COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SDZ, LAPS AND PLANNING PROJECTS

Friday, January 26, 2018

MOTION NO.14

MOTION: Councillor B. Bonner

This council agrees that the proportion between private and public housing in the SDZ area would be in the ratio 70:30.  The development should be mixed with social housing spread throughout the development in order to avoid the ghettoisation which has characterised developments in the past. 

REPORT:

South Dublin County Council as the planning and housing authority for the area is both obligated and mandated to achieve the best possible outcomes in terms of planned, socially integrated housing provision for all of its citizens within the planning scheme. As a major landowner in control of approx. 22% of the land bank within the plan area it is committed to fully utilising this asset together with the statutory obligations imposed by Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) to maximise the distributed provision of social and affordable housing throughout the SDZ area. The distribution will be subject to appropriate master planning, will involve the integrated development off all lands collectively and where it necessitates commensurate land transfers will be subject to council approval. This integrated approach is aligned to the County Development Plan, the council Housing Strategy, national housing and planning policy and sufficiently agile to allow for the incorporation of any new or additional national strategies supportive of affordability.

The Draft Planning Scheme already accords with the aspect of the subject motion that seeks the dispersal of social housing. Any decrease or increase in the social housing requirement would, however, render the Draft Planning Scheme inconsistent with Housing Strategy for the County and this would not be consistent with the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).

Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) prescribes the mechanism for delivery of social and affordable housing including the percentage of lands that must be provided for such housing. Section 94(4) of the aforementioned legislation states that a housing strategy prepared as part of a County Development Plan shall provide a specified percentage, not being more than 10 per cent, of the land zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, shall be reserved for social housing and/or affordable housing. Within this context and in the context that the Affordable Housing Schemes have been stood down under Government Housing Policy, the South Dublin County Council Interim Housing Strategy 2016 sets out a requirement to reserve 10% of lands for social housing.

Section 168(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) states that a draft planning scheme for residential development shall be consistent with the relevant Housing Strategy for the County.

The requirements of the Draft Planning Scheme with regard to its social housing requirement are consistent with the South Dublin County Council Interim Housing Strategy 2016 and in turn Section 168(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).

Any decrease or increase in the social housing requirement would render the Draft Planning Scheme inconsistent with Housing Strategy for the County and this would not be consistent with Section 168(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). It is therefore not possible to increase the Draft Planning Scheme’s social housing requirement to 30%.

Further to the aspect of the motion that seeks the dispersal of social housing, it is advised that the following is a stated objectives of Section 2.1.6 of the Clonburris Strategic Development Zone Draft Planning Scheme:

• To promote social integration and facilitate a diverse range of dwelling tenures within housing developments, including social housing; and
• To ensure an appropriate distribution of new social housing, and to avoid an excessive concentration of social housing.

The intent of the aspect of the proposed motion to ensure the dispersal of social housing has been fulfilled by the Draft Planning Scheme and no amendment to the Planning Scheme is required it this regard. Any decrease or increase in the social housing requirement would, however, would not be consistent with the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).

Recommendation

It is recommended that this motion is not adopted.

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Chief Executive’s Recommendation

No interaction with Strategic Environmental Objectives.

Appropriate Assessment Screening of Chief Executive’s Recommendation

No likely significant effects on European sites within the SDZ’s zone of influence are predicted.