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"Before very long, we will start to see the real benefits arising from the provisions of the Planning and Development Act in the form of increased housing supply" said the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr. Noel Dempsey T.D. today (31 October 2000) when he announced the bringing into force of key provisions of the Act and the making of new regulations. Parts V (Housing Supply) and IX (Strategic Development Zones) will come into force on 1st November, 2000. These provisions are fundamental in terms of increasing the supply of housing generally and, in particular, the supply of social and affordable housing. Regulations made by the Minister prescribe the accommodation needs of persons eligible for affordable housing under Part V of the Act. They also prescribe the bodies to whom notice of the decision of a planning authority in relation to a draft planning scheme for a Strategic Development Zone under Part IX should be made. "It is not an exaggeration to say that Part V of the Act will bring about the most fundamental changes in how local authorities plan and provide for housing" said the Minister. The principal objective of Part V is to encourage and facilitate a level of housing supply to meet the housing needs of all sectors of the population within the area covered by individual local authority development plans. Part V will require the development of housing strategies by local authorities, which will form an integral part of their development plan and act as the roadmap for future housing development in the area covered by the plan. In addition, local authorities will be required to include specific objectives in development plans for the provision of social and affordable housing based on identified need. Each housing strategy can provide that a specified percentage (not more than 20%) of the land zoned for residential development or for a mix of residential and other uses, will be set aside to meet these needs and be made available to the local authority at the existing use rather than development value. There will also be a statutory obligation on local authorities to ensure that sufficient land is zoned for housing to meet the projected housing requirements over the period of their development plans. "Local authorities are breaking new ground in the development of housing strategies" said the Minister. "To aid them in this, my Department has commissioned consultants to develop a model housing strategy, step-by-step guide and to finalise draft guidelines on the implementation of Part V". The guidelines and associated documents will be forwarded to local authorities early in November. "I will be re-emphasising to local authorities the need to have their housing strategies in place at the earliest possible date so that we can start addressing the unmet need for social and affordable housing", said the Minister. To facilitate this the Minister has also commenced section 13 of Part II (Plans and Guidelines) which sets out the procedure for making a variation of the plan after it is adopted. This is a shorter process than the one currently in use under the 1963 Planning Act. Its early commencement will enable local authorities to vary their development plans to accommodate the housing strategy in the fastest time possible. The commencement of Part IX of the Act will allow, amongst other things, the use of Strategic Development Zones for residential development which was one of the key medium term policy responses set out in the Government's Action on Housing. "My Department has been engaged in consultations with key local authorities over the last few months with a view to selecting appropriate sites for designation as Strategic Development Zones for residential development" said the Minister. The purpose of these zones is to fast-track key housing developments through the planning system to ensure the early provision of a substantial amount of housing. The quid-pro-quo for this is the introduction of a levy of £3,000 per site unit for non-development within these zones. Legislation will be brought forward to deal with this. A number of key sites have already been short-listed and local authorities will be asked to carry out further analysis of them over the coming weeks. "It is my intention that the Government will be in a position to designate the first tranche of sites by the end of November thus giving the go-ahead for commencement of planning procedures to establish the zones" said the Minister. The Minister also made regulations under Part II which prescribe bodies for the purposes of drafting and making development plans. These new provisions and associated regulations will come into effect on January, 2001. "This two-month lead in time is necessary to give local authorities adequate time to become fully aware of the new requirements under the Planning and Development Act regarding the drafting and making of development plans, local area plans and regional planning guidelines", explained the Minister. The Minister will be making a further announcement in due course about the commencement of further Parts of the Planning and Development Act.
Further Details are available on the Department's website at:
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