COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

MOTION NO. 5

MOTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

We the elected members of South Dublin County Council hereby confirm our decision to change the zoning of lands at Whitestown Way, Amendment No. 2.19 from Objective EE to Objective REGEN 

REPORT:

The motion seeks to retain the zoning of lands at Whitestown Way, under Amendment No. 2.19 from Objective EE to Objective REGEN.

This rezoning was submitted to the Draft Plan through the public consultation period under submission SD-C195-143 and the Chief Executive responded under Chapter 2 Core Strategy and Settlement Strategy – Regeneration Zoning Submission, pg259 of the CE Report on the Draft Plan. It was subsequently voted in favour to change the zoning from Employment and Enterprise (EE) to Regeneration (REGEN) under Motion 73851 in Council Meetings in March 2022. Proposed Amendment 2.19 went on public consultation and the CE responded with a recommendation to omit Proposed Amendment 2.19 and retain the EE Zoning as per the Draft Plan.

In terms of flooding, the rezoning of the subject lands from EE to REGEN was considered under the justification test for “Existing, developed, High Vulnerability Zonings Flooding”. The flood mapping produced as part of the CFRAMS indicates that flooding is limited to the perimeter of the site. It is considered that flood risk could be adequately and appropriately managed for either zoning as per the Justification Test and the sequential approach to development which would avoid the encroachment or loss of the flood plain.

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

The Draft Plan sets out a potential for 31,824 jobs assuming an average of 51 jobs per hectare. In addition to this, there are 425ha of Regeneration (REGEN) zoned brownfield land forming part of the Tallaght Town Centre Local Area Plan (LAP) and the Naas Road area. The subject lands are located in Tallaght Town Centre LAP, and both are located in close proximity to the Naas Road lands.

There remains a need within the County for lands to facilitate general employment type uses in order to facilitate a range of continued economic development and employment growth in the County over the Plan period. It is considered inappropriate to rezone the lands as requested given the existing quantum of REGEN land in the immediate area, the on-going need for general employment lands. The proposal to rezoned to REGEN would potentially facilitate employment but, as is more likely to come forward, it would also facilitate residential development. The lands as currently zoned under the zoning EE would allow for a denser form of employment but would not facilitate residential. Given that there is sufficient capacity of zoned residential land in the County and the need to continue to facilitate employment lands, the proposed rezoning to REGEN is not considered appropriate. The County Development Plan seeks to guide enterprise and employment development to appropriate locations by identifying economic clusters. The current zoning of the subject lands as EE to support enterprise and employment is therefore considered appropriate in this instance.

The subject site is located within an established industrial setting with general employment uses. It is noted that the REGEN land use zoning is strategic in nature, and the application of the REGEN zoning in a piecemeal fashion is not recommended as it would undermine the Core Strategy of the Draft Plan and intention of the REGEN zoning. The wider area, encompassed within the Tallaght Local Area Plan, already contains significant areas of land with the zoning REGEN and to zone further land as REGEN at the expense of general employment land in this area is not considered necessary nor a use of land which would be in the interests of employment or the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Furthermore, new objective CS5 Objective 5 proposed under Proposed Amendment 2.9 facilitates an evidence-based analysis of employment land as part of the two-year statutory review of the Development Plan. Therefore, to rezone the subject lands without the necessary evidence base would be in appropriate and premature.

It is therefore considered that Proposed Amendment 2.19 be omitted, and the subject lands remained zoned Employment and Enterprise (EE) as per the Draft Plan.

CE Recommendation:  Make the Plan without Amendment 2.19 retaining the Employment and Enterprise (EE) Zoning as per the Draft Plan.