COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 11, 2026

MOTION NO. 2

MOTION: Councillor F. Timmons

That this Council acknowledges the biodiversity and climate emergency and requests that SDCC do everything possible to protect hedgerows and trees; notwithstanding the need for housing and employment, every effort should be made to safeguard rural areas by retaining hedgerows and trees wherever possible.

REPORT:

The Council recognises the seriousness of climate change and biodiversity loss and has embedded climate action, biodiversity protection and green infrastructure as core, cross-cutting objectives within its adopted strategic and statutory policy framework.

At a corporate level, South Dublin County Council’s Corporate Plan commits the organisation to leadership on climate action, environmental protection and sustainable development. These commitments are given statutory effect through the South Dublin County Development Plan (CDP), which integrates climate action and biodiversity objectives across the Plan. This approach ensures that climate resilience, green infrastructure and biodiversity protection are treated as cross-cutting considerations, alongside housing delivery, economic development, infrastructure provision and transport objectives. This integrated model has been recognised by the Office of the Planning Regulator, which identified South Dublin County Council as a pathfinder authority in its approach to Green Infrastructure and climate integration.

The County Development Plan contains a strong suite of Natural, Cultural and Built Heritage (NCBH) and Green Infrastructure (GI) policies and objectives, including Objective NCBH11, which seeks to:

These objectives are supported by the Council’s Living with Trees – Tree Management Policy.

The CDP also includes a Green Space Factor (GSF), which requires planning applications to demonstrate how minimum environmental performance scores are achieved. The GSF specifically incentivises the retention of existing trees and hedgerows and embeds biodiversity and climate resilience into site design at the earliest stage.

The Council’s approach to plan-making for strategic growth areas demonstrates how green infrastructure can be integrated from the outset. The Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) Planning Scheme is underpinned by a comprehensive Green Infrastructure Strategy which informed the spatial structure of the plan, identifying and incorporating existing hedgerows, treelines, riparian corridors and the Grand Canal proposed Natural Heritage Area. This approach illustrates how housing and employment growth can be planned in parallel with the proactive protection and enhancement of green infrastructure.

All planning applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the CDP, national and regional policy, ministerial guidelines and the Planning and Development Act. The Planning Authority is required to balance the full range of applicable Development Plan objectives, which may include biodiversity protection, climate action, road safety, the delivery of housing or employment lands, accessibility and servicing requirements.

In some cases, objectives to protect hedgerows and trees must be weighed against other statutory obligations, including public safety, sustainable transport provision or the delivery of development on zoned land. Where the removal of a hedgerow or trees is considered necessary to facilitate permitted development, the Planning Authority seeks to avoid and minimise impacts where possible, and to secure mitigation and compensatory measures, including replacement planting, landscaping, biodiversity enhancement and long-term management through planning conditions.

All planning applications are subject to a statutory public consultation process, with a right of appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála, except in the case of Strategic Development Zones, which operate under a separate statutory framework.

It is also important to note that responsibility for the protection of trees and hedgerows does not, in all cases, rest with the Planning Authority. In particular, on agricultural lands, regulation falls primarily under legislation administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

In relation to permitted development, developers are required to carry out works in accordance with the approved permission and conditions. Where it is alleged that unauthorised works have taken place, such matters may be referred to the Council’s Enforcement Section for investigation.

The intent of the motion is noted. The Council already has a strong and nationally recognised policy framework in place to protect hedgerows, trees and rural character, while facilitating necessary development. These policies will continue to be applied including through the planning system, with appropriate balancing of competing objectives and the securing of mitigation where impacts cannot be avoided.