‘OUTSIDE influence’ was described as a major threat to the vitality of rural Clare at a meeting of a local authority committee this week.
At the briefing on the Draft County Development Plan 2023-2029, Rural Committee Chairperson Councillor Pat Hayes said the public need to know that Clare is being ‘dictated to’ by The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR).
In a detailed presentation, Senior Planner Helen Quinn outlined how a target of 4,500 new housing units, over the lifetime of the plan, had been set by Government.
“The location of these houses is reflected in our settlement strategy,” she explained. “We are tasked with looking at areas for housing and have to identify lands for residential development which are capable of being serviced in the lifecycle of the plan.”
Councillor Joe Killeen expressed “complete disappointment” at the focus of population growth on Ennis and the Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area.
“People will move into built-up areas and rural communities will not enjoy the same population they need to maintain rural life. This is going to be trouble.”
Councillor Hayes asked Ms Quinn to confirm that the draft is subject to new regulations that did not apply to previous development plans.
“The OPR is dictating where we’re going,” he said. “We might pass the plan, but the land tax, the densities and the population targets are an outside inference. If you look at a place like Feakle and talk about 11 units over the plan, that’s not the way to go.”
Ms Quinn noted that the Council must conform to the objectives of The National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). She also confirmed a change in assessment criteria for one-off homes.
“We now have to have regard to policy documents that we didn’t have before,” she said.
“The need to be assessed under economic or social criteria is not in the current plan. The rationale for the changes is significantly different and comes on foot of new policy documents. People need to read it [the draft] and make a submission if they’re not happy.”
Councillor Pat Burke said the situation was “wake-up call”.
“Unfortunately, until Irish Water wakes up and sees what is going on, we’re looking at the demise of rural villages. There will be no building in places with no infrastructure. Our hands are tied because of the lack of investments by Irish Water.”
Councillor Shane Talty noted that Spanish Point was highlighted in the presentation as a ‘Village Growth Area’, with major potential.
“Fortunately, there are two hotels a multimillion Euro private investment,” he said. “In most rural villages and towns, there isn’t that.”
He also said he wasn’t convinced account had been taken of the change to remote working. He said the plan would impact rural schools, communities and sports clubs.
“If you’re the secretary of Naomh Eoin, you’re looking at a very different prospect to that of Eire Óg in Ennis,” he remarked.
IFA representative Denis Tuohy said: “Two new homes for Ennis makes no difference, but in Whitegate, that could mean the survival of a community and an extra teacher for the school,” he said.
Councillor Cillian Murphy sought clarity about the number of homes proposed for the SDZ being proposed around the University of Limerick (UL). It was confirmed that is will be allocated 123 units in this plan.
Several councillors also queried the new Zoned Land Tax, to come in in 2024. Details of how to make a submission on the draft plan are available on Clarecoco.ie.