Sir, - Your report on planning delays (The Irish Times, June 24th) turned up some interesting comments from people on the development side of the industry. Speaking as one who occupied the other side of the fence, I would see it somewhat differently.
There are a lot of people who have legitimate grounds for appeals to An Bord Pleanala who have little money and no access to residents' associations. The proposal to structure fees according to the scale of the development means they would be affordable only by mass subscription. That is pretty tough on an individual whose life may be seriously affected by a proposed development and who does not have the money to do anything about it.
It also runs contrary to An Bord Pleanala's own mission statement which says that any person may make an appeal to the Bord. Obviously, if the fees are too high, they can't. The current fee of £120 for a third party appeal seems quite high enough when in most areas of our lives we are entitled to make objections to transactions in which we are involved, free of charge. It certainly does not feel "excessively democratic" to have to pay this kind of fee just to gain access to the system before considering all the other costs involved in making an appeal. To exclude individuals from a democratic process by making it financially impossible for them to participate in it, is unacceptable.
If the pace of development is not proceeding fast enough to suit the industry, then it is the deficiencies of the system that should be looked at, rather than the exclusion of the rights of individuals who "live on every street corner". - Yours, etc., Hugo Lacy,
Drogheda, Co Louth.