Many clubs in Monaghan have or are in the process of upgrading their facilities, which can be an arduous task as funds have to be raised for the necessary development work, while there are many stages a project has to go through before construction can even begin. Monaghan County Council planner Adrian Hughes spoke to us about how a club can make the planning process much easier and quicker, while he also revealed the link that the local authority has in the development of the GAA in the county. GAA supporters in Monaghan have seen a resurgence in football at county level in recent years and much of this has to be attributed to the underage structures in place at all club teams. The majority of clubs have benefited from the housing boom of recent years and the numbers playing Gaelic games at underage level has never been higher. The fact that new houses are being built on a regular basis is a huge boost to the GAA and this stems from the local authority's development plan. The performance of the county senior footballers in the last two seasons has given their supporters a renewed hope that another provincial title can be annexed before too long. Success in the National Football League in 2005 may have been followed by relegation from the top flight at the end of the last campaign, but a battling performance against eventual Ulster champions Armagh, which saw the sides draw their initial encounter before Seamus McEnaney's charges succumbed to the Orchard County in the replay suggests that Monaghan are not too far away from obtaining some major honours. Next season will be a huge campaign for the Farney County and one that could determine their future. The fact that Tyrone and even more so Armagh have dominated the provincial scene for the past decade leaves many believing that it is time for a change and Monaghan supporters would give anything for their own side to be the ones that break that stranglehold. Adrian hails from Keady in Armagh and is a keen follower of his home county, but also follows the fortunes of Monaghan and acknowledges the fact that the Orchard County cannot go on forever. "Armagh have been very magnificent for the past number of years and I don't feel they have got the recognition that they deserve, especially after winning three provincial championships in a row," said Adrian. "However, the team looks set to go through a transition period over the next few years and this may give other teams the opportunity to push through. If I'm honest I think no one will stop Tyrone in winning the All-Ireland in 2007, but Monaghan do have a great chance in the Ulster championship. The recently opened Monaghan GAA training facility at Cloghan is the end product of many years hard work by the county board and Adrian was involved directly with the project. "The planning process is tightly controlled and although many people believe that it is a long drawn out procedure, there are ways to hasten the process," revealed Adrian. "Usually it takes about eight weeks to get planning through. However, we encourage, in the case of the GAA, the club members to come and talk to us before they apply for planning and then we can tell them what has to be in place in order for planning permission to be granted. "There are obviously certain conditions to be met in the case of access, drainage, flood lighting etc and if people come speak to us, we can point them in the right direction." "Legislation has become a significant part of the planning process and there are many areas to be covered. Every 'I' has to be dotted and every 'T' has to be crossed in order for everything to go through properly." Adrian stressed that the local authority knows the important role that the GAA plays in Irish society and pointed out that the County Council do take this fact into consideration. "We acknowledge the importance of the GAA and we are fully behind the development of the association, while we do our best to try and help further enhance its reputation." With more and more housing developments and businesses being established all over the county, it is up to the Monaghan County Council to distinguish what areas take precedence and Adrian stated that this is the purpose of the Draft Development Plan, which is updated on a regular basis. "The Monaghan Draft Development Plan is set out to give an overall strategy for the planning and sustained development of the county and the five major towns of Monaghan, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Ballybay." While separate plans have been prepared for each of the Local Authority areas, all of which are contained in the Development Plan, they have been prepared concurrently with each other in an attempt to provide a more comprehensive and cohesive blue print for the development of the county as a whole. "Public consultation is very important to us and we hold many public meetings during planning process. It is essential to get people's views on matters and we urge that they speak to us about any queries that they might have. "Anyone can speak to us on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we hold public meetings and the more communication we have the better understanding we can get and this also avoids objections," he said. Having worked as a planner for the past 18 years, Adrian has a life time experience in his field of expertise, but he stressed that the planning department was not the only one area concerned by the development of the county. "The process is not exclusive to the planning department and all areas of the County Council play their part including the public, whose concerns are always dealt with." For any club thinking of upgrading their facilities or developing new grounds, they should contact the council in advance where they will speak with someone of Adrian's knowledge about the route that should be taken before applying for planning permission as this will be to their benefit. Tweet

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