of interest in a planning case.

In June, Hyde was jailed for two months for failing to declare his interests in several properties.

In a statement the Department of Housing, which has oversight of ABP, said: “Since October 2021, the Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in An Bord Pleanála. 

“It is intended that when all the approved posts are filled, over 300 people will be employed by the board.”

The department said this will be a staffing increase of more than 50% since 2021.

“In conjunction with the significant increase in resourcing, ABP is working to address the backlog of cases that are currently awaiting a decision as quickly as possible,” it said.