Planning

Northern Ireland's Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) is set to hold its first virtual pilot hearing next week. The landmark hearing will take place on Tuesday 30 June, closely following the first virtual planning hearing in Scotland earlier this week.

A legal row has developed between Belfast residents and the Chinese embassy over the construction of a new wall at the Chinese consulate in Belfast. Residents living near the Chinese consulate in Belfast have secured an injunction in the High Court against the construction of a new wall on the site.

Northern Ireland's Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) has announced plans to pilot remote hearings in selected cases within the next four to six weeks. The announcement follows repeated calls from lawyers and the construction industry for Northern Ireland's planning system to catch up with the rest o

A judicial review lodged over the impact of a proposed development on the energy efficiency of a neighbouring building could have "far-reaching consequences", planning lawyers have said. The case concerns the extension of a residential building in Sandymount, Dublin 4, which a neighbour claims will

Northern Ireland's planning system is "lagging badly" behind the rest of the UK in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic by failing to introduce remote hearings, construction industry groups have said. In a joint letter to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC), nine industry groups expressed "grave

Kerry County Council breached planning laws by failing to implement a language condition attached to a planning permission for a housing development in the West Kerry Gaeltacht, An Coimisinéir Teanga has said. The Office of the Language Commissioner carried out an investigation on a provision

The requirement to hold a public event as part of the pre-application process for major planning applications has been temporarily removed for five months. The changes, which came into effect via legislation on Friday 1 May, have been made to allow the planning system to continue functioning during

Lawyers have called for Northern Ireland's planning system to "catch up" with the rest of the UK by introducing remote hearings during the coronavirus pandemic. The Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) has confirmed in a letter to the Northern Ireland Planning Bar Association (NIPBA) that it is "taking

The High Court has denied two interlocutory applications taken by Kilkenny County Council. Mr Justice Garrett Simons heard the proceedings as part of a judicial review taken by the Mount Juliet Estates Residents Group against Kilkenny County Council pursuant to the statutory procedure provided for u

Construction lawyer Georgina Wallace of Ronan Daly Jermyn gives an overview of the law relating to the right to light, recent case law in this area, and the implications of the right to light on developers. A right to light is a right which is enjoyed over neighbouring land which allows a landowner

A couple who live near a proposed wind farm in Co Galway have lost a legal bid to overturn planning permission for the development in the High Court. Mr Justice David Barniville held that John Rushe and Maire Ní Raghallaigh have failed in their application for judicial review seeking an order

The decision taken by An Bord Pleanála to overturn planning permission granted to a Scientology-linked group for a drug rehab facility has been quashed in the High Court. Finding that the board’s decision was a collateral attack on an earlier decision made by Meath County Council, Mr Ju

Planning permission for eleven wind turbines in Cork, granted by An Bord Pleanála, has been quashed in the Supreme Court. Emphasising the need for decision-making institutions to provide proper reasoning for decisions, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell said that the Inspector who reported to t

Graham Pierce, partner and head of commercial property at Worthingtons Solicitors in Belfast, examines the law on signage in Northern Ireland. A tenant of commercial premises will normally expect to display signs at or near his premises indicating the name and nature of his business and any promotio

A company seeking to develop a wind farm in Cork has lost an application for judicial review of a decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission based on the “cumulative impact on landscape and visual amenity”. Dismissing the application, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said