One-off housing 'putting strain on rural communities '

TOO many one-off houses in the countryside will place a huge strain on community facilities and infrastructure, a leading architect warned at the weekend.

Chairman of the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) James Pike also said the pattern of one-off housing would not sustain thriving rural communities in the future.

He said such houses could become derelict and abandoned as the cost of servicing them would soar. The RIAI voiced further concerns about contamination of ground water by septic tanks, which were often poorly maintained.

Speaking at the opening of a rural housing exhibition, Housing in Context, in Tralee, Co Kerry, Mr Pike called for more forward planning and greater use of local materials and designs which suit particular localities.

Cork County Council was praised for its efforts in drawing up excellent guidelines on design and sustainable building types suitable to the local environment. These are to be published soon.

Mr Pike said housing policy must look beyond any individual proposal for a house and take into account the wider social, environmental and economic implications of housing development.

"Housing is one of the most important issues facing rural Ireland today. The RIAI believes that short-term solutions to housing in rural Ireland are unsustainable," he said.

He called for sustainable developments instead of the current pattern of dispersed one-off housing.

"This type of development places a huge strain on the ability to provide adequate infrastructure and community facilities,' Mr Pike said.

"This will have negative consequences for rural life as the future cost of servicing these houses, whether borne by the homeowner or the taxpayer, becomes unsustainable and houses may ultimately become derelict and abandoned."

The housing exhibition, at the Kerry County Council buildings, Aras an Chontae, continues until Christmas.