Opening Address from Brendan Allen IPI President - Irish Planning Institute Autumn Conference 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Irish Planning Institute Autumn Conference 2011
Appropriate Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment
Minister, invited speakers, fellow IPI members and other colleagues, I would like on behalf of the Irish Planning Institute to welcome you all here this morning to the Gibson Hotel, and to our 5th Annual Autumn Conference. I would particularly like to welcome Minister Penrose who will provide the keynote address. This is the second IPI conference that the Minister has opened this year, having previously addressed our conference within a few weeks of being appointed to office in April. This demonstrates his commitment to engaging with the planning profession on the wide range of issues facing the profession.
The Autumn Conference first took place in 2006 with its objective being to provide a forum for practical discussion of important issues relevant to day to day planning practice in Ireland. Topics to date have included the Development Plan Guidelines, Development Management Guidelines and the Planning and Development Act 2010. Many of you may have attended our 2009 conference which focussed on the emerging area of Appropriate Assessment. The fact that we are here 2 years later discussing the same topic is a clear indication that many of the issues, problems, etc. identified at that time have not gone away.
When this topic was raised as a potential conference topic I was a little sceptical as to whether it would be of interest to delegates, however the importance of today’s topic is reflected in the large attendance at this conference. In looking through the delegate list it is clear that AA and SEA is of significant interest to a wide variety of participants in the planning process. We have lined up a variety of high quality speakers from the environmental agencies in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, from local authorities, from NPWS, from the academic sector and from the legal sector.
The purpose of todays conference is to share knowledge and experience from all the participants in the AA and SEA processes but more importantly to hear of new ways we might implement the assessment process in the future.
Many planners and others have expressed views that the current system of assessment, particularly with regard to AA is not working effectively. I agree with this view as I come across it every day through my work on infrastructure projects in particular. The mere mention of AA to some people leads to a look of terror on their faces, be it on applications for one off houses to large complex infrastructure projects.
Whilst the purpose of this conference is to examine the implementation of the Habitats and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directives, we as planners need to recognise that no habitat exists in isolation from the surrounding countryside nor from its owners, residents and users who make a living off it and in it. Implementing the Habitats Directive on its own will be an uphill battle unless it is part of the management of the whole countryside because there are lots more than nature conservation to be accommodated.
Existing and emerging EU Directives and Conventions for issues including flooding, habitats, birds and landscape will all shortly require management plans and associated systems of regulation to be put in place, indeed we have seen recent regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture in relation to EIA. This is likely to be replicated across other sectors, resulting in even more costly red tape an bureaucracy for hard pressed rural businesses. Resulting delays and restrictions could add to the challenges of rural areas, especially in peripheral and disadvantaged areas – many of which are already disadvantaged by loss of population and jobs.
In my view Ireland needs an overarching system of spatially specific integrated rural strategies for the management of the ecology, water, heritage, flooding, etc. These also need to be strategies to help, not hinder development and the co-existence of man and nature. The strategies must anticipate and facilitate the continued development and improvement of settlement, infrastructure, tourism, access and water supply in rural areas.
If properly prepared, these strategies will provide the certainty and flexibility to maximize competitiveness and productivity for development in rural communities. They will also provide the certainty to facilitate high quality environmental protection and management as well as providing communities with assurance and support that their developments are in full compliance with all legal and environmental requirements.
Whilst it may appear that I am proposing something radically new that has not been considered before, there are many similarities to the Bantry Bay Charter which was drawn up over 10 years ago and to how Special Area Amenity Orders are integrated into the planning system. Both of these to the best of my knowledge have been and continue to be co-ordinated by planners.
I believe that only planners have the training, skills and experience needed to draw together communities, scientists, lawyers and policy makers to make sure that the needs of every group are recognised and afforded reasonable and proportionate priority.
Meeting these challenges will require fresh approaches requiring planners to work outside of their more traditional local authority ‘Comfort Zones’ – because these new frameworks will need to operate at the larger territorial scale usually occupied by agencies such as the Regional Authorities or the EPA. But these high-level agencies lack the local knowledge, that planners have built up over many years, of people as well as places, that will be needed to forge the sense of common purpose that will be needed to ensure that these environmental objectives are acceptable both to local communities as well as high-level specialists.
Difficult as these challenges may seem, the rewards of success will be great. For too long now – especially in rural areas - ‘Planning’ has been publically perceived as a restriction and something separate from or even opposed to local development. Integrated rural strategies offers the opportunity to planners to provide the practical and positive leadership and vision needed so that rural futures are secured and not stymied.
We must move on and no longer have the future of our environment be determined solely by Directives and objections and always fighting rear-guard actions. Ireland must begin to set out a plan, a positive plan, for how we want to use and care for our own environment, our culture and our community. Scientists, specialists, owners and activists can all make sense of parts of the countryside – but only planners can make sense of the whole.
To achieve this, as well as the many other requirements of the planning system, it is fundamental that it is adequately resourced from the top down. The IPI has made representations to the Minister in this regard, particularly in relation to retaining the post of Principal Planning Advisor in his Department. Whilst the economy and public sector is presently in a state of flux, it is vital that we use the time afforded by the downturn to plan for the future at all levels but particularly at National and Regional level. I understand that a review of the National Spatial Strategy is likely in the near future. This is necessary in light of population and demographic projections in the preliminary Census 2011. The IPI will continue to make the case that development in Ireland should in future be “plan led” and not “developer led” as has been the case in the past.
As many of you will know the Institute is continuing to grow and develop. In the past few weeks I have spoken at the inaugural event of our newest branch, the North-East Branch which took place at the new Indevar facility in Meath and at the launch of Young Planners Network (YPN) which took place at the National Conference Centre. I am also very pleased to have concluded the mutual recognition agreement between the IPI and the New Zealand Planning Institute, which will make it significantly easier for IPI members to work in New Zealand. We hope to be in a position to sign similar agreements with other overseas institutes over the coming months.
I would like to inform you that we have a membership stand outside for anyone interested in joining the IPI if you are not already a member. Any of the Council can convince you of the many benefits of membership.
Finally I would like to thank you all for attending today, and I am looking forward to the proceedings. I would also like in advance to thank our speakers for sharing their time and knowledge and I would particularly like to thank our conference organiser on the IPI Council, Amy Hastings, who doggedly pursued all of you speakers over the summer and made it very difficult for you to refuse.
Thank you and I would like to call on Minister Penrose to give his keynote address to the conference.
Brendan Allen, MIPI
President
Irish Planning Institute