Submission on Review of 1999 Residential Density Guidelines
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Irish Planning Institute welcomes the opportunity to have an input into the form and content of the proposed revised Residential Density Guidelines prior to the publication of a draft document, and looks forward to making further inputs when the draft is published. This process of consultation at “pre-draft” stage is to be welcomed as part of a more open policy formulation approach now adopted by the Department.
This submission is divided into two sections; one addressing the specific questions raised in Annex A of the issue paper, the second is more general with comments on elements raised by the text of the issue paper circulated as well as other issues that we wish to include.
The Institute is still of the opinion that higher density housing is a positive and necessary approach to housing layouts particularly as population increases continue and in the interests of sustainability. However the standards of design need to be raised in line with increasing density. Where older design policies continue to be used for higher density layouts the result will create poor quality living environments for the new residents. Institute supports the view that good design should be encouraged and poorly designed development proposals should be discouraged and rejected.
On a broader perspective the Institute considers that the confinement of the document to “Density Guidelines” is now somewhat dated and reflective of the time when the original guideline was issued. The new document should embrace all elements of housing development –housing and estate design, housing density, facilities, traffic management and road design, - giving a strong co-ordinated and comprehensive set of Guidelines within one document on how new housing developments can become good places to live as well as being provided at sustainable density levels.