The inclusion of a chapter dedicated to the provision of housing within County Laois is a positive addition to the Plan, underpinned by the chapter aim that seeks ‘To facilitate the provision of housing in a range of locations to meet the needs of the County’s population, with particular emphasis on facilitating access to housing to suit different household and tenure needs in a sustainable manner and in appropriate locations.’ The Assembly acknowledges the extensive work that has gone into the preparation of this chapter in order to secure the implementation of the Laois County Housing Strategy.
As stated above at Section 2.4 of this submission, The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in December 2020, published ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities’, under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended). Accordingly, it is recommended that the Draft Plan be updated to comply with the aforementioned guidelines prior to the finalisation of the Laois County Development Plan.
4.1 Housing Policy
The inclusion of a number of housing development policy objectives to ensure the provision of housing needs within County Laois is welcome. This includes, for example, policy and objectives related to the provision of an appropriate mix of housing types and sizes, the provision of appropriate residential densities, provision of specific housing needs for groups including the elderly, and securing the implementation of the Laois County Housing Strategy in accordance with the provision of national legislation and relevant policies and standards.
In order to strengthen the Draft Plan, Laois County Council should give consideration to the inclusion of a clearly presented summary of the entire housing need in County Laois, which includes the housing need broken down across tenures, what is required in terms of new housing supply and why this is the case, including social and affordable needs, housing types and sizes. This will present a clear and concise guide as to what is required to successfully deliver the housing requirement for the County over the plan period.
The assembly note the inclusion of policy objective HPO 4 which states ‘To engage in active land management and site activation measures, including the implementation of the vacant site levy on all vacant residential and regeneration lands, and address dereliction and vacancy to ensure the viability of towns and village centres, i.e. Portlaoise, Portarlington, Mountmellick and Graiguecullen.’ This policy objective is supported by Section 4.5.1 of the Draft Plan which identifies a number of regeneration sites, including key sites in Portlaoise and Portarlington. This is in keeping with RSO 2 and RPO 3.3 of the RSES.
4.2 Open Countryside and Rural Housing
The Assembly notes the inclusion of a rural development strategy as part of this section of the Draft Plan. It is indicated that this is based on ‘promoting sustainable rural development aimed at maintaining vibrant and viable rural communities while also seeking to transition to a low carbon society and protect the amenity, recreational and heritage value of the rural landscapes and countryside of the county.’ This approach, underpinned by 23 (no.) rural housing policy objectives, is welcome by the Assembly.
The Assembly also consider the inclusion of Section 4.6.5 and rural housing policy RH23, which support the ‘Serviced Site Initiative’, as positive additions to the Plan. This is in keeping with RPO 4.78 which states that “Development plans should support the development of a ‘New Homes in Small Towns and Villages’ initiative which would augment the delivery of actions by local authorities, Irish Water, communities and other stakeholders in the provision of services and serviced sites to create ‘build your own home’ opportunities within the existing footprint of rural settlements to provide new homes to meet housing demand.”
It is noted that included as part of this section of the chapter, is criteria detailing the requirement for housing in the open countryside. The intention of the Council to support the sustainable development of rural areas in Laois by encouraging growth and arresting decline in areas that have experienced low population growth or decline in recent decades and by managing the growth of areas that are under strong urban influence to avoid over-development, while sustaining vibrant rural communities, is noted and welcomed by the Assembly. Notwithstanding this, it is recommended that prior to the finalisation of the Draft Plan, the Council ensure that related policy in this regard is consistent with RPOs 4.80 and 4.81, NPO 19 of the NPF and the content of Circular Letter PL 2/2017 “Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2005 – Local Needs Criteria in Development Plans.”
It should be noted that the NPF requires that development plans quantify the demand for single housing in the countryside with National Policy Objective 20 outlining the requirement to ‘Project the need for single housing in the countryside through the local authority’s overall Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) tool and county development plan core strategy processes.’ In this regard, it is recommended that the Council include the provision of same in line with any revisions undertaken to the Draft Plan resulting from the publication of the ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning- Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ published in December 2020.