Reduction in planning applications

Planning applications in Clare have had the largest decrease compared to every other county in the country while commencement notices have also fallen.

The latest edition of the National Housing Construction Index, compiled and issued by Link2Plans, has shown that from January to February there was a 45% drop in planning commencements in county Clare.

This is the fourth highest decrease in commencements after Westmeath (79%), Waterford 55% and Cavan (52%). Moreover, Clare saw a decline of (24%) of planning applications compared to the same period in 2012.

Nationally, planning applications are down 3% and commencement notices are down 14%.

Meanwhile, the 2013 outlook for the local construction industry in Clare was discussed at a Construction Industry Federation (CIF) briefing in Limerick on Wednesday.

Among the issues discussed were the implementation of the newly announced building regulations, the review of the Government construction contracts which are due to take place in the coming months, the Construction Contracts Bill and the registered employment agreement (REA) for the construction industry.