When a process similar to UK’s planning application takes place, documents are submitted to a local planning office, where a decision is made to later be verified with the central planning authority at the Old Secretariat, Ikeja GRA. Yesterday’s long visit to the latter authority brought little clarity to how and by who the nature of future development in Lagos is determined.
The possible types and dimensions of new buildings are normally stated in locally written approval orders, based on the overall land use plan prepared by Masterplanning Dept. However, older areas like Ajah are simply marked on the masterplan as existing settlements (no land use colour) and the approval order for them is patchy/ incomplete due to the complexity of traditional, public and private forms of land ownership mixed together in such areas. The planning application for such sites (like my possible On Addo Road ) is therefore a complex back and forwards process with the developers and authority’s teams making site investigations and collective judgements about the nature of the possible permitted type of land use for an area generically marked as ‘mixed use’ on the certificate of ownership (e.g. Judgements such as ‘a 5 star hotel would disturb the peace of the surrounding residential area but a guesthouse wouldn’t’).
Based on my other conversations, such site specific , peacemeal planning regulations often result in subjective decisions driving the developments.
Below: publicized new electronic planning submission system
no.balsa 