COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Tuesday, March 01, 2022

MOTION NO.49

MOTION: Councillor B. Lawlor, Councillor S. O'Hara

This motion refers to the Chapter 6 Housing, Rural Housing Strategy, page 582, submission: SD-C195-217. Motion: To amend the Rural Housing Policies and Local Need Criteria Housing (H) Policy 17 Housing in RU Zone to include persons who have grown up or spent substantial periods of their lives, (12 years), living in the area, who have moved away and who now wish to return to reside near to, or to care for, immediate family members, seeking to build on the family landholding or on a site within 5 km of the original family home, and that immediate family members are defined as mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister or guardian. Submitted by Cllr Shirley O'Hara and Cllr Brian Lawlor 

REPORT:

The motion proposes to amend the Rural Housing Policies and Local Need Criteria Housing (H) Policy 17 Housing in RU Zone to include persons who have grown up or spent substantial periods of their lives, (12 years), living in the area, who have moved away and who now wish to return to reside near to, or to care for, immediate family members, seeking to build on the family landholding or on a site within 5 km of the original family home, and that immediate family members are defined as mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister or guardian.  

A previous motion requesting this was put forward at pre-Draft Plan stage under Motion ID: 70917 and it was recommended that a new objective would be inserted in Chapter 6 titled H17 Objective 1, to read as follows: 

To commence a review of the Rural Housing Policy and Local Need Criteria within six months of the adoption of the Plan and to include a public consultation as part of this process. 

A similar issue was also submitted to the Draft Plan through the public consultation period under submission SD-C195-217 and the Chief Executive responded under Chapter 6: Housing – Rural Housing Strategy, pg582-584. 

Having examined and considered the content of the motion, the view of the CE remains unchanged for the following reasons: 

As per Section 6.9 of the Draft Plan, it is the policy of the Council to restrict the spread of urban generated dwellings into rural and high amenity areas in accordance with national and regional planning policy and guidance. 

Under Policy H17: Rural Housing Policy and Local Need Criteria the Council is committed to considering rural housing for persons who are “an intrinsic part of the rural community” or “working full-time or parttime in rural areas” as described under Section 3.2.3 (Rural generated housing) of the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines DEHLG (2005), Circular SP 5/08 Rural Housing Policies and PL 2/2017 Local Need Criteria in Development Plans: Conformity with Articles 43 and 56 (Freedom of Establishment and Free Movement of Capital) of the European community Treaty. 

Notwithstanding this, under H17 Objective 1, it is an objective of the Plan to commence a review of the Rural Housing Policy and Local Need Criteria within six months of the adoption of the Plan and to include a public consultation as part of this process. 

This review process requires a review of Rural Housing Policy which includes H18: Rural Housing in the RU Zone and will be required to take into consideration the provisions of the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 where the following key actions are identified: 

To enhance public services for rural communities, the Government will: 

Policy Measure 89 

Increase the residential occupancy of rural towns and villages while enabling the Irish countryside to continue to be a lived-in landscape by adopting a balanced approach to planning, in line with relevant national planning policy and guidelines, while avoiding unsustainable ribbon and over-spill development from urban areas. 

Policy Measure 90 

Update the Rural Housing Guidelines for planning authorities, to address rural housing in a broader rural development and settlement context. 

Noting the complexities of the Rural Housing Policy and the potential for exponential growth which could occur without the necessary full consideration of any changes, any further refinement should be examined under H17 Objective 1 which was previously agreed and inserted into the Draft Plan: 

To commence a review of the Rural Housing Policy and Local Need Criteria within six months of the adoption of the Plan and to include a public consultation as part of this process. 

CE Recommendation: It is recommended that this motion is not adopted