Development plan · Westmeath County Council
Westmeath County Development Plan 2021–2027
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards.
Westmeath County Council · 2021–2027 · 634 pages
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- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xxxv 2030 44,983 17,239 2.61 357 - - 2031 45,741 17,603 2.60 365 - - The additional households identified for the rural remainder have been distributed according to their income decile in Table 28. Table 28: Additional Anticipated Households per decile for the rural remainder Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 1st Decile 27 28 29 29 30 31 32 2nd Decile 29 30 31 32 33 33 34 3rd Decile 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 4th Decile 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 5th Decile 28 29 30 31 32 32 33 6th Decile 28 28 29 30 31 31 32 7th Decile 27 27 28 29 30 30 31 8th Decile 27 27 28 29 30 30 31 9th Decile 27 27 28 29 30 30 31 10th Decile 27 27 28 29 30 30 31 Total 277 285 292 299 308 316 326 The annuity formula has been used to determine the maximum affordable house price for a single rural dwelling for each of the ten income deciles as outlined in Table 29. Table 29: Calculation of Approximate Affordable Price for a Single Rural Dwelling Range % Households 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 1st Decile 9.83% 83,342 85,759 88,246 90,806 93,439 96,149 98,937 2nd Decile 10.57% 137,854 141,852 145,966 150,199 154,555 159,037 163,649 3rd Decile 10.47% 198,060 203,804 209,714 215,796 222,054 228,494 235,120 4th Decile 10.44% 252,381 259,700 267,232 274,981 282,956 291,161 299,605 5th Decile 10.25% 308,841 317,797 327,014 336,497 346,255 356,297 366,629 6th Decile 9.94% 368,036 378,709 389,691 400,992 412,621 424,587 436,900 7th Decile 9.62% 434,322 446,917 459,878 473,214 486,937 501,058 515,589 8th Decile 9.65% 511,361 526,190 541,450 557,152 573,309 589,935 607,043 9th Decile 9.61% 616,515 634,394 652,792 671,723 691,203 711,248 731,874 10th Decile 9.62% 927,807 954,713 982,400 1,010,890 1,040,205 1,070,371 1,101,412 The cost of constructing a single rural dwelling in 2019 has been estimated for a larger and smaller single rural dwelling based on floor space estimates from the CSO and SCSI respectively. A cost range of between €1,550/m2 - €1,750/m2 in 2019 has been used19 and the estimated cost over time has considered the projected GDP growth rates as described in Section 3.4. 19 Data directly received from O’ Reilly Hyland Tierney & Associates on 13 December 2019. It should be noted that this includes footpath and services for the dwelling, as well as VAT.
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xxxvi The cost for the larger unit has assumed a floor area of 254m2 which is the average floor area for a ‘one off’ house20 between 2006 and the second quarter (Q2) of 2019 as defined by the CSO. This equates to a cost of between €393,700 and €444,500 in 2019 as outlined in Table 30. Table 30: Estimated Cost to Construct a Larger Single Rural Dwelling Year Forecast GDP Growth Applying to Labour / Materials Average Cost (€) per m2 Min Average Cost (€) per m2 Max Average Floor Size of One Off Unit Average Cost (€) Min Average Cost (€) Max 2019 - 1550.00 1750.00 254 393,700 444,500 2020 3.1% 1598.05 1804.25 254 405,905 458,280 2021 3.1% 1647.59 1860.18 254 418,488 472,486 2022 2.9% 1695.37 1914.13 254 430,624 486,188 2023 2.9% 1744.54 1969.64 254 443,112 500,288 2024 2.9% 1795.13 2026.76 254 455,962 514,796 2025 2.9% 1847.19 2085.53 254 469,185 529,725 2026 2.9% 1900.75 2146.01 254 482,792 545,087 2027 2.9% 1955.88 2208.25 254 496,792 560,895 2028 2.9% 2012.60 2272.29 254 511,199 577,161 2029 2.9% 2070.96 2338.18 254 526,024 593,898 2030 2.9% 2131.02 2405.99 254 541,279 611,121 2031 2.9% 2192.82 2475.76 254 556,976 628,844 The cost for the smaller unit has assumed a floor area of 146m2 which is the average floor area for a detached bungalow in their housing rebuilding calculator as defined by the SCSI. This equates to a cost of between €226,300 and €255,500 in 2019 as outlined in Table 31. Table 31: Estimated Cost to Construct a Smaller Single Rural Dwelling Year Forecast GDP Growth Applying to Labour / Materials Average Cost (€) per m2 Min Average Cost (€) per m2 Max Average Floor Size of One Off Unit Average Cost (€) Min Average Cost (€) Max 2019 - 1550.00 1750.00 146 226,300 255,500 2020 3.1% 1598.05 1804.25 146 233,315 263,421 2021 3.1% 1647.59 1860.18 146 240,548 271,587 2022 2.9% 1695.37 1914.13 146 247,524 279,463 2023 2.9% 1744.54 1969.64 146 254,702 287,567 2024 2.9% 1795.13 2026.76 146 262,089 295,906 2025 2.9% 1847.19 2085.53 146 269,689 304,488 2026 2.9% 1900.75 2146.01 146 277,510 313,318 2027 2.9% 1955.88 2208.25 146 285,558 322,404 2028 2.9% 2012.60 2272.29 146 293,839 331,754 2029 2.9% 2070.96 2338.18 146 302,360 341,375 2030 2.9% 2131.02 2405.99 146 311,129 351,274 2031 2.9% 2192.82 2475.76 146 320,152 361,461 20 Please note that the CSO uses the term ‘one off house’ and this has been applied for the purpose of this estimation and thus used interchangeably herein.
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xxxvii This average cost for smaller and larger units has then been assessed against a household’s projected affordability threshold. The anticipated number of households who would meet this criteria in each projected year have then been identified from the total number of anticipated households projected to join the rural remainder tier of the settlement hierarchy (as set out in the Core Strategy), and can be seen in Table 32. Only those households in the seventh to tenth deciles can afford to construct a larger single rural dwelling throughout the plan period. In comparison, given the lower estimated construction cost households in the fourth to tenth deciles can afford to construct a smaller single rural dwelling throughout the plan period. Table 32: Number of Additional Households who can Afford to Construct a Single Rural Dwelling 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Households that can afford to construct a larger Single Rural Dwelling 107 110 113 115 119 122 125 Households that can afford to construct a smaller Single Rural Dwelling 192 197 202 207 213 218 192 A linear extrapolation of the number of granted planning applications for single rural dwellings between 2006 - Q2 2019 has been undertaken (Refer to Figure 4 and Table 7). This identifies that approximately 22.1% of all granted residential applications within any given year have been for single rural dwellings. Figure 4: Percentage of Granted Applications for Single Rural Dwellings of Total Granted Applications for Residential during 2006 – Q2 2019 Specific analysis of the most recent full-year data (2011-2018) indicates that 23.2% of residential planning applications have been granted for single rural dwellings, and that this equates to approximately 65 units per annum during that period. Applying a rate of 22.1% (i.e. the 2006-Q2 2019 average) for single rural dwelling types provides the indicative number of potential applications for the plan period, assuming that current trends continue. This is
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xxxviii disaggregated further by the size of the rural dwelling to be constructed (which impacts the affordability thresholds) and is illustrated in table 33. Table 33: Indicative Number of Potential Applications for Single Rural Dwelling Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Indicative number of potential applications for larger home 24 24 25 25 26 27 28 Indicative number of potential applications for smaller home 42 44 45 46 47 48 50 4.3 Household Size Cohort As set out in Section 6.6 of the NPF, information on household composition and projections are informative evidence inputs that can assist with understanding stock profile pressures. Analysis of the historic household sizes (specifically the household size cohort per household) has therefore been undertaken to help discern and forecast how the composition of households may change during the plan period. Analysis of the average intercensal change from 2002 – 2016 has been considered and annualised to assist with forecasting future change in the number of people per household. This is generally progressing towards fewer people per household during the plan period as illustrated in Figure 5 and described below: • 0.170% annual growth forecasted for the proportion of households with one person • 0.160% annual growth forecasted for the proportion of households with two people • 0.001% annual growth forecasted for the proportion of households with three people • 0.053% annual decline forecasted for the proportion of households with four people • 0.0278% annual decline forecasted for the proportion of households with five or more people In turn, this analysis shows that 1 and 2 person households will form the largest overall cohort over the plan period, amounting to a combined total of 55.1% of all households by 2027. The number of households comprising of 4 people or more will continue to decline between 2021-2027. Households with four or more people will amount to approximately 27% of total households by 2027.
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xxxix Figure 5: Forecasted household size cohorts during the plan period 4.4 Household Tenure Tenure is an important consideration for the delivery of housing and Section 6.6 of the NPF identifies the need to estimate the demand for different tenure types. Analysis of the historic tenure split has therefore been undertaken to help discern and forecast how the household tenure may change during the plan period. Analysis of the average intercensal change from 2002 – 2016 has been considered and annualised to assist with forecasting future change in the proportion of owner occupiers, private rental and other rental (which includes rental from local authorities, housing bodies and those in occupation free of rent). The historic data suggests that year on year private rental and other rental is growing (0.54% and 0.23% respectively) whilst owner occupation is declining (by 0.76%) as illustrated in Figure 6. By 2027, almost 63% of all households will live in owner occupied dwellings in Westmeath. This is a considerable overall decrease from the 2016 figure of 69.2%. The plan period will also see considerable growth in the rental sector, with approximately 25% of households in private rental and 12% in ‘other rental’ by 2027. Figure 6: Forecasted tenure composition during the plan period 4.5 Social Housing Supply and Demand 4.5.1 Meeting Social Housing Demand Social Housing support in Westmeath is administered by the Housing Department of Westmeath County Council in the following ways:
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xl 1. A social rented tenancy in property owned and managed by the local authority and a tenancy in a property the local authority is managing or has leased from a private property owner. These can include: • Westmeath County Council Construction Projects. • Provision of Social Housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2015: While the provision of social housing via traditional Part V mechanism will continue to play a role in the delivery of social housing in Co. Westmeath, other delivery channels for social housing are likely to be more significant in terms of their potential to contribute to the social housing targets set out. The statutory context for the provision of social and affordable housing has changed under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015. The amendments include that there will be a requirement for up to 10% social housing in developments in excess of 9 units. The use of cash payments in lieu of social housing provision is no longer allowed. Provision is made for the transfer of completed units on other land not subject to the planning permission to be provided. Provision is also made for the Part V obligation to be fulfilled by developers through long term leasing of properties and rental accommodation availability agreements. • Portfolio Acquisitions: Suitable portfolios of vacant properties can be acquired from financial institutions and investors. • Acquisitions: This is the purchase by Westmeath County Council of a second-hand house on the open market. • Buy and Renew: Under this scheme Westmeath County Council can buy sub-standard properties, which have been vacant for over a year, refurbish them and bring them back into use through the Council’s housing stock. The purchase cost plus the cost of refurbishment can’t exceed what a comparable property would attain on the private market. This initiative, which complements the Repair & Leasing Scheme, is designed to assist local authorities and AHBs (Approved Housing Bodies) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant properties for social housing use. • Turnkeys: Westmeath County Council buy a new house/houses from a developer, ready for a tenant to move into. • Tenant Purchase Scheme: In January 2016, a new scheme for the purchase of existing local authority houses came into effect – The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016. 2. A social rented tenancy in property owned and managed by an approved housing body (AHB). AHB’s provide social housing and are formed for the purpose of relieving housing need and the provision and management of housing. They are established by a voluntary management board to benefit the community in which they are based and are approved and funded by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Housing cooperatives can provide both social rented housing and housing to purchase. Housing cooperatives are self-help and jointly owned member/user housing associations or societies. Projects undertaken may be in response to the needs of the elderly, people with disabilities, homeless persons or families and single people on low incomes. Some housing associations may be formed to specialise in meeting a particular housing need, others develop with broader aims. The specific housing services offered will depend on the aims or concerns of the members, the needs of tenants as well as the financial and other resources available for both capital costs and ongoing management running costs. As of December 2019, AHB’s in Westmeath provide 79 properties which have a total of 141 separate units of accommodation. By 2021 Tuath Housing intend to provide an additional 120 units in the county. 3. Westmeath County Council also provides accommodation specifically for Travellers and for people with specific housing needs such as people with disabilities and the homeless. Delivery programmes responding to specific needs include the following: • Refugee Resettlement Programme: Under the Refugee Resettlement Programme, 120 people have been allocated social housing in Westmeath. The families are part of approximately 4,000 people which the government has committed to receiving through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme. County
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xli Council will continue to work with Central Government and relevant State Agencies Office in responding to its requirements to support refugees as they undergo their resettlement process in Co. Westmeath. • Traveller Accommodation Plan: Under the provisions of the Housing Traveller Accommodation Act 1998, Local Authorities are required to prepare, adopt and implement a Traveller Accommodation Programme (TAP) to meet the accommodation needs of the county’s indigenous Traveller community. The current Traveller Accommodation Programme sets out the strategy for provision of Traveller accommodation and support services over a five-year period from 2019-2024. A housing needs assessment was carried out of identified Traveller families in November 2018. A total of 429 families were identified as living in County Westmeath. The current traveller specific accommodation In Westmeath is as described in table 34. Table 34: Current Traveller Accommodation Provision • The Plan also includes annual targets for Traveller Accommodation Programme 2019-2024 by accommodation type as outlined in Table 35. Table 35: Targets for Traveller Accommodation by Accommodation Type Year Total by TypeType 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Standard Local Authority Housing 6 6 9 9 9 39 Traveller Group Housing 0 0 0 0 0 0 Halting Site Bays 1 1 1 1 1 5 Transient Bays 0 0 0 0 0 0 Halting Site Refurbishments 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group Housing Refurbishments 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rental Accommodation Scheme 2 2 1 1 1 7 Part V 2 2 2 2 2 10 HAP 7 7 7 7 6 34 Total by Year 18 18 20 20 19 95 Type of Accommodation Number of families Permanent Halting Site Bay 26 (of 30 Bays available) Group Housing 5 (of 6 houses available) Transient 16 Standard Local Authority Housing 150 Private Rented 93 House Acquired by Travellers without Local Authority assistance 95 Tenant Purchase 28 Side of Road 0 HAP 2 Shared in standard Local Authority lettings 8 Shared private accommodation 2 Shared private rented accommodation 2 Caravans in rear gardens 2 2
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xlii 4. A tenancy where the local authority arranges short or long-term leases with private landlords for particular properties. (People in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months or longer are eligible to apply for this type of accommodation). • The HAP Scheme: The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a scheme under the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2014 for people who have a long-term housing need and who quality for social housing support. It is administered by housing authorities and will eventually replace long-term rent supplement. The HAP scheme aims to allow all social housing supports to be accessed through the local authorities and to enable people to take up full-time employment and keep their housing support. Under the scheme the housing applicant finds appropriate private rented accommodation (within specific caps). The Local Authority then pays the landlord directly and the tenant pays a rent to the local authority based on the differential rent scheme. • RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme): The RAS is an initiative to cater for the accommodation needs of certain persons in receipt of rent supplement, normally for more than 18 months and who are assessed as having a long-term housing need. Westmeath County Council pays rent directly to the accommodation providers on behalf of the tenant (which is a maximum of 92% of the market rent). The County Council makes use of the private and voluntary sector and engage in a contractual arrangement to secure medium-long term rented accommodation. • Repair and Lease: The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness introduced a new scheme, the Vacant Housing Repair and Leasing Initiative. This scheme specifically targets the delivery of social housing and seeks to ensure that existing housing stock is used to the maximum degree possible. The basis of the scheme is that repair and improvement works to suitable vacant properties are funded to bring them up to the standard for rented accommodation and the cost of the works is then deducted from lease payments over an agreed lease term 4.5.2 Delivery Methods and Targets It is anticipated that Westmeath County Council will continue to meet their identified social housing provision via a combination of these existing delivery schemes (as set out in Section 4.4.1) and through the introduction or greater emphasis of other either existing or recently established schemes and mechanisms. This section assesses different Social Housing delivery channels available in County Westmeath and their progress to date in achieving the targets set out in the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness which was published in July 2016. The Action Plan recognises issues around supply and affordability in Ireland’s housing sector and provides a multi-stranded approach to achieve key housing objectives up to 2021. The Action Plan sets a commitment to deliver 138,000 additional social housing units nationally over the period 2016-2021. This will include 83,760 HAP homes, 3,800 RAS homes and over 50,000 new homes, broken down as follows: Build: 33,617; Acquisition: 6,830; Leasing:10,036. The target for 2019 is over 6,200 homes nationally. In Westmeath, the county target for 2019 is 626 additional units across all social housing delivery streams. Table 36: Westmeath Social Housing Targets under Rebuilding Ireland Targets 2018-2021 Targets 2019 Build, Acquisition and Leasing Building, Acquisition, Leasing Build Acquisition Leasing HAP & RAS All SH delivery streams Westmeath 801 211 130 21 60 415 626
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xliii Progress on the delivery of social housing units is documented as part of quarterly updates by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government21. The most recently available progress update relates to Q3 2019. This shows that the total output up to Q3 was 429 units. This means that 69% of the overall 2019 target had been achieved to that point which is an encouraging indicator for future progress. 801 units in total are targeted for the county within the ‘building, acquisition and leasing’ category specifically between 2018-2021. This is described in 36. To date (Q3 2019), 315 units have been delivered through these mechanisms (between 2018-2019). Thus, over the course of 2020-2021 (and also Q4 2019), approximately 486 additional units are to be delivered. As of December 2019, 1255 households are on the social housing waiting list in Westmeath. Between 2018 and 2019, the social housing waiting list in Westmeath reduced by approximately 20%22. Table 37: Progress on Rebuilding Ireland Social Housing Targets 2019 Build (To Third Quarter in 2019) Westmeath County Council LA New Build [1] AHB New Build [2] Part V -New Build [3] Total New Build LA Voids [8] All Build Total 19 0 3 22 4 26 Acquisition (To Second Quarter in 2019) LA Acquisition AHB Acquisition Acquisition Total 29 7 36 Other (To Second Quarter in 2019) Leasing [4] RAS [5] HAP [6] 42 33 292 1. LA New Build includes units delivered through Rapid, Traditional, Turnkey and Regeneration (detail available on the Construction Status Report [7]) 2. AHB New Build includes CAS and CALF New Build (detail available on the Construction Status Report [7]) 3. Part V New Build includes Part V's delivered under LA Build and AHB Build 4. New leasing units operational are defined as the number of new leasing units delivered under this scheme in the given period. This program was previously known as long term leasing until 2014. 5. RAS - New transfers is defined as the number of households which have moved from Rent Supplement to RAS in that specific year. It includes households who remained in their existing accommodation and those for whom the LA had to source new properties. 6. HAP - New Households Supported refers to the number of qualified households with an established housing need who are being accommodated under the HAP scheme for that year. 7. The most recently published Construction Status Report is available on www.rebuildingireland.ie 21 https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision 22 https://www.housingagency.ie/sites/default/files/SHA-Summary-2019-DEC-2019-WEB.pdf
- Appendix 1 Housing Strategy xliv 8. LA Voids includes 132 voids beyond the void target set under Rebuilding Ireland for Q3 2019
Source Westmeath County Council: Westmeath County Development Plan 2021–2027 (2021–2027) · 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.