What is Town Planning?
Town Planning, or Town and Country Planning to
use its full name, is the system we have for managing changes to our
environment. Through planning we can identify what changes we need to make:
new homes, places to work, transport and community facilities etc; and where
these should be located. These changes are called development. Planning
seeks to ensure that we achieve a balance between our need for new
development while conserving what we value about our environment such as
green spaces, wildlife, historic buildings and places etc. Planning can make
positive changes to our environment and communities. It can create places
such as cities, towns and villages that we treasure; want to live in, work
in, visit and enjoy. Planning is about our future. It aims to balance our
current need for development against the needs of our children and future
generations. This is called sustainable development. Ireland s system of
planning is an important part of our democracy. It can help deal with the
different views between groups over development and provide opportunities
for people to have their say about the future of their neighbourhoods,
communities and areas.
Events
As you know, dublin.ie has
been given a recent face-lift. We now have a free events calendar to search
for - or list - events, including events such as planning workshops,
planning exhibitions, planning consultation events etc.
Maybe you would like to post
info about planning related events and exhibitions etc that your
organisation is organising? All you have to do is log onto dublin.ie's
homepage, register as a user (if you have not done so already) and post or
search away!
Funding for Planning Projects
What to develop a planning project, but don' t know where to start looking
for funding?
Check out the funding tips on
dublin.ie's environment section. This section, in keeping with the
Greener City Strategy to increase information and awareness about the
environment, provides a comprehensive picture of the different funding
schemes available for environmental projects such as planning exhibitions,
initiatives and studies.
Jobs
Looking for a job in planning
sector in Dublin? Trying to get staff? Dublin.ie is offering a free service
to job hunters and employers to search for and advertise job opportunities.
Check out the jobs section under environment for current opportunities.
Please e-mail your job vacancies to Elaine at
elaine.hess@dublincity.ie
and she will put them up on the site.
Courses
Potential town planning
students can find direct links to IPI accredited courses here.
University College Dublin
http://www.ucd.ie
Dublin Institute of
technology
http://www.dit.ie/DIT/built/
Queens University
Belfast
http://infoserve.qub.ac.uk/
Awards
There are loads of competitions in Ireland and around the world with a
planning slant such as the IPI Awards, the RTPI Awards, and the ECTP
European Planning Achievement Award 2002. Check out the awards section on
dublin.ie's environment section for further information and links. Have a
go, get involved and be inspired. You never know what you might achieve!!!!
Links and Resources
Dublin City Council s Planning and Economic Development Department
The Planning Department seeks
to manage the physical development of Dublin in the interest of the common
good and to make the city and its environs as far as possible a proper place
for people to live in, work in, and form communities. It is also responsible
for ensuring that all those who have an interest in the planning and
development of the city have an input to the formulation and the
implementation of planning policies. The Planning Department is responsible
for the operation of this system in the city through the implementation of
the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963-1999. The City
Development Plan, applications for planning permission, control of ongoing
development and enforcement of standards achieve good planning and
development.
Check out the City Council s
website for loads of information about making planning
applications/representations/objections, the planning lists, the current
Development Plan, the different local areas plans in the City and who to
contact if you have a query. You could also pop into the public counter on
the Ground Floor of the Civic Offices between 9am-16.30pm (Monday-Friday).
Alternatively you could phone
the department on the following numbers:-
Tel: +353-1-6722145 - Building
Regulations and Commencement Notices
Tel: +353-1-6722147
Enforcement
Tel: +353-1-6722149 -
Applications/Decisions
Tel: +353-1-6722151 -
Development Control/Development Plan
Fax: +353-1-677 7780
E-mail:
planning@dublincity.ie
The Dept of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government
The Department s activities range from the
quality of the environment to housing, roads, water and other services. It
also deals, in partnership with the local authorities and others on roads,
litter, elections, planning and noise pollution. You can find information
about these and a whole other range of issues on its website at
www.environ.ie
Planning Consultants
Planning consultants provide a
wide range of planning advice to people seeking the paid services of a
planning professional. Below is the IPI s list of planning consultants in
the Dublin area.
An Bord Pleanala
An Bord Pleanála is
responsible for the determination of appeals and certain other matters under
the Planning and Development Acts, 2000 to 2002, and with appeals under the
Building Control Act, 1990, the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts,
1977 and 1990 and the Air Pollution Act, 1987. Further information,
check out http://www.pleanala.ie
Irish Planning Institute
The Irish Planning Institute
is the independent professional body representing the majority of
professional planners engaged in physical and environmental planning.
E-mail:
info@irishplanninginstitute.ie or check out its website at
www.irishplanninginstitute.ie
Royal Town Planning Institute
In the UK the Royal Town
Planning Institute is the professional body responsible for town and country
planning. Further info at
www.rtpi.ie
