Tuesday 4 May 2010

Meath is worst overzoning offender

WATERFORD, Monaghan and south Tipperary are among the worst offenders for overzoning land.

But the Dublin commuter counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow also have an oversupply which will take years to build out due to lack of demand.

Meath tops the league table of counties with the biggest oversupply. It has land for 124,173 homes but only needs 2,023 -- 61 times the demand -- but Waterford, Monaghan and South Tipperary also face major problems.

These local authorities now face the prospect of having to dezone thousands of hectares of unwanted land. The top five overzoned counties are Meath (61 times' demand), followed by Waterford (40 times), Louth (38), Monaghan (26) and south Tipperary (17).

In the first three months of this year, just over 500 homes were built in the top five counties. They have land zoned for more than 250,000.

In Waterford City just three units were completed. Regional Planning Guidelines seen by the Irish Independent state there should be an excess of zoned land.

It adds: "Excess should normally lie between 50pc and 150pc of the land required."

The figures show almost four times the required land has been zoned.

The guidelines said there was no co-ordination in planning housing, which should have been built on sites in urban centres and "other derelict land".

Paul Melia and Treacy Hogan

Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

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