Variation to free up 470 acres for housing development in Mayo
A variation of the county development plan will see an extra 470 acres of land being made available for housing in Mayo.
Councillors have agreed to vary zoning to bring all Strategic Reserve Tier 1 lands back into consideration.
They supported the response to a request from Housing Minister James Browne to commence the variation to reflect revised increased housing targets, but noted how this won't solve the housing crisis in the county.
It wasn't lost on them either that they had included these lands in their original proposed development plan, only for them to be removed by the planning regulator.
The approach adopted by the council allows this variation to happen in the earliest possible timeframe, and possibly by the end of 2025.
Members, in a report, were told it is appreciated that there may be other zoning changes to be considered, including in respect of council owned lands, and it is proposed that these can be considered separately once the initial variation is completed.
Fine Gael's Councillor Peter Flynn said this is a welcome step but not by any means a perfect solution.
They were being asked to undo what they had been restricted on doing, noted Fianna Fáil Councillor Damien Ryan, when an unfair cap had been forced on them. They were being asked to do something they had wanted to do when making their plan.
He felt the national planning framework needs to be 'torn up into a thousand pieces'.
Councillor Ryan also cited other issues impacting the housing crisis, including the lack of small builders, regulation being 'out of control', and access to finance.
An amendement was proposed by Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne to remove 'imaginary boundaries' around urban areas. People living within the line who want to build on serviced land outside cannot get planning permission, he said, and that is wrong.
People having to prove they're from an area to build back home is an issue Councillor Gerry Coyle has raised again. Baptised in Erris, their father's and grandfather's homes now broken down – proud Erris people asked to prove they're from there.
Welcoming any movement to free up planning, Councillor Patsy O'Brien said young people need support to build and he suggested that development levies be waivered.
While he also voiced his support, there was realism that it wasn't going to make a blind bit of difference, Councillor Harry Barrett told the meeting.
Only that morning they had learned that the Department of Housing will miss its targets for the next four years.
There were other issues, too, he said, with the need for Uisce Éireann and the ESB to build out their networks, while the 75/25 urban-rural development split risked further rural decline. That ratio needs to be looked at in a predominantly rural county.
Director of services Catherine McConnell said the variation will unlock land that is zoned for immediate development. It won't solved all the problems but it will create an environment where developers now have more choice and the market is more open.