COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

MOTION NO. 20

MOTION: Councillor C. King

Motion also proposed by Cllrs. J. Hannon & S. Crowe.

Amend the following criteria for applicants wishing to build their homes in areas designated with Zoning Objective H(“to protect and enhance the outstanding natural character of the Dublin Mountain Area”)  

• the applicant is a native of the area and,

• the applicant can demonstrate a genuine need for housing in that particular area and,

• the development is related directly to the area’s amenity potential or to its use for agriculture, mountain or hill farming and,

• the development would not prejudice the environmental capacity of the area, and that it would be in keeping with the character of the mountain area.  

To the following:

The applicant is a permanent native resident of the area i.e. a person who was either born and reared in the familyhome in the same rural area as the proposed development site,

or

has resided in the area for at least 15 years prior to the application for planning permission;

or  

Persons who are full-time farmers or employed full-time in other rural based activity such as horticulture, forestry, bloodstock or other rural based activity in the area in which they wish to build or whose employment is intrinsically linked to the rural area in which they wish to build.  

Report:

The cumulative impacts of this motion across the H zone could have the consequence of causing the current draft County Development Plan policies and objectives in relation to environmental protection to be unachievable, by introducing the potential for further pressures on water quality, sensitive landscapes and habitats, in particular protected Natura 2000 sites both within and downstream of the County. The effect of this motion could be to potentially trigger a revision of the draft CDP Appropriate Assessment Screening conclusion

The rural part of this County (areas zoned ‘B’ and ‘H’) is considered to be an area under strong urban influence as defined in the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines (2005). Such areas are in close proximity to the immediate environs or within easy commuting distance of large cities and towns, and show evidence of considerable pressure for development of housing due to proximity to such urban areas and pressures on infrastructure such as the local road network. These pressures are evident in the proliferation of ribbon type development along significant stretches of many rural roads in this County.

Rural areas within the County are catagorised by zoning into two primary area types; Zone ‘B’ with the objective ‘to provide for rural related development and to protect rural amenity’, and Zone ‘H’ with the objective ‘to protect the natural character of the Dublin Mountain area’. The ‘H’ Zone lies in the Hinterland Area, outside the Dublin Metropolitan Area as defined in the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area, and is generally elevated and more environmentally sensitive.

The Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines seek to establish a balance between facilitating the housing requirements of persons with roots or links in rural areas and protecting the natural environment and associated infrastructure. They advise that planning authorities should aim to support the following over-arching policy objectives in their policies, practices and actions:

• encourage development needed to sustain and renew established rural communities in both smaller rural towns and villages and wider countryside areas
• ensure that the planning system guides residential and other development to the right locations in rural areas in the interest of protecting natural and man-made assets in those areas;

• differentiate in areas under strong urban influence between development needed in rural areas to sustain rural communities, and development which would be more appropriately located in well planned extensions to these urban areas; and
• ensure that first and foremost the housing requirements of persons with roots or links in rural areas are facilitated in all such areas; and that planning policies also respond to local circumstances.

It is considered that the criteria outlined in subsection 1.2.52.iii Policy H31 for the assessment of development proposals for rural housing in the ‘H’ zone, are appropriate and adequate to form a reasonable basis for differentiating between development needed to sustain rural communities and development which would be more appropriately located in well planned extensions to the urban area. It is considered that the policy and related provisions are fully consistent with the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines.

It is considered that the proposed amended policy is seriously deficient as it fails to provide any protection to the natural and man-made assets in the ‘H’ zone area. In this regard members are advised that the Strategic Environmental Assessment raises serious concerns in relation to the continued rural housing development in Glenasmole which has the potential to impact significantly on one of the most sensitive environments in the County. The valley which contains a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) designated under the EU Habitats Directive is one of the most sensitive habitats in South Dublin, provides drinking water for the city, and is visually fragile. Each development impacts on the valley, both individually and cumulatively, in terms of reducing the ability of the land to absorb development and potentially exposing the SAC to damage.

Manager’s Recommendation:

It is recommended that the motion not be adopted.