Warning letters issued over Longford unauthorised developments 'blatantly ignoring planning laws'

More than 80 warning letters have been issued by Longford County Council so far this year, relating to unauthorised developments across the county.

The information came to light at the November meeting of the local authority in response to a motion which was submitted by Cllr Paul Ross 

The council has confirmed that as of the end of October, 85 warning letters had been issued. In addition,  33 enforcement notices had been served with seven referrals made to the council's legal agent, for possible court proceedings. 

Ahead of the meeting, Cllr Ross submitted a motion calling on Longford County Council to put more robust measures in place to prevent unauthorised developments which are blatantly ignoring planning laws and enforcement notices. 

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"I propose these illegal sites be closed with concrete bollards as soon as they are reported to prevent works continuing," stated the former Cathaoirleach.  

As the issue was discussed at the county council meeting, Cllr Ross explained: "These people are ignoring the planning process, they are building their structures and then they prove difficult to remove, they can't keep getting away with ignoring the laws of the land, it can take up to 20 years to remove these illegal structures after construction." 

Outlining the reasons for the motion, he added: "It's very worrying, it absolutely infuriates the normal person on the street and it's out of pure frustration that I've put in this motion to try to get something done about it." 

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Cllr Gerry Hagan expressed full support stating: "I'd like to commend this wonderful motion, people are just stripping the site and bringing in machinery, we need to come down hard on these types of developments." 

He added: "They are moving clay off site to other counties out of hours and doing other things that anyone else would need a permit for but they just do what they want and it needs to be stopped". 

In a reply to the motion, a council official stated it has significantly strengthened its enforcement procedures in relation to unauthorised developments in 2025. 

"With the allocation of additional resources to forward planning and enforcement, support of elected members, stronger cooperation across sections and directorates and community wardens, there is a more focused approach to the identification of sites where unauthorised developments are taking place," read the reply. 

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Councillors also received an update on the process which is carried out once an unauthorised development is identified. This begins with the opening of a planning enforcement file and a site inspection to gather more information. 

If the development is deemed unauthorised, this will result in a notification of complaint and warning letter being issued. If escalated further, an enforcement notice will be served and eventually legal proceedings initiated, if that is not complied with.

The entire process, councillors were told, takes place over a six-month period.