Tougher laws might save our rural landscape
‘Bungalow blight’ and ’mansion mania’ have now become the dominant features of the rural landscape. Much of our countryside is a sprawling, badly planned suburb, with many coastal areas now regarded as planning write-offs.
One-off housing in the countryside is a potential time-bomb with enormous social, economic and environmental consequences Surveys have shown that rural Irish children are now the most unfit in Europe and that Irish people spend more time commuting than other Europeans. Our scattered pattern of housing has produced a largely unhealthy and car-bound population.
As our population ages, many elderly people will find themselves too infirm to use their cars and will be cut off from services such as doctors, pharmacies, shops and public transport.
Supporters of one-off housing in the countryside argue that any restriction on such housing will prevent local people from living in their own area. The reality is that most of the dwellings that have been built in the countryside in recent years are urban generated “trophy houses”.
In this country, it is obvious that the flaunting of wealth is more important than any aesthetic or environment consideration. We now have the extraordinary situation that in some parts of the West of Ireland that the local population is actually falling, even though there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of houses in these areas. This situation has come about because the Irish Government actually gives tax concessions to the rich to build holiday homes and, in doing so, prices the ordinary local working class person out of the housing market.
Ireland is dotted with many small villages and hamlets and it is in these places that housing should be concentrated. Land around these existing settlements should be acquired through compulsory purchase orders to provide low-cost housing.
The increased population in these communities would ensure the survival of local services such as shops and post offices.
The Irish countryside is littered with abandoned cottages, farmhouses, gate lodges and other ruined buildings. With a little bit of flair and imagination, these buildings could be restored as comfortable dwellings.
The building of a new house in the open countryside should not be allowed except in exceptional circumstances.
Our planning laws must protect the few unspoilt landscapes that remain for the enjoyment and inspiration of future generations.
Paul O’Sullivan,
11, Madden’s Terrace,
Clarecastle,
Co Clare.
