COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, December 09, 2019
HEADED ITEM NO. 18
HEADED ITEM: C. Performance and Change Management Directorate
PROPOSED VARIATION NO. 5 TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
REPLY:
Proposed Variation No. 5 of the South Dublin County Council County Development Plan 2016-2022 seeks to adopt and integrate a South Dublin County Council (SDCC) Outdoor Advertising Strategy (2019) into the County Development Plan and amend the existing Land Use Tables and signage policy to facilitate its implementation.
Story So Far
May 2019 – Chief Executive presented to Council regarding Digital Communication, Outdoor Advertising and Branding Strategy.
July 2019 – Director of Land Use Planning & Transportation presented to Council on County Development Plan Variation – Outdoor Advertising Strategy
September 2019 - Director of Land Use Planning & Transportation presented a briefing note on Proposed Variation No.5 to Council
November 2019 - Director of Land Use Planning & Transportation presented to Land Use Planning and Transportation SPC Meeting on Proposed Variations.
Rationale for Proposed Variation No.5 (Outdoor Advertising)
With advances in technology, increasing demand for customer communication, as well as enhanced service delivery, SDCC are seeking to respond to these challenges by developing an updated and modern policy position on outdoor advertising. SDCC will seek to provide, manage and guide outdoor advertising in SDCC’s administrative area, with an overall aim of benefiting the County by establishing a new communication network to engage with SDCC’s customers and to promote SDCC’s services.
Proposed Variation No. 5 to the Development Plan, including the adoption of the supporting SDCC Outdoor Advertising Strategy (2019), is a first step in addressing this challenge and facilitating a proactive planning policy on outdoor advertising.
South Dublin is a unique County with a mixture of agricultural land, industrial and employment areas, established suburban settlements, historical villages, emerging town centres and significant new development and regeneration areas. It is important the Council works to improve the physical environment of the County and to foster a greater sense of place. Through the County Development Plan, the Council strives to have policies that nurture and enhance the built and natural environment through creative, intelligent and co-ordinated interventions.
In recent years there have been sizeable advances in technology and an increasing demand for communication and information from the public. Across Dublin and other European cities, Councils and public bodies are taking a more coordinated approach to the delivery of outdoor advertising. Significant, underutilised value exists in the public domain of the County which, if carefully harnessed, coordinated and well managed can have positive impacts on the street environment and can also present revenue opportunities for the Council.
SDCC are seeking to respond to these challenges by developing an updated and modern policy position on outdoor advertising. SDCC will seek to provide, manage and guide outdoor advertising in SDCC’s administrative area, with an overall aim of benefiting the County by establishing a new communication network to engage with SDCC’s customers and to promote SDCC’s services. The policy is based on an analysis of how sensitive different parts of the County are to advertisement structures and identifies constraints and opportunities for the location of these structures.
Proposed Changes to the County Development Plan
The Proposed Variation No. 5 will result in the following changes to the Development Plan:
- Amend Zoning Tables and Zoning Objective Matrix to move ‘Advertising and Advertising Structures to ‘open for consideration’ in various zones;
- Amend Section 11.2.8 Signage – Advertising, Corporate and Public Information Section; and
- Add ‘South Dublin County Council Outdoor Advertising Strategy (2019)’ as a Schedule 6 in the document.
Chief Executive's Report on Submissions
Public consultation on Proposed Variation No. 5 took place from the 7th October 2019 to 4th November 2019 inclusive (a period of 4 weeks). A total of 9 submissions were received in respect of Proposed Variation No. 5 raising issues in relation to the following:
- Principle of Outdoor Advertising Strategy
- Implementation
- Public Realm
- Zones for Advertising Control
- Development Management Standards
The Chief Executive's response and recommendation to the all the issues is outlined in the attached report.
RECOMMENDATION:
Under Section 13 of the Planning and Development Act, the members of the authority, having considered the proposed variation and chief executive’ s report may, as they consider appropriate, by resolution,
- make the variation;
- make the variation with the modifications recommended in the Chief Executive’s Report;
- make the variation with or without the modifications recommended in the Chief Executive’s Report and with or without further modification; or
- they may refuse to make the variation.
The Chief Executive recommends to the Council that the members make Proposed Variation No.5 to the County Development Plan with the modifications recommended in the Chief Executive’s Report.