Written answers

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Planning Issues

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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211. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reverse the decision of his predecessor to reduce minimum apartment sizes; if smaller apartments are especially problematic to persons living with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11212/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The apartment minimum sizes specified in the Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments - Guidelines for Planning Authorities, published in December 2015, are mandatory for all local authorities.

The sizes for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments are not new standards but a restatement of the minimum apartment sizes for such apartments set out in previous statutory guidelines published in 2007 after extensive public consultation and the engagement of independent professional architectural and design expertise.

In addition, and more importantly, to ensure their consistent application, including in the many local authority areas with no minimum standards, the 2015 guidelines were drafted in a manner that avails of amendments to the Ministerial powers under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to issue guidelines to planning authorities, which amendments were inserted by the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2015.

The 2015 Act enables statutory guidelines to expressly state “Specific Planning Policy Requirements” to be applied by planning authorities, or An Bord Pleanála, as appropriate, in the exercise of their planning functions and where any conflict arises between such guidelines and local authority development plans, the requirements of the guidelines take precedence.

Whilst not all aspects of the 2015 Apartment Guidelines are mandatory, they identify a number of specific planning policy requirements that must be applied by local authorities. These include minimum apartment unit floor areas.

The 2015 guidelines therefore updated previous 2007 guidelines, which, in practice, had little if any real effect in terms of actual development, due to the post 2008 economic downturn and after which, despite challenging economic conditions, a number of local authorities set differing and higher minimum floor area standards.

Part M of the Building Regulations sets out the legally enforceable requirements that an apartment or building must achieve in order that it can be accessed and used generally by persons irrespective of their age, size or ability.  Part M was last revised in 2010 and an accompanying Technical Guidance Document to Part M 2010 outlines how compliance may be achieved in practice.  Compliance with the regulations is first and foremost a matter for the owner/developer, the designer and builder concerned.  New guidance on apartment sizes does not prevent or restrict compliance with the current Part M requirement and does not override the statutory obligation to comply with same.

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