IPI Planning Awards 2010 - Press Release
Friday, February 12, 2010
Press Release 12/2/10
ONE-OFF HOUSING IN THE COUNTRY STILL A MAJOR PROBLEM
Too many one-off houses are still being built in the countryside even though new guidelines on sustainable rural housing were introduced in 2005, according to Mr Gerry Sheeran, President of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI).
Speaking at the presentation of the IPI National Planning Awards 2010 today (Fri), Mr Sheeran said: “Prior to 1971 there was a total of 156,000 one-off houses in the State. There are now approximately 450,000 such dwellings.”
He added: “There has been no decline in the rate of construction one-off houses since these guidelines were introduced and, in fact, in 2009, there were 12,000 individual houses completed and only 9,000 houses constructed within residential developments.”
Mr Sheeran highlighted the negative effects of the proliferation of one-off houses as:
• Undermining the vibrancy of rural towns and villages by siphoning residential development away from them into the countryside
• Causing serious environmental impacts on rural areas both visually and on our groundwater and biodiversity
• Costing the State three times as much to service rural housing as housing in villages, towns and cities
• It is unsustainable in terms of the generation of traffic and its carbon footprint
This leads, said Mr Sheeran, to a situation where it seemed that “the more affluent move to the countryside while the less well off remain in the villages and this can result in serious social imbalance. It should be noted that the average one-off house has double the floor area of the average urban house.”
He said that houses should be permitted in the countryside for people involved in essential rural activities such as agriculture or who have a very close connection with the land. However, the proliferation of one-off houses was driven by people who commute to cities and towns and allowing this to continue has “profound environmental and resource implications”.
The new Government Transport Policy “Smarter Travel” stated that the need to improve the alignment of spatial and transport policy to stop urban sprawl and urban-generated one-off housing in peri-urban areas was pivotal. As a result, Mr Sheeran said that the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines 2005 should be radically reviewed to prevent the proliferation of urban generated housing in the countryside and should be clear, consistent and unambiguous.
The IPI National Planning Awards 2010 were presented at a ceremony in Dublin today (Fri) by the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr John Gormley TD.
Results of the IPI National Planning Awards 2010
Category (A) Planning Achievement Award
(i) Planning Strategies
• Phibsborough/ Mountjoy Local Area Plan - Award Winner
• Omagh: Towards A City Vision for 2025 - Commendation
• Loughmacask Local Area Plan 2008-2014 - Commendation
(ii) Regeneration/Public Realms
• Visual Centre for Contemporary Art and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Carlow - Commendation
• Public Realm Plan for Birr - Commendation
Category (B) Planning Achievement in Conservation Award
• Refurbishment and Extension of Former Presentation Convent as a Medical Centre, Waterford City - Commendation
Category ( C) Planning Achievement in Participatory Planning Award
• Dolphin House Regeneration - Commendation
Note: The Mountjoy/ Phibsborough Local Area Plan, which was adopted by Dublin City Council in 2008, seeks to address a broad range of planning and development issues impacting on the growth of Phibsborough as a designated Prime Urban Centre. The policy proposals contained within the plan are tailored so as to promote the economic, social and physical regeneration of the area and, in particular, to provide a structured approach to the development of high profile sites within the plan boundary which include Mountjoy Prison, the Mater Hospital, Dalymount Park, the former Shandon Bakery site at Cross Guns Bridge and the former Smurfit printworks on Botanic Road. The plan contains clear objectives for the future of these sites should they be re-developed, addressing issues such as height, scale, density, layout of streets and open space. The Local Area Plan was prepared by John Spain & Associates and Paul Keogh Architects for Dublin City Council.
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