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Planning requests down
massive two-thirds
by Linda McGrory
THE extent of Inishowen's property crash is today
revealed in new figures showing that planning
applications in the peninsula have plunged by a
massive two-thirds since the height of the boom.
A total of 2458 planning applications were submitted
to Donegal County Council from the peninsula in 2006
as the property bubble ballooned.
This compares to just 380 applications submitted in
the first half of this year. If this trend
continues, there could be fewer than 800
applications submitted for the whole of 2009 - a
drop of more than two-thirds since 2006.
The figures released to InishowenNews.com by Donegal
County Council indicate that the heat rapidly came
out of the property market in the peninsula and
that, perhaps, the first signs of the downturn could
be seen here.
Planning applications fell from 2458 in 2006 to 1899
the following year - a drop of 559.
This downward trajectory continued in 2008 when just
1102 applications were received by the local
authority from individual builders and developers.
In fact, there were 461 more applications submitted
in the first half of boom year 2006, than the entire
year 2008. The figures also show a staggering drop
of more than three-quarters in planning requests
from January - July 2006 compared to January – July
2009.
A spokesperson for the planning section of Donegal
County Council said the figures were reflective of
the recession.
"The reduction in the volume of applications is
reflective of the economic downturn and appears to
be consistent with national trends." The
spokesperson also said the local authority was
facing major challenges as a result of the
deterioration in the national and local finances.
"The economic downturn continues to have significant
implications for Donegal County Council and it is
currently engaged in the delivery of proposals to
reorganise the management of council services to
deal with reductions in staff numbers, reductions in
budgets and the change in the number of electoral
areas from six to five. This work involves ongoing
consultation with the various parties, including
staff, unions and members," the spokesperson added.
These latest planning figures follow a recent survey
showing a similar trend for the county as a whole.
Around 9,352 planning applications, including
Inishowen, were lodged in 2006. The number of
applications fell to 7,579 however, the following
year, and to 4,880 in 2008. The figures show that by
the end of July 2009, Donegal County Council had
received just 1,769 applications compared to 5,787
for the same period in 2006. Analysis of the figures
show that, at the height of the property boom, the
Inishowen Electoral Area accounted for more than a
quarter of the total planning applications submitted
to the local authority. |
