Dr. Cathal FitzGerald:

I wish to respond to Deputy Ó Broin's specific question about something we have learned from abroad that can help to solve some of the collaboration challenges. For a successful mixed-use development to deliver on all the requirements, it involves leadership and the involvement of the public, private and non-profit sectors. The second of the four key ingredients that we identified was an institutional element. An example we found really interesting was from Nantes in France, where in 1979 a new public private partnership was put together involving the local authority, a transport company, chambers of commerce, banks and the NGO sector. All have shares in the company. It is majority-owned by the municipality. It has responsibility for transport planning, land use and investment over the long run. The collaboration for specific sites is institutionalised, and it has been successful. It involves a seven-year timeframe.

The second lesson from France relates to the corridor contract idea. When a new significant transport corridor, such as a tramway or quality bus corridor, is being planned, the institution that has been established enters contracts with landowners adjacent to the proposed route. It involves a co-operative agreement whereby the public company commits to building, extending or renovating the transport line while, in reciprocation, the local landowners agree to densities, use, planning restrictions and objectives. This ends speculation along the transport route. It also allows the zoning and the uplift that comes from that to be managed to the mutual benefit of the transport company, residents and local landowners adjacent to the route.