County Donegal Development Plan 2024–2030 (As Varied)

1. Page 81

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 78 Chapter 6 HousingChapter 6 Housing Objectives UB-O-1 To identify appropriate regeneration and renewal initiatives, primarily through enhancement schemes to strengthen communities in specific Settlement Framework rural towns namely; Churchill, Convoy, Dunkineely, Kilmacrennan, Mountcharles, Newtowncunningham and St. Johnston. UB-O-2 CC To deliver serviced sites for housing within towns and villages. UB-O-3 To seek the effective resolution of unfinished residential development. Policies UB-P-1 CC It is a policy of the Council that the provision of multiple housing developments (defined as 2 or more units and excluding holiday homes) will generally be acceptable in principle within those towns/settlements identified in the Core Strategy/Settlement Structure, subject in all cases to the principles of quality placemaking, compact growth and the sequential development of settlements from the centre out, the availability of supporting infrastructure and facilities (including school provision), sustainable wastewater treatment solutions and relevant zoning objectives. The scale of any such development shall be in line with the provisions of the Core Strategy, shall have regard to the circumstances of the specific settlement and shall be in accordance with all relevant objectives and policies of this Plan. UB-P-2 a. It is a policy of the Council that multiple (defined as 2 or more units) and single holiday home units will be considered within the towns/settlements identified in the Core Strategy/Settlement Structure, provided that the proposed development would not result in the total number of existing and permitted holiday homes within the settlement exceeding 20% of the total existing and permitted housing stock. Any application will also be assessed in the light of all relevant material planning considerations including land-use zonings, the availability of infrastructure, relevant policies of the County Development Plan and other regional and national guidance/policies and relevant environmental designations. Such developments must have regard to the scale and form of the settlement. b. It is a policy of the Council that where an applicant can demonstrate that the proposed development would assist with the regeneration or remediation of vacant and/or derelict properties in the centre of the settlement, holiday home development will be considered within the towns/settlements identified in the Core Strategy/Settlement Structure without the application of a restriction in terms of the balance between holiday homes and permanent homes, subject to environmental and heritage designations and amenity considerations. UB-P-3 It is a policy of the Council to require that 20%12 of - 12 Certain transitional arrangements in respect of Part V requirements were introduced following the enactment of the Affordable Housing Act 2021. Readers are advised to consult the full text of the Planning & Development Act 2000 (as amended) in this regard.

2. Page 82

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 79 Chapter 6 HousingChapter 6 Housing a. land zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses; and b. any land which is not zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, but in respect of which permission for the development of houses is granted, is reserved for the provision of social and affordable housing. UB-P-4 To ensure that new residential development is carried out in serviced areas or those areas where the provision of required planned infrastructure (e.g. roads, footpaths, wastewater, water supply social and community infrastructure etc. including school provision) is imminent. UB-P-5 CC It is the policy of the Council to guide urban residential development in a sequential manner, outwards from the core area in order to maximise the utility of existing and future infrastructure provision, promote the achievement of sustainability, avoid ‘leap- frogging’ to more remote areas and to make better use of underutilised land. UB-P-6 It is a policy of the Council to support the principle of new residential development that will result in the regeneration and/or renewal of town centre areas or areas of vacancy and/or dereliction. UB-P-7 It is a policy of the Council to require that proposals for new residential developments (2 or more units) in settlements demonstrate that the design process, layout, specification and finish of the proposed development generally comply with all relevant Governmental Planning Guidelines/Standards13 and give due regard to the key considerations of – a. Public realm, open space and amenity b. Connectivity and accessibility, having particular regard to active travel and sustainable modes of transport c. High Quality Design - massing, form, scale, density and finishes d. Mix of house types e. Energy efficiency f. Biodiversity considerations g. Climate adaptation and surface water management h. Integration with neighbouring developments and uses UB-P-8 It is a policy of the Council to determine appropriate residential densities for housing sites having regard to the provisions of all relevant departmental guidelines, the provisions of Circular Letter: NRUP 02/2021, the specific nature of the development proposed and the site location and context. 13 Such Guidelines/Standards may include, inter alia - • Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas – Guidelines for Planning Authorities • Urban Design Manual – A Best Practice Guide • The Planning System and Flood Risk Management – Guidelines for Planning Authorities • Urban Development and Building Height Guidelines for Planning Authorities • Design Standards for New Apartments - Guidelines for Planning Authorities • Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets • Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities

3. Page 83

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 80 Chapter 6 HousingChapter 6 Housing UB-P-9 It is the policy of the Council both to protect the residential amenity of existing residential units and to promote design concepts for new housing that ensures the establishment of reasonable levels of urban residential amenity. UB-P-10 It is a policy of the Council to require layouts of residential development to be designed and constructed having regard to best practice in terms of Universal Design, including the guidance for housing development set out in the National Disability Authority publication, ‘Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach’. UB-P-11 It is a policy of the Council to require that all new multiple housing developments comprising 7 or more units contain a minimum of 30% residential units that are built to universal design standards, in accordance with the requirements of the National Disability Authority publication ‘Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach’. Where the total number of units to be constructed is between 2 and 6, it is a policy of the Council to require that a minimum of 1 of those units be built to universal design standards. UB-P-12 Multiple residential developments shall, in general: a. On greenfield sites, include a minimum of 15% of the overall site area reserved as public amenity area; b. In other cases, such as large infill sites or brown field sites include a minimum of 10% of the overall site area reserved as public amenity area; or c. On lands characterised by a large private or institutional building/s set in substantial open lands, include a minimum of 20% of the overall site area reserved as public amenity area. UB-P-13 It is a policy of the Council to consider proposals for urban residential development that seek to resolve existing unfinished residential development, including through appropriate reconfiguration of developments, and such proposals shall be considered outside the population targets set by the Core Strategy. 6.3 Rural Housing 6.3.1 Permanent Housing Donegal has a strong rural identification and a tradition of ensuring that every appropriate and sustainable option is available to rural people to continue to live in their own area and to contribute to community life. This principle is fundamentally underpinned nationally by the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines (2005) and NPF NPO19. To reflect this, meeting genuine rural generated housing need will continue to be a central component of Council policy. The Core Strategy ‘allocates’ 25% (or circa 1,900 houses) of the projected growth in the County to ‘Open Countryside’. This is considered reasonable in the context of: - the Council’s own data recording an annual average of 259 one-off rural houses commenced between the years 2015 and 2022; - the scale of vacant homes generally in the County (rate recorded by Geodirectory as 9.4% in December, 2022), a significant proportion of which are rural homes; and

4. Page 84

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 81 Chapter 6 HousingChapter 6 Housing - the allocation in the Core Strategy of a further allocates 8% of the total housing allocation for the period 2024-2030 to smaller rural towns providing additional choice. In meeting rural housing need, the NPF identifies two distinct socio-economic areas as the basis of policy: In preparing the Donegal County Development Plan, 2018-2024 strong urban influence was identified on the hinterlands of Letterkenny and the City of Derry and around certain larger settlements (Donegal Town, Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Ballybofey/Stranorlar). This continues to be the case and these areas are again identified in Map 6.3.1.

5. Page 85

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 82 Chapter 6 HousingChapter 6 Housing 6.3.2 Holiday Homes Whilst the national policy agenda does not address holiday homes, this is a big issue for Donegal. There were 9,373 holiday homes in Donegal in Q4 2022 according to Geodirectory (‘ GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report Q4 2022’). This accounted for 24.8% of total holiday homes in the country (37,797). The heatmap below illustrates the greatest concentrations of holiday homes in Donegal. Unsurprisingly, these are to be found generally along and in reasonable proximity to the coast. This level of demand for holiday homes requires a policy counterbalance to the general approach as set out in NPO19. Map 6.3.2 identifies areas under strong holiday home pressure. Additional restrictions on one-off housing will be applied in these areas but the policy is designed to ensure that genuine local need can still be accommodated (Policy RH-P-2 refers). Furthermore, given the level of housing vacancy that currently exists in the County and the objective to support genuine rural housing need, this Plan focuses on satisfying the opportunity for holiday homes in rural areas only through the use/re-use of the existing housing stock or via the refurbishment of derelict buildings.

6. Page 86

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 83 Chapter 6 Housing

7. Page 87

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 84 Chapter 6 Housing 6.3.3 Clachans This Plan identifies eight clachans comprised of small rural communities located outside of the areas under strong urban influence and holiday home pressure areas. The Plan includes policy support for permanent one-off dwellings without occupancy restrictions with a view to helping stabilise these communities. The clachans are identified in the maps below. 1. Glengad

8. Page 88

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 85 Chapter 6 Housing 2. Rosnakill 3. Tamney

9. Page 89

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 86 Chapter 6 Housing 4. Cloghan 5. Churchill

10. Page 90

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    County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 87 Chapter 6 Housing 6. Lettermacaward 7. Termon

Source Donegal County Council: County Donegal Development Plan 2024–2030 (As Varied) (2024–2030) · 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.