Development plan · South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County Development Plan 2022–2028 – Written Statement
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards. Variations adopted since are not in this text.
South Dublin County Council · 2022–2028 · 584 pages
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- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028188Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) Key to delivering high quality design and healthy placemaking will be ensuring that all new development responds in a positive manner to its surroundings contributing significantly towards the overall aim of delivering successful and sustainable neighbourhoods within South Dublin County. Policy QDP3: Neighbourhood Context Support and facilitate proposals which contribute in a positive manner to the character and setting of an area. QDP3 Objective 1: To ensure new development contributes in a positive manner to the character and setting of the immediate area in which a proposed development is located taking into consideration the provisions set out in Chapters 3 and 4 of this Plan and having regard to the requirements set out in Chapter 12: Implementation and Monitoring in relation to design statements. QDP3 Objective 2: To protect and conserve the special character of the historic core of the villages and ensure that a full understanding of the archaeological, architectural, urban design and landscape heritage of each village informs the design approach to new development, infrastructure and renewal, recognising the particular character and context in Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs). QDP3 Objective 3: To promote and adhere to design standards and densities in village centres that are informed by the surrounding village and historic context and enhance the specific characteristics of each town or village in terms of design, scale, form and external finishes. QDP3 Objective 4: To protect and conserve the special character of the historic core of the traditional village of Palmerstown and ensure that a full understanding of the archaeological, architectural, urban design and landscape heritage of the village informs the design approach to new development and renewal, in particular in Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs) and to provide more weight to this objective than to the policies of third parties and / or to provide that where third party policies are to be given priority, the implementation of such policies should identify how this CDP objective is being prioritised and accommodated in the implementation. QDP3 Objective 5: To promote design standards and densities in the traditional village of Palmerstown, that are informed by the historic context and enhance the specific characteristics of the village in terms of design, scale and external finishes and to provide more weight to this objective than to the policies of third parties and / or to provide that where third party policies are to be given priority, the implementation of such policies should identify how this CDP objective is being prioritised and accommodated in the implementation.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028189Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) QDP3 Objective 6: To ensure that higher buildings in established areas respect the surrounding context and take account of heights and their impact on light and the negative impact that they may have on existing communities to ensure consistency with regard to Healthy Placemaking. QDP3 Objective 7: Any development on the RES-N lands (Killinarden and Ballycullen / Oldcourt) abutting the Rural Zone at Map 9 shall be designed, located, scaled and serviced in a manner that does not detract from the character and landscape of the receiving environment bearing in mind its proximity to the HA-DM zone. QDP3 Objective 8: To only consider buildings of a reasonable / appropriate height in our heritage villages and that this is in line with existing buildings and is sympathetic to the makeup of these heritage villages. QDP3 Objective 9: To preserve, incorporate, enhance and respond to the setting of existing archaeological and historic features including burgage plots and tower house sites where these arise. 5.2.3 Healthy Placemaking Healthy placemaking seeks to protect and enhance the unique identity and character of places and to facilitate improvements to human wellbeing and the quality of life that comes from the interaction of people and their environment. Placemaking is underpinned by good urban design, which seeks to create public spaces that are vibrant, distinctive, safe, and accessible and which promote and facilitate social interaction. Healthy placemaking requires the delivery of the eight key principles in a holistic manner improving both social and physical infrastructure. The provision of high quality and inclusive urban design measures are key to the delivery of successful and sustainable neighbourhoods within South Dublin County creating healthy, attractive and accessible places to live, work, visit, socialise and invest in.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028190Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) Policy QDP4: Healthy Placemaking Promote the delivery of neighbourhoods that are attractive, connected, vibrant and well-functioning places to live, work, visit, socialise and invest in. QDP4 Objective 1: To deliver successful and sustainable neighbourhoods that are attractive, connected, vibrant and well-functioning through high quality design and healthy placemaking in a manner which reduces the need to travel, facilitates a mix of uses and the efficient use of land and infrastructure in line with the provisions of NPO 4 and 26 of the NPF and RPO’s 6.12, 9.10 and 9.11 of the RSES. QDP4 Objective 2: To promote a high standard of building and urban design, creating public spaces that are distinctive, safe, universally accessible and facilitate social and cultural diversity and interaction. 5.2.4 Connected Neighbourhoods (Short Distance Neighbourhoods) Delivering successful and sustainable neighbourhoods means providing for people to have access insofar as possible to the daily services they need by means of walking and cycling. This is promoted in the RSES through the 10-minute settlement concept whereby community facilities and services are accessible within a 10-minute walk or cycle from home or accessible via public transport services connecting people to larger scaled settlements where such services are available. A key element of healthy placemaking is the need to ensure alternatives to the car in the design of streets and public spaces and to prioritise and promote cycling and walking as active transport modes. The provision of high-quality public transport, greenways and cycleways enhances an area, contributing to more attractive places, creating opportunities for a healthier lifestyle through physical activity and reducing the negative consequences of car-based commuting. This County Development Plan aims to strive towards the delivery of connected neighbourhoods and the 10-minute settlement concept through the promotion of a compact settlement form and sustainable movement (see also Chapters 2 and 7 of this Plan). In support of this approach the Cycle South Dublin programme of works reflects the increasing importance of making cycling and walking realistic and integral parts of how people move around the County. Cycle South Dublin has been prepared against the backdrop of the Council’s commitments to Sustainable Travel; Climate Change; Building Stronger Local Economies and Improving Personal Health and Wellbeing. The Development Plan supports this programme and aims to optimise such infrastructural investments through the promotion of connected neighbourhoods and sustainable movement. The detailed implementation of such measures will be carried out through this plan and various statutory and framework plans as required.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028191Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) Policy QDP5: Connected Neighbourhoods Promote short distance neighbourhoods and strive towards the achievement of 10-minute settlements over the lifetime of the Plan, promoting a more compact development form, sustainable movement, and ease of access to services, community facilities, jobs and amenities. QDP5 Objective 1: To improve the accessibility of all identified centres (see Chapter 9 Table 9.2) from the surrounding catchment area through public transport provision, sustainable transport infrastructure including cycling and walking, incorporating high quality local linkages between public transport stops, cycle parking and car park facilities and the various attractions within each identified centre (see Chapter 7: Sustainable Movement and Appendix 12: Our Neighbourhoods for further details). QDP5 Objective 2: To promote measures to improve pedestrian and cycle safety and convenience, including new or enhanced permeability links within all areas and pedestrianisation within identified centres. 5.2.5 Public Realm Key to the achievement of successful and sustainable neighbourhoods is the provision of a high-quality public realm. Public Realm refers generally to the public space of a neighbourhood area, the areas between buildings, the streets, squares and parks. Public space primarily facilitates a rich public life providing opportunities for different users to enjoy an area in a multitude of ways. How effectively and efficiently the public realm works is a vital component of the day-to-day life and experience within a neighbourhood and local area. In addition to providing for human interaction, it provides the essential space for key services such as lighting, signage, cleaning and drainage, and is the space in which all forms of movement and transportation operate. For this reason, safety, orientation and accessibility are important issues to consider when looking at the public realm. Such public spaces should feel comfortable, safe and welcoming. As a minimum, safe and secure public spaces should be: à Welcoming and Inviting: Public spaces should be designed and constructed with all members of the community in mind. Public spaces that are attractive, feel safe and are easy to access encourages people from different ages and backgrounds to be more physically active in outdoor spaces; à Well-lit: Particular consideration should be given to how spaces are experienced at night and how the design can improve this experience. As well as boosting safety, lighting can influence the flow of movement, as pedestrians will favour following a path of light over risking the darker pathways; à Well Designed: Public spaces should be attractive, with a distinct sense of place and high-quality public realm. Good-quality local greenery such as tree and shrub
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028192Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) planting, small urban and pocket parks, playgrounds, and urban meadows, improve the look, feel and ambience of a space; à Well Connected: Public spaces which form part of the wider network of safe and appealing routes for walking and cycling can ensure day and night-time use with people traversing the space regularly to walk or cycle to local shops, schools and workplaces, or to access public transport links; à Well-maintained: Public spaces should always have a well-maintained appearance. The full life-time costs of materials, including maintenance and replacement, needs to be properly identified at design and selection stage and resourced in practice. A primary aim of this plan is to promote the provision of a high-quality public realm identifying the need for the enhancement of existing and provision of new additional civic and public spaces and parks, through a hierarchy of spaces (See Chapter 8, Section 8.7.2). The enhancement of existing and delivery of such new spaces while providing for attractive, interesting, inviting and well used outdoor spaces will also aim to maximise the potential to provide for a connected network of natural green spaces identified within the Green Infrastructure Network (Chapter 4) of this plan. Policy QDP6: Public Realm Promote a multi-disciplinary and co-ordinated approach to the delivery and management of the public realm within South Dublin County. QDP6 Objective 1: To require that all development proposals, whether in established areas or in new growth nodes, contribute positively to the creation of new, and the enhancement of existing public realm. To demonstrate how the highest quality in public realm design is achieved and how it can be robustly maintained over time (see also Chapter 12: Implementation and Monitoring - Design Statements and Public Realm). QDP6 Objective 2: To support public realm improvements under South Dublin County Council’s Village and Centre enhancement initiatives including those proposed within Architectural Conservation Areas having regard to the Architectural Heritage Protection Guidelines for Planning Authorities (DAHG, 2011) or any subsequent guidelines. QDP6 Objective 3: To promote and implement environmental and public realm improvements in existing town, village, district and local centres to a high standard and finish to ensure that the design addresses environmental quality, urban design, safety including the potential for anti-social behaviour, identity, and image. QDP6 Objective 4: To pursue all avenues of funding to secure resources for the enhancement, renewal and regeneration of the public realm of the County’s urban areas.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028193Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) QDP6 Objective 5: To co-ordinate the development of the private and public space in Palmerstown Village and other villages by ensuring that any project works by third parties are used as an opportunity for SDCC to improve and enhance the streetscape and that SDCC liaise with utility providers so that all unnecessary footpath poles are removed and all electrical and other overhead cables, currently a blight on the village landscape, are put underground at the earliest opportunity. QDP6 Objective 6: To ensure that all new developments but particularly apartment developments where gardens do not form part of the home, make provision for sufficient public realm space to enable the community to enjoy a healthy living environment outdoors but within the boundaries of the development and that no new development whether it be private or social creates a development that downgrades the public realm to an extent that it is insufficient to serve as a healthy place to live, both mentally and physically. QDP6 Objective 7: To ensure, in so far as is practical, that all boundary walls in new residential developments are of a similar height and of a high quality where they are bordered on either side by a public footpath or an area that has been or is due to be taken-in-charge in order to leverage the opportunity to improve the quality of boundary treatments. QDP6 Objective 8: To continue to improve the environment and public realm of Palmerstown village in terms of environmental quality, urban design, safety, identity and image. QDP6 Objective 9: To ensure, in cooperation with the NTA and relevant agencies, that projects which affect the public realm will consider fully the needs of pedestrian, cyclists and public transport users, and that transport schemes complement any public realm objectives. 5.2.6 High Quality and Inclusive Development Guidelines for Planning Authorities in relation to residential development advocate a holistic approach to the creation of sustainable communities and residential neighbourhoods, with an emphasis on the design of quality urban environments. The Guidelines on Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities, DEHLG (2007) advise that successful design and good quality sustainable housing developments require a balance between a range of issues such as accessibility, security, safety, privacy, community interaction, availability of appropriate services and the provision of adequate space. The Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas, DEHLG (2009) set out urban design criteria that should be used in the
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028194Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) design of all residential areas. Best practice examples of the implementation of these urban design criteria are illustrated under the companion Urban Design Manual – A Best Practice Guide, DEHLG (2009). The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets, DTTAS & DECLG (2013) provides further guidance in relation to the design of streets and presents a series of principles, approaches and standards that are necessary to create safe and successful residential streets. Further to the aforementioned guidelines, design criteria and standards in relation to Healthy Placemaking and Public Realm for all development types are detailed in Chapter 12: Implementation and Monitoring of this Plan. The standards are framed by the policy and objectives set out below. High Quality Design A high standard of design can significantly improve the aesthetic and practical experience of our neighbourhoods in everyday life. A high quality of urban design and architecture also improves economic value and is a key element in regeneration proposals. The Council will therefore encourage high quality design, materials and finishes and good quality landscaping with robust maintenance protocols for all residential, commercial and employment developments in South Dublin County including retail and mixed-use schemes. The design must ensure that the proposed development will be integrated with and be complementary to the streetscape. All proposals for new development must demonstrate how the proposal constitutes a positive urban design response to the local context, leveraging improvements to the local standards where required, and how it contributes to healthy placemaking and the identity of an area. Policy QDP7: High Quality Design – Development General Promote and facilitate development which incorporates exemplary standards of high-quality, sustainable and inclusive urban design, urban form and architecture. QDP7 Objective 1: To actively promote high quality design through the policies and objectives which form ‘The Plan Approach’ to creating sustainable and successful neighbourhoods and through the implementation of South Dublin County’s Building Height and Density Guide. Street Frontage Promoting well-designed streets and public spaces that feel safe, secure and attractive for all to use is an important element in creating healthy places to live, work, visit, socialise and invest in. Successful streets and spaces are generally characterised by the presence of active frontages or ‘live’ edges. Buildings or other features whose use is directly accessible from the public street or space which it faces, such as shopfronts, doors and entrances, or residential upper floors with overlooking windows, provide activity and vitality within the public realm with people coming and going at different times of the day, providing natural surveillance and vibrancy.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028195Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) Active frontages which meet these criteria will be encouraged in all town, district and local centres, while inactive or poorly designed frontages will be discouraged. Shopfronts, workspace, residential and community spaces form the backdrop to many of the pedestrian areas and spaces that make up the public realm. They have an importance well beyond their role to advertise the goods available for purchase. Shopfronts – the scope of which encompasses not only shops but also other business frontages such as restaurants, public houses, banks and offices – provide important opportunities to engage with the street. Similarly, street front cafes are an important part of our urban centre environments and add to the vibrancy and vitality of the streetscape. The Council will actively promote the principles of good shopfront design as set out in South Dublin County Council Shopfront Design Guidelines (2019) and continue to support the improvement of shopfronts through initiatives such as the South Dublin County Council Shopfront Grant Scheme. Policy QDP7: High Quality Design – Street Frontage QDP7 Objective 2: To actively promote well-designed streets and public spaces that provide for active frontages and ‘live’ edges that feel safe, secure and attractive for all to use. QDP7 Objective 3: To require a high quality of design and finish for new and replacement shopfronts, signage, and advertising, having regard to the requirements set out in Chapter 12: Implementation and Monitoring.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028196Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) QDP7 Objective 4: To ensure that the principles of good shopfront design as set out in South Dublin County Council Shopfront Design Guidelines (2019) (or any superseding guidelines) are adhered to. Street Width and Building Height Ratios As part of assessing new development proposals, building height and the enclosure of new streets and public spaces will be an important consideration. Building heights that result in a canyon effect of the street will be discouraged and this will need to be tested and demonstrated as part of proposals. Canyons can inhibit sufficient light and air reaching the buildings and street below. Consideration may be given to those streets with a north-to-south orientation where they allow more sunlight to permeate than streets with an east-to-west axis. Along narrower streets, it may be necessary to keep the scale of the frontage of the building to a minimum, by setting back the upper floors behind the front roof parapet so that it is not apparent from the street. Such a solution will also need to work in terms of its impact from longer views where it may be more visible. Designers should seek to promote / maintain a sense of enclosure on all streets within Towns and Villages. Figure 3 demonstrates measurements that can indicate a sense of enclosure by way of building height to street width ratio. Where building frontages face onto public open spaces and squares, they should normally provide sufficient sense of enclosure and a suitable backdrop to define and overlook the space while not overpowering it. Ultimately, all proposals for development should contribute positively to providing a coherent enclosure of streets and public spaces, taking into consideration the proportions and activities of buildings on both sides of a street or surrounding a public space. Figure 3: Building Height to Street Width Ratio - DMURS 2019.
- SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028197Quality Design and Healthy Placemaking (QDP) Policy QDP7: High Quality Design – Street Width and Height QDP7 Objective 5: To ensure that development contributes to the creation of sustainable communities in accordance with the requirements of the Guidelines on Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities, DEHLG (2007), the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas, DEHLG (2009), or any superseding guidelines, including the urban design criteria as illustrated under the companion Urban Design Manual – A Best Practice Guide, DEHLG (2009). QDP7 Objective 6: To ensure that development provides an integrated and balanced approach to movement, healthy placemaking and streetscape design in accordance with the requirements of the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets, DTTAS and DEHLG (2019). QDP7 Objective 7: To ensure that all proposals for development contribute positively to providing a coherent enclosure of streets and public spaces, taking into consideration the proportions and activities of buildings on both sides of a street or surrounding a public space, providing for good standards of daylight and sunlight, and micro climatic conditions and having regard to the guidance and principles set out in the South Dublin County’s Building Height and Density Guide and the Design Manual for Urban Streets and Roads (DMURS) (2019). Adaptability and Inclusivity High quality, adaptable and inclusive development, which meets the needs of all users, regardless of age, gender, race or sensory and mobility abilities and disabilities and allows all people to use spaces in the same way and on equal terms, must be at the forefront of all new development proposals. The Council will promote and support a Universal Design Approach to residential and non-residential development including employment, education, civic, community and health facilities, retail, banking and other tertiary services. The application of Universal Design thinking to our built environment recognises differences and accommodates them by integrating considerations at the start of the design stage: à Equitable use: The design is useful to people with diverse abilities; à Flexibility in use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities; à Ease of use: Use of the design is easy to understand and can be used efficiently and comfortably. Quality housing with long-term adaptability – such as ‘soft-spots’ where internal walls can change from a two-bedroom layout to one larger bedroom; and WCs that are wheelchair accessible, with drainage and service provisions enabling a shower to be fitted at a later stage – allows for change as circumstances alter or families grow. The Council will promote and support adaptable building design and the provision of Lifetime Homes in residential and mixed-use developments, having regard to the
Source South Dublin County Council: South Dublin County Development Plan 2022–2028 – Written Statement (2022–2028) · 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.