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Marlet a fan of fast-track planning

Pat Crean sees process as a step in the right direction in managing housing crisis

Marlet chief executive Pat Crean said the fast-track planning process should help draw investment into residential building in the Republic.

Fri Apr 6 2018 - 21:22

Housebuilder Marlet is likely to put more projects through the fast-track planning process after An Bord Pleanála granted it permission for more than 530 homes in Raheny in Dublin on Friday.

The company, run by chief executive Pat Crean, will go through the conditions that the planning board imposed on the Raheny permit, before moving to the next stage, which is preparing to build.

Crean observed on Friday that it was a “good day’s work” and added that the fast-track process, overseen by An Bord Pleanála, should help draw investment into residential building in the Republic, which remains in the throes of a housing crisis.

Marlet is now taking the initial steps in bringing a project in the south Dublin suburb of Foxrock through the same process, and Crean believes that it will send more projects down this route in the future.

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An Bord Pleanála oversees the process, which takes six months end-to-end. The system only applies to projects involving more than 100 homes or student apartments. There is a pre-consultation involving the local council during which many planning issues are tackled. The application goes direct to An Bord Pleanála, whose decision is final, although subject to judicial review.

Crean pointed out yesterday that Marlet still had projects in planning for which it sought permission two years ago, but the Raheny development got through the system in six months.

Housing minister Eoghan Murphy introduced the fast-track planning system. Crean argued that the minister and Government had done the right thing.

“I genuinely believe that they are taking the right steps to finding a solution for people who want to be able to own their own homes,” he said.

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