Dear Jane,
 
I refer to your letter dated 25/06/2010 in connection with the Moriarty application and an Urban Centre Strategy for Skerries.
 
Urban Centre Strategies (UCS’s) are vision documents for the development of town centres and can be used to build on the vision for such centres as identified in the County Development Plan (CDP. A UCS is a non statutory guidance document and is not formally adopted by the Elected Members.
 
UCS’s can be used to identify potential development sites for new residential, retail, employment and leisure developments and act as general guidance documents for both the Planning Authority and potential applicants as a basis for agreeing the principles of future development (massing, scale, heights, materials).
 
UCS’s, therefore, address broad principles, are particularly useful for towns with many gap sites, backland and derelict areas but do not deal with detailed masterplanning of a site or a group of sites.
 
A UCS has not been prepared for Skerries town and will be considered when resources are available and having regard to other priorities within the County.
 
Currently, the designation of the town centre area of Skerries as a Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) combined with the specific vision and development objectives for Skerries town as indicated in the CDP has provided this Planning Authority with appropriate criteria to inform the pre planning consultation process for the redevelopment of the site area identified in reg. ref. no. F09A/0580.
 
Detailed consultations with the Applicant's Agent and the Council's Planning Department, Conservation Officer and Architects’ Departments, have taken place over the last four years (including one previously withdrawn planning application) relating to the proposed redevelopment of the site, in which consideration of the matters that would form part of a UCS (that is, general principles for development) and also specific and more detailed masterplanning issues, were extensively addressed as part of the pre-planning consultations.
 
Therefore, the scope, extent and depth of this pre-planning consultation of the issues was far in excess of any normal UCS guidance and has provided sufficient background for this Planning Authority to address all the necessary decision making issues.
 
The Council is currently awaiting the receipt of further information on reg. ref. F09A/580 and the decision making process will recommence in accordance with statutory requirements. There is no planning or legal basis to defer the application at this time.
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
 
Gilbert Power