HAS An Bord Pleanála lost the run of itself? As everyone knows there are over 9,000 vacant units in the Dublin area alone according to the latest DoE survey, and it will take years to clear.
Most of them are apartments and with prices on the floor, young buyers are switching to houses that have their own front door and no service charges.
So can we expect to see a swingback to the traditional three-bed semi in response?
Not at all, according to John O’Connor , chairperson of the Bord. He firmly rejects any attempts to revert to low density development patterns of the past, even if consumers have spoken with their cheque books.
He says this would be “ultimately wasteful of public investment and in conflict with international obligations and climate chage”.
However, he is willing to go along with some changes to existing planning permissions suggesting that they can be adjusted “within the sustainability guidelines”.
However, the bottom line is that builders with undeveloped sites in the Dublin area know quite well that they haven’t a hope in hell of selling apartments in the foreseeable future.
The punters want low level semis, whether or not the planners agree.
The planning authorities won’t be happy with this, given their huge dependence in the past on planning levies which have now virtually dried up, pushing councils into the red.
O’Connor sounds a bit like Big Brother when he points out that the planning system will have a crucial role in directing where development should be located, and the kind of development that is sustainable.
Is this the same planning system that allowed Liam Carroll to build almost 1,000 apartments in Tallaght. Come to think of it aren’t most of them still empty?
Not to mention the planning permissions given for apartments in some of the most obscure villages in the country, where the vacancy rate is also dangerously high. Not sure that we can swallow this high-minded rhetoric from the board.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label high density. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high density. Show all posts
Monday, 8 November 2010
Thursday, 19 July 2007
Capital must be built up, not out, warn architects
THE sustainable solution to sprawling suburbs and major traffic congestion is to start building up — and not out, a group of architects told the Green Party yesterday.
With increased property prices forcing many people to the suburbs, the population in certain areas is rapidly decreasing and leading to the closure of schools and services, EML architects managing director Hugh Elliott said yesterday.
At a conference sponsored by The Irish Examiner entitled Opportunities in Urban Development-Where to Now?, Mr Elliott accused the government of showing no leadership in the strategic planning of Dublin city.
He reasoned that a high density plan was required, which would see buildings being built upwards as opposed to expanding into suburban areas.
However, the conference chaired by broadcaster Matt Cooper heard that local authority officials are prevented from solving the persistent problems of sprawling suburbs, declining populations and traffic jams because of “timid legislation”.
“This failure of leadership is causing a decline in certain parts of Dublin and imposing misery on commuters and their families,” said Mr Elliott.
“The Greens in Government and a Green Minister for the Environment have a unique opportunity to turn matters around decisively.”
Under the range of solutions proposed by architects yesterday was a plan to turn the Long Mile Road into the High Mile Road and a Gateway to the City with a high-density mixed-use quarter.
In addition, it was also suggested that a north inner city development with high-density accommodation, an urban stroll from Connolly Station to Smithfield, and a riverside urban park in the North Quays should be established.
Irish Examiner
With increased property prices forcing many people to the suburbs, the population in certain areas is rapidly decreasing and leading to the closure of schools and services, EML architects managing director Hugh Elliott said yesterday.
At a conference sponsored by The Irish Examiner entitled Opportunities in Urban Development-Where to Now?, Mr Elliott accused the government of showing no leadership in the strategic planning of Dublin city.
He reasoned that a high density plan was required, which would see buildings being built upwards as opposed to expanding into suburban areas.
However, the conference chaired by broadcaster Matt Cooper heard that local authority officials are prevented from solving the persistent problems of sprawling suburbs, declining populations and traffic jams because of “timid legislation”.
“This failure of leadership is causing a decline in certain parts of Dublin and imposing misery on commuters and their families,” said Mr Elliott.
“The Greens in Government and a Green Minister for the Environment have a unique opportunity to turn matters around decisively.”
Under the range of solutions proposed by architects yesterday was a plan to turn the Long Mile Road into the High Mile Road and a Gateway to the City with a high-density mixed-use quarter.
In addition, it was also suggested that a north inner city development with high-density accommodation, an urban stroll from Connolly Station to Smithfield, and a riverside urban park in the North Quays should be established.
Irish Examiner
Wednesday, 27 December 2006
Revealed: the Sydney flats squeeze
TENS of thousands of new homes will be forced upon traffic-choked Sydney suburbs under a State Government plan that councils have condemned as being unrealistic and shrouded in secrecy.
The Herald has obtained housing targets imposed on 26 of the 43 councils included in Sydney's Metropolitan Strategy, which is designed to provide 640,000 new homes for an extra 1.1 million people within 25 years.
Densely populated Strathfield Municipal Council is expected to accommodate 9000 new dwellings - double what it considers possible. Willoughby has been asked to take a further 8000 homes, also twice the limit it has set itself. And a spokeswoman for Bankstown said it had been set a total of 26,000 extra residences, which "would have to be built entirely in place of existing homes".
One year after the Premier, Morris Iemma, unveiled the blueprint for Sydney's population growth, several councils say they have no idea how the Government came up with their preliminary housing targets.
They say they will be forced to erect scores of high-rise apartment blocks that will drastically alter the face of their neighbourhoods, and have expressed bewilderment at the lack of transport planning.
But supporters of the strategy insist that well-designed residential towers are needed around transport hubs close to the city centre to stop the relentless spread at Sydney's fringe.
The Mayor of Strathfield, Bill Carney, said: "The Planning Minister [Frank Sartor] has told us it's all negotiable. But how can it be when there's absolutely no consultation with us? Call me a cynic, but I suspect we won't hear anything more about this until after the March election."
Even the heavily developed suburbs around Marrickville and Woollahra, on the central business district's doorstep, must find room for 5200 and 2800 extra homes respectively by 2031. Woollahra council had an increase of just two new dwellings this year.
Although some councils have declined to reveal their targets, all will be affected.
Many fear the new homes will be built over conservation areas and employment space. But some, such as Canada Bay and Burwood - which will include the two inner-west hubs under the plan - believe intense urban development is the only way to avoid urban sprawl.
Canada Bay has been asked to take 11,000 homes, most of which would be built at Rhodes and Breakfast Point. Cr Neil Kenzler said: "You either go up or out. The only other option is down and I haven't met anyone yet who wants to live in a hole. The higher you go, the smaller the footprint and the more open space you're left with."
The Herald has obtained housing targets imposed on 26 of the 43 councils included in Sydney's Metropolitan Strategy, which is designed to provide 640,000 new homes for an extra 1.1 million people within 25 years.
Densely populated Strathfield Municipal Council is expected to accommodate 9000 new dwellings - double what it considers possible. Willoughby has been asked to take a further 8000 homes, also twice the limit it has set itself. And a spokeswoman for Bankstown said it had been set a total of 26,000 extra residences, which "would have to be built entirely in place of existing homes".
One year after the Premier, Morris Iemma, unveiled the blueprint for Sydney's population growth, several councils say they have no idea how the Government came up with their preliminary housing targets.
They say they will be forced to erect scores of high-rise apartment blocks that will drastically alter the face of their neighbourhoods, and have expressed bewilderment at the lack of transport planning.
But supporters of the strategy insist that well-designed residential towers are needed around transport hubs close to the city centre to stop the relentless spread at Sydney's fringe.
The Mayor of Strathfield, Bill Carney, said: "The Planning Minister [Frank Sartor] has told us it's all negotiable. But how can it be when there's absolutely no consultation with us? Call me a cynic, but I suspect we won't hear anything more about this until after the March election."
Even the heavily developed suburbs around Marrickville and Woollahra, on the central business district's doorstep, must find room for 5200 and 2800 extra homes respectively by 2031. Woollahra council had an increase of just two new dwellings this year.
Although some councils have declined to reveal their targets, all will be affected.
Many fear the new homes will be built over conservation areas and employment space. But some, such as Canada Bay and Burwood - which will include the two inner-west hubs under the plan - believe intense urban development is the only way to avoid urban sprawl.
Canada Bay has been asked to take 11,000 homes, most of which would be built at Rhodes and Breakfast Point. Cr Neil Kenzler said: "You either go up or out. The only other option is down and I haven't met anyone yet who wants to live in a hole. The higher you go, the smaller the footprint and the more open space you're left with."
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