The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has published its report on its statutory review of Roscommon County Council today.
The review process underlines a fundamental necessity for Roscommon County Council to create additional capacity within its planning department to ensure the ongoing successful delivery of quality planning services.
This is the first time that the systems and procedures used by Roscommon County Council’s planning department have been reviewed by the OPR. The report reflects on the Council’s performance across a range of functions and makes 14 recommendations, designed to ensure the department’s ongoing success in the face of current and future additional demands.
The Planning Regulator, Niall Cussen, in commenting on the review said:
“Roscommon County Council’s planning department operates in a complex and demanding environment that places a high degree of pressure on the resources of its team. This review involved extensive engagement with the planning department over a number of months. I wish to thank Roscommon County Council for facilitating open engagement throughout the review process and to acknowledge the input of the Council’s planning department staff, including the generous access and insights provided.”
Addressing the challenges faced, Niall Cussen said:
“The role played by the existing teams within the planning department must be acknowledged. In the face of challenging circumstances, it is clear that the effort of dedicated and experienced individuals has been vital in delivering the duties of the planning department.”
“However, it is clear that additional capacity needs to be created within the planning department. While additional capacity must inevitably be generated by securing resources for the department, greater capacity to deliver services must also be created through procedures that are more efficient.”
“The report emphasises the importance for the Council in ensuring that the planning department is empowered to play a leading strategic role in driving forward land activation initiatives across the county.”
“The report also draws attention to the importance of ongoing public engagement between the council and applicants throughout the planning process in order to ensure planning applications are dealt with as efficiently as possible.”
Concluding, Mr. Cussen noted:
“I appreciate Roscommon County Council’s dedication to enacting the review recommendations and their ongoing support in this matter. My team will maintain active involvement with the Council to track progress and assist in relation to the implementation of recommendations.”
Here is a link to the report of the Roscommon County Council Planning Review.
Notes:
- Section 31AS of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) gives the OPR the discretion to review the systems and procedures used by local authorities in performing their planning functions.
- An OPR review is improvement-focused and intended as a developmental resource for the planning system, with recommendations arising from the process designed to enhance the delivery of services to the public.
- The OPR applies a broad rating in respect of the systems and procedures across the key operational processes in planning service delivery. The ratings are defined as follows:
Satisfactory: where it has been demonstrated that the systems and procedures are adequate to effectively deliver the statutory function on an ongoing basis and to meet key business objectives.
Unsatisfactory: insufficient evidence has been provided that appropriate systems and procedures are in place, thereby creating an unacceptable weakness with regard to the ability to adequately deliver the statutory function and to meet key business objectives.
- The ratings and recommendations are provided to encourage the ongoing improvement of robust procedures in relation to statutory functions and collectively evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of the local authorities planning services.