Cork council launches consultation on where to rezone land

Cork City Council calls on landowners, homebuilders, as well as other interested parties, to suggest areas which they might be able to rezone land for residential use in order to accelerate housing delivery

The council said the first revision of the National Planning Framework earlier this year highlighted the need for accelerated housing delivery. File picture

Cork City Council has called on landowners, homebuilders, as well as other interested parties, to suggest areas which they might be able to rezone land for residential use in order to accelerate housing delivery.

This comes following comments by Taoiseach Micheál Martin last month which criticised local authorities for not acting quickly enough to increase the supply of land for housing.

The council said the first revision of the National Planning Framework earlier this year highlighted the need for accelerated housing delivery across the country, and the recent publication of the Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines wanted local authorities to review their development plans with a view to zoning additional residential lands where they can be justified.

The council said interested parties could make their submissions via its website by November 10.

It added submissions would be assessed by Cork City Council, and any lands considered suitable may come forward as part of a formal variation of the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.

Submissions can include land that is serviced, or due to be serviced, or is serviceable within the next five-year period; are located in areas that contribute to transport-oriented development; are located in areas where market analysis shows a level of demand exists; or are located in areas with good social infrastructure and capacity in schools and community facilities, among other suggestions.

Last month, Mr Martin said the Government would move to directly zone land if local authorities did not comply with instructions to increase land available for housing, 

“We’re finding that many councils are dragging their feet on this. I’ve spoken to a number of [council] chief executives and I’ve told them that if they’re not going to do it, the Government will do it directly,” he said.

In July, housing minister James Browne instructed local authorities to reopen their development plans and increase the amount of land zoned for housing.

The National Planning Framework calls for enough land to be zoned to allow for 55,000 homes a year. However, it also provides for 50% additional headroom, meaning land for up to 83,000 homes is permitted each year.

CORK BUSINESS

A collection of the latest business articles and business analysis from Cork.