End to planning ‘Postcode Lottery’ a landmark victory

COMMUNITIES across West Cork are set to benefit from the biggest rural housing reform in over two decades.

New, less stringent one-off build guidelines were confirmed earlier this week and are expected to be in place by the end of the year - paving the way for young people to remain living in the rural communities where they grew up.

Macra welcomed the eagerly-anticipated Government move and described it as an important step towards sustaining rural communities and bringing an end to the ‘rural planning Postcode Lottery’.

Macra president Josephine O’Neill said members had consistently highlighted the challenge faced in gaining planning permission to build on family land, ‘noting the lack of fairness and consistency between local authorities’.

Cllrs have in recent months highlighted extreme cases – one where a couple spent over €12,000 on the planning process to no avail and another where a couple emigrated to Australia because they could not build on family land.

Macra also called on Government to provide continued investment in rural infrastructure and services. Ms O’Neill said: ‘We welcome the move away from overly prescriptive rules towards a more balanced, consistent approach.

‘These changes will no doubt contribute to the greater vibrancy of rural communities. However, our Government must ensure [they] are also accompanied by continued support for and infrastructure in rural towns and villages.’

There was a broad welcome for the new guidelines which will be uniformly adopted across all local authorities and do not require an applicant to demonstrate a local connection.

However there was some criticism of the requirement for an applicant seeking to build in a Gaeltacht area to show they have lived in the area for ten years or, in the case of an Irish speaker, for five years.

Minister Christopher O’Sullivan (FF) said the draft planning statement marks ‘the most significant update to rural housing policy in more than 20 years’.

The Cork South West TD added: ‘For too long, rural families have faced frustration and uncertainty when trying to build in their own communities. These changes are about bringing more common sense and more flexibility to the planning system.’

Senator Noel O’Donovan (FG)  echoed the sentiment. He said: ‘Whether I’m speaking to young couples in Clonakilty, families in Bantry, people returning home to Skibbereen, or communities on the Beara and Mizen Peninsulas, one issue persists – local people simply want the opportunity to build a home close to their families.’

MEP Billy Kelleher said the guidelines could be ‘a catalyst for regeneration if implemented fairly’. Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins TD however was slightly more sceptical about the ‘long-overdue decision’.

He said restrictive policies had contributed to the weakening of rural communities by forcing young families away from their home areas and cautioned that the success of the move would depend on ‘swift implementation’.