WEST Cork has been short-changed with the amount of land rezoned for new housing, it has been claimed.

A variation of the County Development Plan has cleared the way for up to 50,000 new homes to be built across the county over the next decade.

Cork County Council’s rezoning targets include an additional 857 houses in Clonakilty, 429 in Skibbereen and 180 in Dunmanway.

West Cork’s overall allocation of 3,981 makes up just 10%  of the total land rezoned, with the lion’s share going to Cork city and surrounding areas.

Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) said West Cork has a significant number of vacant and derelict properties that could be repurposed to provide more housing, along with many disused holiday homes.

‘The issue in West Cork is not always a lack of physical ‘units’,’ said Cllr Towse.

‘I’d like to see targets set to address these. You can walk through multiple villages in West Cork from Rosscarbery to Baltimore where there are more empty houses than occupied ones, yet it’s near impossible to find somewhere to live year-round. That needs to change.’

She added the focus should now be on planning for the infrastructure, services and community amenities people in new-build homes will need.

She said at the very minimum a new bypass around Clonakilty is needed, and the return of a West Cork rail network must be properly considered.

She also urged Cork County Council to assess what community and sports facilities or green spaces will be required, while other agencies would need to plan for water, wastewater, school places, GPs and ‘all the other building blocks of communities’.

‘This is only the beginning, and I look forward to the upcoming County Development Plan review where the council will plan for communities, not just units,’ said Cllr Towse.

Last year, the government instructed local authorities to zone more land for housing.

On the recent council vote that adopted the variation to the County Development Plan, Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire), chairperson of the West Cork Municipal District, said it was a rushed response to government planning guidelines.

‘This wasn’t thought out properly,’ he said. ‘On the day of the vote there was more talk about North Cork and East Cork, not so much about West Cork. We definitely need more housing in West Cork.’

The variation makes around 1,925 acres of additional rezoned land available across County Cork, bringing the total to 3,447 acres.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council said the variation represents an important strategic response to national housing policy and projected population growth in Cork County, reflecting a request from central government.

‘The distribution of growth in the variation closely aligns with that of the current plan. Accordingly, a significant portion of County Cork’s proposed growth will be in the County Cork Metropolitan Area and the two key towns of Mallow and Clonakilty.

‘In the other county towns, key villages and smaller settlements outside of this area, the overall objective is to ensure that these settlements grow at an appropriate rate where both physical and social infrastructure keeps pace with population growth.’

The spokesperson added that the amended plan now provides for 3,981 residential units within the West Cork Strategic Planning Area, ‘demonstrating the role that West Cork will continue to play in accommodating future population and housing growth’.