Plan to rezone lands to help job creation

OUR self-inflicted housing crisis manifests itself in many ways — the soaring cost of housing, scarcity, and consequent homelessness and, now, as a threat to business expansion and job creation.

On Monday evening, Cork City Council will consider proposals to rezone several parcels of land in Mahon on the city’s fringes. The land is already earmarked for industrial use but it is proposed to revise planning permissions to allow some of the land be used for housing. Companies in the area say they are already struggling to recruit staff as suitable accommodation is very hard to source in the area.

This seems an entirely plausible and sensible suggestion on several levels. It would facilitate a mixed use of the land and prevent what can sometimes seem dead zones when offices or plants are not being used. It would also help alleviate housing pressure in the city. It might also reduce commuting times and distances — objectives that will move ever closer to the centre of the planning process as measures to confront climate change take on an inevitable urgency.

It is anticipated that if the proposal is accepted, something around 500 housing units could be provided on lands owned by four developers. Such an increase in population would have obvious implications for local services like public transport and schools, maybe health services too. Nevertheless, it seems an eminently sensible proposal.