Planning and Development Act 2000

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Planning and Development Act, 2000.

1A. F2[Legal acts of the European Union given effect to by this Act.

1A.—Effect or further effect, as the case may be, is given by this Act to an act specified in the Table to this section, adopted by an institution of the European Union or, where appropriate, to part of such an act.

TABLE

Council Directive 75/440 EEC of 16 June 1975^1concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States

Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979^2on the conservation of wild birds

Environmental Impact Assessment Directive

Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991^3concerning urban waste-water treatment

Habitats Directive

Major Accidents Directive

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000^4establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy

Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001^5on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment

Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003^6on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EC

Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003^7providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC

Directive 2006/11/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006^8on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community

Birds Directive]

2. Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

F3["abstraction" has the same meaning as in the Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Act 2022;]

F3["abstraction licence" means a licence granted by the Environmental Protection Agency under Part 5 of the Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Act 2022;]

“acquisition of land” shall be construed in accordance with section 213(2), and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“the Act of 1919” means the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919;

F4["Act of 1933" means the Foreshore Act 1933;]

“the Act of 1934” means the Town and Regional Planning Act, 1934;

“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963;

“the Act of 1976” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976;

“the Act of 1982” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1982;

“the Act of 1983” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1983;

“the Act of 1990” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1990;

“the Act of 1992” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1992;

“the Act of 1993” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1993;

“the Act of 1998” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1998;

“the Act of 1999” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1999;

F5["Act of 2001" means theTransport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001;

"Act of 2006" means thePlanning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006;

"Act of 2007" means theWater Services Act 2007;

"Act of 2008" means theDublin Transport Authority Act 2008;

"Act of 2010" means thePlanning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010;]

F5["adaptation to climate change" means the taking of measures to manage the impacts of climate change;]

“advertisement” means any word, letter, model, balloon, inflatable structure, kite, poster, notice, device or representation employed for the purpose of advertisement, announcement or direction;

“advertisement structure” means any structure which is a hoarding, scaffold, framework, pole, standard, device or sign (whether illuminated or not) and which is used or intended for use for exhibiting advertisements or any attachment to a building or structure used for advertising purposes;

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the training of horses and the rearing of bloodstock, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;

F5["allotment" means an area of land comprising not more than 1,000 square metres let or available for letting to and cultivation by one or more than one person who is a member of the local community and lives adjacent or near to the allotment, for the purpose of the production of vegetables or fruit mainly for consumption by the person or a member of his or her family;]

“alteration” includes—

(a) plastering or painting or the removal of plaster or stucco, or

(b) the replacement of a door, window or roof,

that materially alters the external appearance of a structure so as to render the appearance inconsistent with the character of the structure or neighbouring structures;

F5["anthropogenic" in relation to greenhouse gas emissions means those emissions that result from or are produced by human activity or intervention;]

“appeal” means an appeal to the Board;

F5["appropriate assessment" shall be construed in accordance withsection 177R;]

“architectural conservation area” shall be construed in accordance with section 81(1);

“area of special planning control” shall be construed in accordance with section 85(8);

“attendant grounds”, in relation to a structure, includes land lying outside the curtilage of the structure;

F6["Birds Directive" means Directive 2009/147/EC^9of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds;]

“Board” means An Board Pleanála;

“chairperson” means the chairperson of the Board,

F7["chief executive", in relation to a local authority, including a local authority exercising functions as a planning authority, means the chief executive appointed under Chapter 2 of Part 14 (as amended bysection 54of theLocal Government Reform Act 2014) of theLocal Government Act 2001;]

F4["coastal planning authority" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

“Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

“company”, except in section 149(5), means a company within the meaning of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1963, or a company incorporated outside the State;

F8[“co-located energy storage”means an energy storage facility combined with a facility producing renewable energy and connected to the same grid access point;]

F9["confirmation notice" means the confirmation notice sent pursuant to article 97B(2) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 600 of 2001) following the entering onto the EIA portal of the information referred to in article 97A of those Regulations to which that notice relates;]

F5["core strategy" shall be construed in accordance withsection 10(inserted bysection 7of thePlanning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010);]

F10[…]

“dangerous substance” has the meaning assigned to it by the Major Accidents Directive;

“deputy chairperson” means the deputy chairperson of the Board;

“development” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3, and “develop” shall be construed accordingly;

“development plan” means a development plan under section 9(1);

F11["DTA" means the body formerly known as the Dublin Transport Authority whose name was changed with effect from 1 December 2009 to the National Transport Authority pursuant tosection 30of thePublic Transport Regulation Act 2009;]

F12["EIA portal" means the website referred to insection 172A;]

F5["electronic form" means information that is generated, communicated, processed, sent, received, recorded, stored or displayed by electronic means and is capable of being used to make a legible copy or reproduction of that communicated information but does not include information communicated in the form of speech and such electronic means includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical electro-magnetic, biometric, photonic and any other form of related technology;]

“endangered” means exposed to harm, decay or damage, whether immediately or over a period of time, through neglect or through direct or indirect means;

“enforcement notice” means an enforcement notice under section 154;

F5["Environmental impact assessment" has the meaning given to it bysection 171A;

F13["Environmental Impact Assessment Directive" means Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011^3on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014^4amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment;]]

F14["environmental impact assessment report" means a report of the effects, if any, which proposed development, if carried out, would have on the environment and shall include the information specified in Annex IV of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;]

F6["European site" has the meaning given to it bysection 177RofPart XAB;]

F15["European Union" means European Union within the meaning of theEuropean Communities Act 1972(No. 27 of 1972);]

“exempted development” has the meaning specified in section 4;

“exhibit”, in relation to an advertisement, includes affix, inscribe, print, paint, illuminate and otherwise delineate;

“existing establishment” has the meaning that it has in the Major Accidents Directive;

“fence” includes a hoarding or similar structure but excludes any bank, wall or other similar structure composed wholly or mainly of earth or stone;

F5["flood risk assessment" means an assessment of the likelihood of flooding, the potential consequences arising and measures, if any, necessary to manage those consequences;]

F16["functional area" means, in relation to a planning authority, its administrative area for the purposes of the Local Government Acts 1925 to 2014;]

“functions” includes powers and duties;

F17["Greater Dublin Area" ("GDA") has the meaning assigned to it bysection 3of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008;]

“habitable house” means a house which—

(a) is used as a dwelling,

(b) is not in use but when last used was used, disregarding any unauthorised use, as a dwelling and is not derelict, or

(c) was provided for use as a dwelling but has not been occupied;

F6["Habitats Directive" means Council Directive 92/43/EEC^10of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, amended by Corrigendum to Council Directive 92/43/EEC^11of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora amended by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded^12; Council Directive 97/62/EC^13of 27 October 1997 adapting to technical and scientific progress Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora; Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded^14, and Council Directive 2006/105/EC^15of 20 November 2006 adapting Directives 73/239/EEC, 74/557/EEC and 2002/83/EC in the field of environment, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania;]

“house” means a building or part of a building which is being or has been occupied as a dwelling or was provided for use as a dwelling but has not been occupied, and where appropriate, includes a building which was designed for use as 2 or more dwellings or a flat, an apartment or other dwelling within such a building;

F5["housing strategy" means a strategy included in a development plan undersection 94;]

“integrated pollution control licence” means a licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992;

“land” includes any structure and any land covered with water (whether inland or coastal);

F5["landscape" has the same meaning as it has in Article 1 of the European Landscape Convention done at Florence on 20 October 2000;

F18["large-scale residential development" means a development that includes—

(a) the development of 100 or more houses,

(b) the development of student accommodation that includes 200 or more bed spaces,

(c) both the development of 100 or more houses and of student accommodation, or

(d) both the development of student accommodation that includes 200 or more bed spaces and of houses,

where the LRD floor space of—

(i) in the case ofparagraph (a), the buildings comprising the houses,

(ii) in the case ofparagraph (b), the student accommodation,

(iii) in the case ofparagraphs (c)and(d), the buildings comprising the houses and the student accommodation,

is not less than 70 per cent, or such other percentage as may be prescribed, of the LRD floor space of the buildings comprising the development;]]

“local area plan” means a local area plan under section 18;

F19["local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

F18["LRD" means large-scale residential development;]

F18["LRD appeal" means an appeal against a decision of a planning authority that relates to an application for permission to whichsection 32A(1)applies;]

F18["LRD meeting" means a meeting in accordance withsections 32Band32C;]

F18["LRD opinion" has the meaning given to it bysection 32D;]

F18["LRD floor space", in relation to a building or part of a building, means the area ascertained by the internal measurement of the floor space on each floor of a building or part of a building (including internal walls and partitions), disregarding any floor space provided for—

(a) the parking of vehicles by persons—

(i) occupying or using the building or the part of the building,

(ii) for a purpose incidental to the primary purpose of the building or part of the building,

and

(b) ancillary residential services, including gyms and child-care facilities;]

“major accident” has the meaning assigned to it by the Major Accidents Directive;

F6["Major Accidents Directive" means Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996^16amended by Directive 2003/105/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 16 December 2003^17;]

F20[…]

F4["maritime area" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

F4["maritime area consent" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

F4["maritime site" means a part of the maritime area, and includes—

(a) the waters of that part of the maritime area,

(b) the seabed in that part of the maritime area, and

(c) all substrata beneath the seabed in that part of the maritime area;]

F4["maritime spatial plan" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

F4["maritime spatial planning" means—

(a) maritime spatial planning within the meaning of Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014^26, and

(b) land-sea interactions within the meaning of that Directive;]

F21[“mine”means an excavation or system of excavations made for the purpose of, or in connection with, the getting, wholly or substantially by means involving the employment of persons below ground, of minerals (whether in their natural state or in solution or suspension) or products of minerals;

“minerals”includes stone, slate, clay, gravel, sand and other natural deposits except peat;]

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

F4["National Marine Planning Framework" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

F4["national newspaper" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

F22["National Spatial Strategy" means the "National Spatial Strategy: 2002–2020" published by the Government on 28 November 2002, or any document published by the Government which amends or replaces that Strategy;]

F5["Natura 2000 network" has the meaning assigned to it by Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Habitats Directive;

"Natura impact statement" shall be construed in accordance withsection 177T;

"Natura impact report" shall be construed in accordance withsection 177T;]

F4["nearshore area" has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021;]

“new establishment” has the meaning that it has in the Major Accidents Directive;

F23["NTA" means the National Transport Authority, being the name to which the name of the Dublin Transport Authority was changed with effect from 1 December 2009 pursuant to section 30 of thePublic Transport Regulation Act 2009;]

F4["objectives of maritime spatial planning" means—

(a) those matters to which the State is required, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 5 of Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014, to give consideration when establishing and implementing maritime spatial planning,

(b) those matters to which the State is required, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the said Article 5, to aim to contribute through maritime spatial plans, and

(c) objectives that the State is, for the time being, seeking to pursue in accordance with the second sentence of the said paragraph 2;]

“occupier”, in relation to a protected structure or a proposed protected structure, means—

(a) any person in or entitled to immediate use or enjoyment of the structure,

(b) any person entitled to occupy the structure, and

(c) any other person having, for the time being, control of the structure;

F24["operator" in relation to a quarry means a person who at all material times is in charge of the carrying on of quarrying activities at a quarry or under whose direction such activities are carried out;]