Additional 480 acres of land zoned for housing in Mayo
AN additional 480 acres of land has been zoned for housing in Mayo.
It comes after councillors voted in favour of a variation to the county development plan to bring all Strategic Reserve Tier 1 lands back into consideration for housing.
Mayo County Council is believed to be the first local authority in Ireland to get a variation over the line following a request from Housing Minister James Browne to commence the variation to reflect revised increased housing targets.
Elected representatives were mindful that the move won't solve the housing crisis when they met yesterday, but it is 'part of the jigsaw that will improve the landscape', commented Councillor Damien Ryan.
On the wider county development plan, Councillor Ryan said they need to move forward with a review early in the new year, with matters to be addressed, including around urban planning, and he asked for a commitment on that.
The additional 195 hectares being zoned gave potential for 3,000 new homes, Councillor Peter Flynn said, hailing the variation as an important step forward in housing delivery. However, it didn't solve all the issues, particularly in terms of getting builders and the cost of building.
On finance, Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry Murray said his party had proposed a state-owned bank to finance small builders, and for local authorities to buy land banks, service them, let builders build and then reimburse them for the site. It's a model proven to work in other countries, he noted.
The 'imaginary line', which prevents people in urban centres like Ballina, Castlebar and Westport building outside the urban area, was highlighted as a next step to be addressed in the future review by Councillor Michael Kilcoyne.
Councillor Brendan Mulroy said these people are being penalised as they're allowed to build build outside the town they were born in. And they can't afford to buy or build in the town, with a half-a-million spend for a home in Westport.
They needed to get rid of the imaginary line and allow villages and communities to prosper, he said.