Ministerial guidelines
Urban Development and Building Heights: Guidelines for Planning Authorities
Building height in towns and cities, and the criteria for taller buildings; plans may not set blanket height limits.
Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government · December 2018 · 26 pages
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- 15 • An assessment that the proposal maintains safe air navigation. • An urban design statement including, as appropriate, impact on the historic built environment.4 • Relevant environmental assessment requirements, including SEA, EIA, AA and Ecological Impact Assessment, as appropriate. Where the relevant planning authority or An Bord Pleanála considers that such criteria are appropriately incorporated into development proposals, the relevant authority shall apply the following Strategic Planning Policy Requirement under Section 28 (1C) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). SPPR 3 It is a specific planning policy requirement that where; (A) 1. an applicant for planning permission sets out how a development proposal complies with the criteria above; and 2. the assessment of the planning authority concurs, taking account of the wider strategic and national policy parameters set out in the National Planning Framework and these guidelines; then the planning authority may approve such development, even where specific objectives of the relevant development plan or local area plan may indicate otherwise. (B) In the case of an adopted planning scheme the Development Agency in conjunction with the relevant planning authority ( where different) shall, upon the coming into force of these guidelines, undertake a review of the planning scheme, utilising the relevant mechanisms as set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) to ensure that the criteria above are fully reflected in the planning scheme. In particular the Government policy that building heights be generally increased in appropriate urban locations shall be articulated in any amendment(s) to the planning scheme (C) In respect of planning schemes approved after the coming into force of these guidelines these are not required to be reviewed. Fire and Public Safety 3.3 Compliance with fire safety requirements is a separate, parallel, regulatory requirement. In order to avoid unnecessary delay, developers need to engage with the appropriate fire services authorities at the earliest stage for projects that include taller buildings. This engagement should be reflected in the design approach proposed. 4 The provisions contained within Part (IV) Planning and Development Acts 2000, as amended, regarding architectural heritage and associated character/setting remain in place. Planning Authorities are the primary consent authority in establishing if proposals align with best practice in this area and which design standards are to be used in certain circumstances. Planning Authorities can reference Architectural Heritage Protection – Guidelines for Planning Authorities (DEHLG) and Shaping the Future – Case Studies in Adaptation and Reuse in Historic Urban Environments (DAHG) 2012.
- 16 Building height in suburban/edge locations (City and Town) 3.4 Newer housing developments outside city and town centres and inner suburbs, i.e. the suburban edges of towns and cities, typically now include town-houses (2-3 storeys), duplexes (3-4 storeys) and apartments (4 storeys upwards). Such developments deliver medium densities, in the range of 35-50 dwellings per hectare net. Such developments also address the need for more 1 and 2 bedroom units in line with wider demographic and household formation trends, while at the same time providing for the larger 3, 4 or more bedroom homes across a variety of building typology and tenure options, enabling households to meet changing accommodation requirements over longer periods of time without necessitating relocation. These forms of developments set out above also benefit from using traditional construction methods, which can enhance viability as compared to larger apartment-only type projects. 3.5 The forms of development set out above can, where well designed and integrated, also facilitate the development of an attractive street-based traditional town environment with a good sense of enclosure, legible streets, squares and parks and a strong sense of urban neighbourhood, passive surveillance and community as in the case of the award winning Adamstown Strategic Development Zone in South Dublin County Council. 3.6 Development should include an effective mix of 2, 3 and 4-storey development which integrates well into existing and historical neighbourhoods and 4 storeys or more can be accommodated alongside existing larger buildings, trees and parkland, river/sea frontage or along wider streets. 3.7 Such development patterns are generally appropriate outside city centres and inner suburbs, i.e. the suburban edges of towns and cities, for both infill and greenfield development and should not be subject to specific height restrictions. Linked to the connective street pattern required under the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS), planning policies and consideration of development proposals must move away from a 2-storey, cul-de-sac dominated approach, returning to traditional compact urban forms which created our finest town and city environments. 3.8 Where the relevant planning authority or An Bord Pleanála considers that such criteria are appropriately incorporated into development proposals, the relevant authority shall apply the following Strategic Planning Policy Requirement under Section 28 (1C) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).
- 17 SPPR 4 It is a specific planning policy requirement that in planning the future development of greenfield or edge of city/town locations for housing purposes, planning authorities must secure: 1. the minimum densities for such locations set out in the Guidelines issued by the Minister under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), titled “Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas (2007)” or any amending or replacement Guidelines; 2. a greater mix of building heights and typologies in planning for the future development of suburban locations; and 3. avoid mono-type building typologies (e.g. two storey or own-door houses only), particularly, but not exclusively so in any one development of 100 units or more.
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Source Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government: Urban Development and Building Heights: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (December 2018) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.