Ministerial guidelines
Development Plans: Guidelines for Planning Authorities
How a council prepares its development plan: the core strategy, mandatory objectives, consultation and monitoring.
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage · June 2022 · 136 pages
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- Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | 76 Sustainable Development and Regeneration | 6 6.4 Mandatory objective: Regeneration Section 10(2)(h) of the Act requires that a development plan shall include objectives for: “(h) the development and renewal of areas, identified having regard to the core strategy, that are in need of regeneration, in order to prevent— (i) adverse effects on existing amenities in such areas, in particular as a result of the ruinous or neglected condition of any land, (ii) urban blight and decay, (iii) anti-social behaviour, or (iv) a shortage of habitable houses or of land suitable for residential use or a mixture of residential and other uses.” This objective relates to the need to identify areas that are in need of regeneration, to bring derelict, redundant and/ or under-utilised land, sites and buildings back into active use, and to address housing need. It directly aligns with the principles of compact growth/Town Centre First and sustainable development by supporting the urban fabric and the re-use of existing resources and reducing the need for green-field development. Development plan policies for the achievement of regeneration should seek to directly address the issues of population decline, lack of investment and physical dereliction, in an integrated and cross-cutting way, through a number of policy areas including:- • Integrated land-use and socio-economic measures to address the physical, economic, social, and environmental problems associated with dereliction and decay; • Measures to overcome substantive barriers to development such as new infrastructure provision, environmental enhancement and site assembly; • The promotion of a multi-sector partnership approach involving the planning authority, other public agencies and wider local business and community interests; • Sufficient flexibility in the application of zoning and development management policies and standards (e.g. enabling compatible mixed uses, reduced car parking requirements), to ensure that development plans actively promote rather than inhibit regeneration; and • Guidance on the remediation of any contaminated lands. The designation of ‘regeneration areas’ in the development plan is also a requirement for the implementation of the Vacant Site Register under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, 2015. Regeneration areas may therefore be identified in the written statement and on the relevant development plan maps. The Identification of ‘regeneration areas’ should be coordinated with the identification of ‘Settlement Consolidation Sites’ in section 5.3.2 below. In having regard to the core strategy of the development plan, regeneration areas and settlement consolidation sites may be included within the ‘strategic and sustainable development sites’ classification. While it is generally preferable that the development of regeneration areas would be facilitated within the six-year period of the development plan, they may be identified as long-term strategic and sustainable sites where there are significant barriers to development.
- | Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Sustainable Development and Regeneration 77 6 6.4.1 Planning for Compact Growth The National Planning Framework seeks to achieve more compact and sustainable growth through consolidating a greater share of future development within the existing built footprint of settlements, to include new homes, businesses and amenities. The NPF sets national targets for brownfield/infill housing development in the five cities (50%) and all other settlements (30%) to support the regeneration of existing urban areas. NPF compact growth objectives underpinned by the Town Centre First policy are focused on the reuse of previously developed buildings and land and building up ‘infill’ sites, especially those that are centrally located in settlements at all scales. The development plan process has a strategic role to play in facilitating new development and investment in settlements so that it can support the provision of new homes in areas of greatest housing demand as well as people living closer to employment, recreational opportunities and other services. The development plan should also facilitate a complementary mix of uses to generate activity within urban centres, with regard to both the day time and night time economies. Ensuring that a significant portion of new development reflects the compact growth and Town Centre First agenda is also a key dynamic in addressing climate change, through reducing dependence on car-based transport, the extent of green-field land consumption and costly and inefficient infrastructure provision and use. In formulating a framework for development, the development plan process must therefore ensure that there is a close correlation between the identification of lands and sites for development with required infrastructural capacity and spatially-focused investment. Development plans must ensure that a substantial proportion of future growth contributes to the regeneration of cities, towns and villages and that underused sites and buildings in central areas in settlements are brought into residential use in particular, in accordance with the Town Centre First Policy. Further to setting out a hierarchy of settlements in the core strategy it is essential that the development plan process addresses development planning at a settlement level to ensure the inclusion of tailored policies, objectives and actions for consolidation and growth to arrest and reverse the issue of dereliction and decline in settlements, where relevant.
- Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | 78 Sustainable Development and Regeneration | 6 6.4.2 Settlement Consolidation Sites In larger settlements and in particular those with a population of greater than 10,000 people, there will normally be certain development sites of relative strategic scale and importance located within the existing built-up area such that they have a critical role to play in achieving the core strategy and, in particular, the NPF policy objectives for consolidation and compact growth. These ‘Settlement Consolidation Sites’ will be: • located within the existing built-up area and in many cases be within or adjoining the core city or town centre of the settlement; • have the potential to deliver significant housing provision (e.g. a proportion of the settlement target) or commercial or employment and/or mixed-use development; • have the potential to generate wider regeneration of the existing built-up area and in particular the core city or town centre area; • correlated with the key settlements identified for housing growth in the core strategy; These development sites need to be specifically identified in the development plan as ‘Settlement Consolidation Sites’. Where appropriate, an assessment of the potential for housing yield should be undertaken. The development plan should provide a map and accompanying schedule to identify the Settlement Consolidation Sites. The schedule shall provide the site size (in hectares) and any estimated housing yield for each site. Settlement Consolidation Sites will be a key focus for the delivery of sustainable compact growth objectives. Planning authorities must ensure that Settlement Consolidation Sites are sufficiently strategic in nature and scale and that they are integrated into a wider regeneration plan or strategy for the relevant area of the settlement. Given the importance of the Settlement Consolidation Sites to achieving core strategy requirements and compact growth, the planning authority will prioritise actions is support of their development. The tracking of the development of any such sites will be a key monitoring exercise of the implementation of the development plan. 6.4.3 The Residential Zoned Land Tax, Identification of Regeneration Areas and the Vacant Site Levy The Finance Act 2021 introduced the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) applicable to all lands zoned and serviced for residential development and for mixed-use including residential development, as identified in statutory development plans. Separate statutory Section 28 Guidance is available for the RZLT mapping process. As part of the RZLT process, all local authorities are required to produce a map indicating lands that are subject to the RZLT and to update such maps on an annual basis following initial publication of the maps. The assessment of the services status of lands is a key exercise of the development plan process as referenced in the Settlement Capacity Audit in section 4.5.2 above. The SCA work will therefore to support both the development plan preparation and RZLT processes. The key principles of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, 2015, such as the need to include the regeneration of areas as a key part of the development plan process, and the introduction of mandatory objective 10(2)(h) in the preparation of development plans, requiring plan objectives for areas in need of regeneration, remain applicable. The 2015 Act also made provision for the Vacant Site Levy (VSL) which is to be reformed in tandem with the application of the RZLT. Planning authorities are required to continue operating the VSL until such time as the process of reformed has been completed.
- | Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Sustainable Development and Regeneration 79 6 6.4.4 Coordinated Regeneration and Funding The compact growth objectives of the NPF are supported by significant exchequer funding including both the Urban Regeneration & Development Fund (URDF) and Rural Regeneration & Development Fund (RRDF). The capital infrastructural investment programmes of government departments and state agencies are also coordinated to support the compact growth objective through the spatial alignment of the NPF and the National Development Plan, which sets out the national investment strategy for a period of up to ten years. The Town Centre First policy provides for the development of a non-statutory ‘Town Centre First Plan’ to draw together local regeneration projects and initiatives into a coherent outcome-focused plan. The TCF Plan is implementation orientated - seeking to operationalise the related objectives that may be set out in a development plan. It is therefore important that there is close integration between the content of a TCF plan and the relevant development plan. This can work both ways, meaning that the objectives and policies of the development plan may provide the strategic policy basis that is the impetus for a Town Centre First Plan. It may also be the case that a TCF Plan will inform town development policies that will need to be expressed in the development plan to be relied on for decision-making purposes. The development plan process is an opportunity to identify and articulate a development strategy for regeneration, which may include more specific regeneration projects aimed at enabling compact growth and Town Centre First implementation. These may include, for example, specific investment and/or infrastructure to support development, such as site assembly, land acquisition and/or sustainable transport initiatives, aimed at activating area-based regeneration and the strategic and sustainable development of sites identified in the development plan. Such a ‘Plan-led’ approach to development is now an important means of focusing public and private investment to support the strategic aims of the development plan, and underlines the importance of a clear and well-articulated development plan regeneration strategy that aligns with, i.e. informs or has been informed by, the relevant Town Centre First Plans. CASE STUDY : Regeneration of Limerick City This includes the redevelopment of the Colbert Quarter in collaboration with the Land Development Agency, incorporating new mixed use urban districts and public spaces alongside sustainable transport options. Other major regeneration projects include the revitalisation of the City Centre including redevelopment of brownfield sites at Opera Square, the Cleeves Riverside Quarter and a new higher education University of Limerick City Campus. Limerick City and County Council was also awarded funding through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for the ‘World Class Waterfront’ project and the ‘Liveable Limerick City Centre Initiative’, which seeks to revitalise the public realm, the city’s historic laneways and renew vacant and underutilised building stock in the Georgian Core. Source: Colbert Station, Limerick City Council Limerick Draft Development Plan 2022-2028, the first consolidated plan for Limerick City and County, sets out objectives for compact growth and revitalisation of key opportunity sites. The plan also provides a review and update of Limerick 2030: An Economic and Spatial Plan, which sets out a vision for transformational sites and projects in Limerick City Centre.
- 4 7 Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People
- | Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People 81 7 7. Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People 7.1 Integration of Development and Community This chapter addresses a range of thematically connected Mandatory Objectives, related to communities and people. The objectives cover a broad range of topics from social and community facilities to Traveller Accommodation and the Gaeltacht. A community and its needs will evolve over time due to a number of influencing factors, such as changing demographics but other factors may also strongly affect our communities such as the strength of economy, existing service provision and the quality of the environment. In approaching the policy requirement for facilities in a development plan review, the planning authority will need to plan effectively for facilities that will serve the needs of communities over time. This should encompass the distinct needs of senior citizens within communities as well as schools and childcare facilities in more recently developed areas. Considering the life-cycle needs of a community should form part of the consultation process at the outset with prescribed bodies and other agencies and providers. Such an approach will benefit communities beyond the term of the development plan. The integration of land-use planning objectives with social and community considerations is key to promoting the development of balanced and sustainable communities and the development plan must set clear objectives to ensure the alignment of social and community facilities with new development. The emergence of the Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) process in recent years has created a new framework for socio-economic planning which runs parallel to the development plan. The LECP provides the social and economic vision for the county/city whilst the development plan provides for the proper planning and sustainable spatial development of the county. Collectively, both plans deliver a strategic and operational framework for integrated planning. A broad theme of development plan policy should be to ensure that proper community infrastructure and complementary neighbourhood facilities are provided alongside the development of new residential areas. As best practice, the development plan should aim for a roll out of infrastructure that should not only match, but anticipate where possible, development. Improved integration between the provision of housing and essential supporting community and social infrastructure - such as schools, community amenities and childcare facilities is essential. Source: Comhairle na nÓg
- Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | 82 Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People | 7 7.2 Mandatory Objective: Amenities (Development) Section 10(2)(j) of the Act provides that a development plan shall include objectives for: “the preservation, improvement and extension of amenities and recreational amenities.” The integration of new development with a wide range of amenities and supporting community and social infrastructure is critical to planning for sustainable communities. Meeting halls and community centres, along with schools, childcare, health centres, doctor surgeries, libraries, community playgrounds, day care facilities for older and disabled people and churches provide a communal resource through which the residents of a neighbourhood can gain information, education, medical or welfare assistance and social contact. Rather than include policies that have a vague or aspirational intent, when assessing the local requirements for amenities, planning authorities should provide a clear evidence base for amenities policies. This evidence base could be provided in the form of audits including a ‘gap analysis’ of existing local amenities and facilities relative to the existing demand and the anticipated demand generated by programmed new development (See section 7.3 below). These strategies can be valuable in informing development plan policy in relation to the requirement for new amenities provision, particularly in new development areas. They can form the basis for zoning and plan objectives related to the provision of such infrastructure and the formulation of phasing policies to ensure that identified and required new infrastructure is delivered in tandem with new residential development in particular. The potential funding and delivery mechanisms for social and community infrastructure may also inform policies and objectives, for example, where funding options such as S.48/S.49 development contribution schemes or central and local sources of funding are considered.
- | Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People 83 7 Public Open Space Provision Of particular importance is the role that the development plan can play in the provision of quality public open space as an essential amenity24.21The development plan can support a structured approach to the contribution made by new development towards public open space provision in an area. This may be achieved through requirements or standards that are to be applied in the consideration of both the quantum and quality of public open space to be provided as part of new residential developments seeking planning permission. Such requirements should be clearly set out in the development plan. There should be a distinction made between public open space required to serve an individual development proposal and that required to serve the community as a whole, which should be zoned accordingly. There should also be alternative approaches, which may include a more flexible application of standards to facilitate brownfield and infill development. Broader development plan requirements or standards for public open space may seek to address the needs of the existing community and the availability of public open space in the form of local, town or regional public parks that are an important amenity at a wider neighbourhood, town or regional scale. Planning authorities should incorporate a public open space strategy into their development plan to address open space provision as part of a wider assessment of community facilities and amenities. The development plan should provide a strategic approach to public open space provision, with local area plans and other strategies providing both application at a local spatial scale and greater detail, to ensure sufficient size and quality of provision, often with opportunities for incorporating the natural heritage and landscape features referenced in Chapter 9 of these Guidelines. 24 Reserving land as public open space is set out as a ‘discretionary’ objective in the First Schedule, Part IV of the Act
- Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | 84 Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People | 7 7.3 Mandatory Objective: Social, Community and Cultural Considerations. Section 10(2)(d) of the Act requires that a development plan shall include objectives for: “the integration of the planning and sustainable development of the area with the social, community and cultural requirements of the area and its population.” The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provided a stronger and clearer role for local government in economic development and community development through the preparation of ‘Local Economic and Community Plans’ or LECPs. Updated Guidelines on Local Economic and Community Plans were published in 2021 and are available to assist in the preparation of LECPs. The purpose of the LECP is to set out, for a six-year period, the objectives and actions needed to promote and support the local economic and community development of the relevant local authority area, both by itself directly and in partnership with other economic and community development stakeholders. The LECP must be consistent with the relevant statutory city or county development plan and the contents of the LECP, in particular the evidence gathering background research elements, will in turn inform development plan policy. The development plan should provide an evidence-based approach to the determination of requirements for new social, community and cultural facilities that will be required on foot of new development in an area. The development plan should include an objective for the preparation of a ‘Community, Social and Cultural Infrastructure Audit’ for areas that are likely to experience significant new development in order to assess gaps and future requirements (see also Section 5.4 for good practice examples in formulating objectives and indicators). These future requirements should be based on population thresholds and on demographic considerations and should have a clear evidence-based rationale for future requirements in order to maximise the social return and community benefit generated by public investment by state agencies and others. Some local authorities – notably Dublin City Council and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority – have successfully conducted these types of audits for various plan areas and the audits have provided a key evidence base for informing plan making. Ongoing monitoring and review should lead to a greater consistency and development of a protocol for the preparation of social audits. CASE STUDY : Dublin City Cultural Infrastructure Audit The study identifies different types of cultural assets and facilities along with place-based guidance to address the planning challenges facing the sector and support the development of new cultural infrastructure in the city. Building on this, the Draft City Development Plan identifies a number of cultural clusters and hubs, which bring together cultural activities interlinked with supporting uses such as restaurants, retail, galleries and venues, to create vibrant, defined cultural quarters and communities in the city. The Draft Plan also sets out objectives to protect and enhance existing assets, to promote the reuse of vacant spaces for artistic and cultural uses, and to grow the range of facilities in tandem with new development, including through the development of buildings within communities for arts and culture spaces, and purpose spaces for evening and night time activities. Culture is increasingly recognised as essential to the unique offer of places. As part of the preparation of the Draft City Development Plan 2022-2028, Dublin City Council prepared a Cultural Infrastructure Study including a cultural audit and map, which provides an evolving evidence base to inform planning for culture in the city. Source: Dublin City Council
- | Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Mandatory Objectives: Communities and People 85 7 7.4 Mandatory objective: Community Services Section 10(2)(l) of the Act requires that a development plan shall include objectives for: “the provision, or facilitation of the provision, of services for the community including, in particular, schools, crèches and other education and childcare facilities.” The term ‘community services’ potentially covers a very broad range of infrastructure and service provision to meet the needs of residents in the planning authority’s area. The emphasis in the Act is on childcare and educational facilities and includes services such as pre-schools, naíonraí (Irish language playgroups), daycare services, crèches, playgroups, childminding, after-school groups and primary, secondary and special needs schools. It is important that planning authorities consult widely and appropriately in relation to the provision of these services. In this context, consultation by the planning authority with the Department of Education and Skills and the county or city Childcare Committee will be particularly important. Other community facilities that would be subject to Section 10 (2)(1) include places of worship, burial grounds, facilities for the elderly and persons with disabilities, facilities for children’s play including, playgrounds, skateboard parks and other facilities, libraries, shops and community halls. This list is not exhaustive and planning authorities must respond to the circumstances of their own local communities when formulating development plans. Generally, appropriate policies and objectives for inclusion in plans will relate to allocation and reservation of land, setting appropriate development control standards and indicating provision of specific facilities. The limits of planning authority control over the provision of certain commercial services - banks or shops for instance and the commercial trend toward online service provision in some instances, should be acknowledged as a potential issue. With regard to school provision, development plans must facilitate the provision of sufficient suitable land to meet the need for new schools or expansion of existing schools in accordance with the requirements of the community and of the relevant education authorities. Local Authority Housing Supply Targets are highly relevant as a database to reference and share with the Department of Education and they provide a useful baseline to work from. Detailed consultation with the Department of Education as early as possible at Stage 1 in the development plan preparation process (as recommended in Chapter 2) will ensure that educational needs can be fully identified, evaluated and responded to. Relevant information should be shared between the planning authority and the Department of Education, employing where possible their respective geographic information systems, in order to evaluate school place requirements. In assessing the suitability of lands for a new school(s) regard should be had to availability of local infrastructure (eg. roads, wastewater services, etc) to enable the new facility to be delivered. The guidance provided in the “Provision of Schools and the Planning System A Code of Practice for Planning Authorities (2008), is the current core guidance in this regard and is scheduled to be updated to reflect national policy including the National Planning Framework. In providing for existing and future school facilities, planning authorities may wish to consider appropriate education or community based zoning objectives to ensure adequate and appropriate lands are provided for school purposes. The long term needs of new residential development neighbourhoods should be planned for, as well as the potential expansion of existing facilities where population change has occurred. Planning authorities will generally base their approach in assessing school site requirements on the Department of Education site standards as well as taking into account other urban design and sustainable development considerations. Current details of site standards are amended from time to time by the Department of Education to reflect on-going practice and such updates are published on the Department of Education’s website. For policies in relation to childcare facilities, the “Childcare Facilities - Guidelines for Planning Authorities” provide the relevant guidance and it should be noted that these are scheduled to be updated. The objectives section of the development plan should include childcare facilities within appropriate zones as a specific use. The specification and location of facilities will be included as a policy. Planning authorities should pay particular attention to the cumulative trends of additional residential development in certain growth areas where a large population of pre-school children can be anticipated. The development plan should address the adequacy of local childcare facilities and in appropriate contexts, require the preparation of ‘Childcare Capacity Assessments’ for major new developments.
Source Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Development Plans: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (June 2022) · 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.