John Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Councillor Sheahan referenced the rural planning guidelines. Unfortunately, we did not get to tease this out in the first meeting with the acting chief planner, Mr. Paul Hogan. He did make the comment in that context that he had good news about the rural planning guidelines but he did not get to elaborate on it. We have a mid-term review provided for and that is one of the issues I assure everyone the committee will take up. In that context, Mr. Hogan did reference the urban density guidelines.

While we have the CCMA here - perhaps LAMA and the AILG might like to comment also - there is an existing difficulty in the planning context. We all know that we are trying to have additional compact development. The challenge, especially in suburban areas within the regions, is that people want own-door accommodation rather than apartments. While it may be appropriate in certain parts of a city to have between 35 and 50 units per hectare and not to encourage building fewer than 30 units per hectare, it may not be appropriate in its suburb. What is appropriate in Dublin city centre is not appropriate in Waterford city centre. Mr. Hogan said the guidelines would be published in March and would be implemented in line with this Bill which is expected to be passed in July. If he is listening in, we are certainly going to try to hold the Department to that because it is of the utmost importance. From a planning perspective, I assume local authorities have encountered this issue in engaging with builders and developers who are looking to develop in their counties.