Both the Irish Times and Irish Independent carry the story of a Fine Gael councillor from Ennis, Tony Mulqueen, who has applied for planning permission for five detached houses on an area prone to flooding. If granted the houses will be built adjacent to Mulqueen’s own property which was flooded last December, accessible only by dinghy. Besides the fact that Ennis has its fair share of empty houses presently available for sale (see this DEHLG map of unfinished estates in Clare), there are a number of developments in the town already prone to flooding (as last years floods amply demonstrated). As anyone who lives in one of these houses knows, including Cllr Mulqueen himself I would hazard, one’s house being flooded is a disaster. It takes months to clean-up and dry out, possessions are lost, insurance becomes impossible to obtain, and the ability to sell plummets. It shouldn’t take Department of Environment guidelines to highlight to councillors and planners that building on floodplains is simply bad planning. And yet, all through the boom houses were built in inappropriate locations liable to flooding. And despite the obvious grief caused to home occupiers by flooding, we still have applications to build on floodplains – a fact acknowledged in this case by the person making the application!
A case of won’t learn? can’t learn? it’s up to the buyer to be beware? an ah-sure, the taxpayer will step in and help them if they get into trouble? well, we can build flood defences at a later date at massive costs to the state if necessary? of profiteering and damn the consequences? Here’s a potential test for a local authority to see how much they’ve really have learnt from the laissez-faire, clientelist planning of the boom years. And if the planning permission is given, and by some miracle capital is lent for the houses to be built, will the council and the councillors personally take on the full liabilities of compensating any one who buys these houses of any flood damage? That’ll be a true test of the soundness of planning decisions.
Rob Kitchin
December 16, 2010 at 9:27 am
In the same way that cigarette boxes come with health warnings, perhaps it should be a legal requirement that any estate agent or website selling these houses should have to include a very large note saying: “Warning! Built in an area prone to flooding!” Failure to provide such a warning would leave the seller liable to legal action.
December 16, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Right on Jonathan. But why won’t people listen to organisations such as An Taisce, who, for years have been campaigning against such planning decisions. Rob says it as it is. But this is not good enough.
An Taisces voluntary membership should be funded by government instead of being villified by councillors and politicians, many of whom have a vested interest in such developments going ahead. An Taisce, in many of its campaigns is supported by groups like Engineers Ireland, the Planning Institute, RIAI Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland etc.
December 16, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Is there any legal definition of “land liable to flooding” it is sometimes mentioned in ordinance survey maps but clearly there is no strong legislation to take such a vague description to a legal phase where no local council could in any circumstance accede to planning permission.
The nod and wink culture extends to unfortunate house buyers,and neither the mortgage lenders nor the politicians have any interest in protecting ordinary people who are victims of landowners due to lack of solid regulation.
December 16, 2010 at 5:31 pm
The only sensible addition I can make to John McDermotts comment is, that the Dept of the Environment was to commission studies on flood plains some years ago and some areas were done. This was dropped because of funding problems and political interference I think. But has now, again, been mooted. But I’m not sure how far this has got.
The legal implications I am unsure of.
January 22, 2011 at 11:57 pm
back to the councillor – elected by neighbours and friends and people of Ennis. But was he elected so that he may apply for planning permission to build on a site below sea level – no one forced him to buy the house, but his neighbours will have to live with the outcome of the application. What is FG policy on such behavour? Are we in for more of the same when they “win” the election? Mr mulqueen seems impervious to his own hyprocy.
January 24, 2011 at 10:40 am
Just why I will not be voting for any coalition that does not intend to change the way local planning decisions are made. We need a root and branch revision of how local councils manage planning. Not likely to change if we elect the big parties again.
February 13, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Sadly it’s even worse than imagined by your earlier contributers! The reason Planners still rush to allow such foolishness as building in floodplains, is because it’ll bring some building and ‘investment’ back into ‘their’ area. They’re not personally liable for any compensation which will ‘eventually’ be paid, because the Local Government laws which currently exist give them power without ANY responsibility! They can’t even be fired for gross negligence once they have survived in their jobs long enough to have ‘tenure’ – which is probably about a year nowadays!! We NEED major reform of the Irish Civil Service – NOT just ‘pruning’ of the numbers!