Council takes new approach to housing

DEVELOPERS keen to get in on Cork county’s strategically targeted future development areas may be asked to build primary schools as part of a new, integrated approach to housing supply.

The suggestion comes as the county's senior planners launch a series of draft development guidelines, including three key areas of high-density growth along rail lines out of Cork city to cater for on-going housing needs in the Cork metropolitan area.

"We will be encouraging developers to build primary schools as part of any proposed new developments. Our new special SLAP zonings will require a mix of uses in any major plans, we'll be looking for complementary proposals that include provision of a range of services such as schools for new communities," according to the council's most senior planning officers.

The schools building suggestion has already been discussed with the Department of Education prior to Christmas, the Irish Examiner has learned, and reflects the way large-scale residential developments are tacked in the UK where the local authorities are also responsible for providing schools.

Developers keen to build new densely populated schemes along the Midleton and Blarney rail lines due reopening are already levied to help pay for the rail line and stations. And, in the past, specific sites have been allocated in large developments for possible new schools.

Rather than passing on the considerable cost of building new schools to eventual house purchasers, the council's planners say they expect developers to take this cost burden into effect when negotiating land purchase: it should impact on the bid price of land, they say.

"Having new schools as part of future developments would be a selling point for developers," said one senior planner.

Cork County Council's planning policy unit this week released key draft Local Area Plan (LAPs) documents outlining planning objectives for its ten electoral areas right down to village level, deciding where many thousands of new homes, services and communities will be sited.

And, it also has produced three Special Area Plans (SLAPs) for the specially designated high-growth areas of Midleton, Carrigtwohill and Blarney/Kilbarry, including Monard. This latter area alone could take some 5,000 new residential units, and the three SLAP areas are expected to take up to 12,700 housing units by 2020.

The huge bulk of strategic forward planning for the local authority's 290 settlement areas (including 240 villages) is on the Council's own website.

Its zoning implications will be pored over in the coming weeks by community and other groups. , individuals, land and property owners, developers and local groups.

The LAPs have been drawn up in draft format, and are now up for public comment until February 21.

"We'd encourage positive as well as critical comments," said a senior planner this week as demand for the publications took off (5,000 CDs have been produced).

The amended/adopted plans will later this year become the overall strategy guidelines for development in the country's largest county, dovetailing with the 2003 Development Plan and the 2001 CASP documents agreed jointly with Cork City Council.

The decisions made later this year, when voted through by local representatives, will remain in force to 2011.

"The ten draft electoral area LAPs deal mainly with the smaller settlements and rural areas in the county. The draft plans focus on promoting the development of key villages, villages and smaller settlements by establishing a new settlement network, which encourages and facilitates residential development, town centre and other forms of development and the improvement of services and infrastructure," said the council.

Details: Planning Policy Unit Bishopstown House, Model Farm Road, Cork 021 4933100

www.corkcoco.ie.