More land could be zoned for self-building

ROI Minister for Housing is due to update the National Planning Framework to take into account the new Census figures.

In this article we cover:

Which areas the Minister of Housing is instructing local authorities to zone
The case for more land to zoned for housing

ROI Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said the government is reviewing the National Planning Framework to assess how much residential land to zone across Ireland.

“I believe that we need more land zoned,” he said. “I’ve told all of our local authorities through the development plans that no zoned service land should be de-zoned.”

“Every director of service, every chief executive (has been told). We’re in the middle of a housing crisis. We need homes built.”

The news comes on the back of a report by estate agent Savills Ireland, which said there wasn’t enough capacity for new homes in the Dublin area, referring to counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

Allowing more residential units to be build in these areas would presumably be for the high density accommodation. But it could also lead to more self-build sites becoming available in sough after counties like Wicklow, where planning permission is particularly hard to get due to zoning.

Savills says areas near the capital have the capacity to accommodate over 100,000 housing units, or the equivalent of 10 years’ supply.

A policy aim of the NPF is to divert growth away from Dublin, but Savills warns demand for housing is likely to remain near the capital. “Incoming foreign direct investments will not consult the goals of the NPF when deciding if and where to locate in Ireland. The majority will continue to go to Dublin where the talent pool is deepest,” reads the report entitled The Residential Land Supply Study: How the cutting of land is impacting the housing market.