Naas Councillor Believes Tighter Planning Regulations Needed For Future Vape Shops
Naas Councillor Bill Clear calls for a specific planning class for vape shops to give local authorities control over their locations.Summary
Independent Ireland Councillor for Naas MD Bill Clear has warned that a National Planning Statement on vape shops, proposed by Taoiseach Michael Martin, risks missing the central problem that existing premises often do not require a planning application. Clear explained that when a vape shop opens in a premises already used as a shop, there may be no application for the council to decide on, and one cannot object to an application that does not exist. He called for the Government to create a specific planning-use category for vape shops, so that a premises changing to that use would require planning permission, giving councils and communities a proper opportunity to examine whether another vape shop is appropriate, particularly near schools or in town centres with several similar outlets. Clear stressed that legitimate businesses should not be unfairly targeted and that there must be a clear legal definition of a vape shop to prevent businesses from avoiding planning controls by describing themselves as convenience stores or phone shops. He concluded that Revenue and the HSE must be properly resourced to enforce existing rules, and that the solution is to create a specific planning class for vape shops, require planning permission for new premises, and properly enforce laws against illegal products.
(Source：Kfm Radio)
