COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Thursday, June 18, 2015

MOTION NO. 20

MOTION: Councillor E. Higgins

That Table 1.1, 1.10 and 5.2 be amended to include Brittas as a village (or rural village) in South Dublin

Co sponsor: Cllr. William Lavelle

REPORT:

Core Strategy

It is a requirement under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) for the County Development Plan including its Core Strategy to be consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010 – 2022 and to be based on projected population and housing needs. This is further reiterated in the DECLG Planning Policy Statement 2015 key principles that planning is plan-led and evidence based.

The Regional Planning Guidelines (RPGs) designates a settlement strategy for GDA and locates Brittas within the Rural Hinterland Area. The lowest level of designation for settlements within the GDA is reserved for villages with a population of up to 1,000 people.

The current population of the area within 500m of Brittas is approximately 100 people.  A  Village designation would create pressure for a significant increase in population (possibly up to 10 times more than that existing), despite the fact that the area has no basic public infrastructure such as water mains, sewers, parks or public lighting and limited public transport.

There is no evidence based requirement or rationale for such a significant increase in population and housing capacity in Brittas during the lifetime of the Draft Development Plan. The proposed motion is therefore at variance with the Plan Core Strategy, Regional Planning Guidelines, the National Planning Policy Statement and Planning and Development Legislation.

The Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008 - 2016 sets out a five-tier Retail Hierarchy for the Greater Dublin Area. The South Dublin County Retail Hierarchy in Table 5.1 is derived from and follows the five tier hierarchy of the Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008 – 2016.

Level 5 of the South Dublin hierarchy includes ‘Corner Shops’ in the County. Figure 5.2 illustrates the top levels of the retail hierarchy in the County, namely Level 1, 2, 3 & only the Village centres from level 4. The mapping of the remainder of Level 4 (all the Local Centres – ‘LC’ zoning) and all the corner shops (Level 5) in the County would impinge on the strategic clarity of the map.

Recommendation

It is recommended that this motion is not adopted.

The intent of the motion is addressed by the recommended motion to support Brittas as a sustainable community and rural village of outstanding natural beauty and to prepare a planning study for Brittas Village, in consultation with local residents and local representatives, having regard to the implications of the proposed Natural Heritage Area designations, the future protection and enhancement of the village, the development of tourism potential in the area with a view to the long term viability of the local community.