Sir, – Fintan O’Toole’s opinion piece on the essence of developer-led planning serves to warn us all of the chilling effect of the Planning and Development Bill being pushed through the Dáil (“Lidl wants MetroLink redesigned so it can build apartments. And can you pay the bill please?”, Opinion & Analysis, March 19th).
This Bill is the culmination of years of regulatory capture by the development lobby to tip the balance of power in its favour. In spite of the mantra of “plan-led development” being spun by Government, this Bill does precisely the opposite. We believe that it puts all of the power into the hands of the Minister and the “project-proposer”, which is the new word for the developer, that it threatens the voice of the citizen and that it reduces access to justice.
The Government should reconsider enacting this Bill, given that we are already witnessing the results of this dysfunctional type of centralised, developer-led planning in our cities, towns, villages and countryside. – Yours, etc,
ROBIN MANDAL,
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Chair,
Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
