Lagos State Government, at the weekend, began a clamp down on illegal estate developments in the Epe corridor of the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, who led a special joint enforcement team to where erring developers were served notices for building without permits, said those affected should come forward to the relevant authorities to perfect their documents.
The locations affected by the exercise include Alaro City, Okorisan, Igbodu, Molajoye, Shaala, Ketu, and Epe, where notices were served on estate developments, such as Patriot Bay Estate, Smart City Estate, the Legend and Hilton Royal Garden.
Others include Greenland Estate, Legacy City, Dominion City, Topview Estate, and Ibi Alafia, among others.
Olumide warned that under no circumstance should any developer go ahead with the development of the estate without obtaining layout approval, planning permit, and fencing permit as may be required, adding that those requirements were to ensure the attainment of organised, livable and sustainable building industry.
The commissioner said that layout approval is required for the proper arrangement of the estate to give room for appropriate services and infrastructure, while the planning permit is required to address the planning requirements on individual plots in the estate.
He said that property off-takers and buyers must be wary of investing in estates without approval to avoid needless embarrassment from the authorities or risk losing their investment to demolition.
According to him, some of the estates springing up in the axis might have encroached on committed lands and not been approved by the government.
Olumide further advised developers and home buyers in the axis to access the planning information service of the ministry, assuring assured that the ministry will give adequate information on the approvable development in an area, details of the zoning arrangement and the approval order for a given location.
On his part, Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire, said that members of staff in the physical planning office were always ready to guide developers through the process and urged them to ensure that they get all required approvals before embarking on any project.
Also speaking, General Manager, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), Kehinde Oshinaike, urged property owners and developers to seize the opportunity provided by the 90-day amnesty period on the planning permit for completed buildings to regularise their developments by obtaining planning permits on their existing buildings.
