Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
879. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the solutions being considered to address the large amount of urban decay in towns and villages nationwide, in particular old and dilapidated business premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12924/20]
View answerA number of actions have been taken in recent years, to address vacancy and dereliction in part of our towns and city. A core principle of the Project Ireland 2040 and the National Planning Framework (NPF) published in 2018, is the promotion of compact urban growth and the re-use of brownfield sites. This builds on the particular actions set out in Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, published in 2016 in relation to the use of our existing housing stock.
The NPF includes specific objectives to regenerate cities, towns and villages of all types and scale, and in particular to reverse the stagnation or decline of many smaller urban centres, including measure to reduce vacancy, re-use existing buildings and promote infill and area or site-based regeneration.
The important roles of our towns and villages, is reflected in the Programme for Government with the proposed development of a “Town Centre First” policy. Similarly, the Programme for Government commits to the development of the cities of Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway as viable alternatives to Dublin using Project Ireland 2040, to help regional towns prosper. The Programme for Government notes the importance of balanced regional development in reducing environmental pressures and keeping our smaller urban centres vibrant.
Local authorities have already been provided with a number of powers and measures to deal with the issue of vacancy and dereliction of in our urban centres. There also exists a framework of overarching policy and capital funding which provides support to development, including urban regeneration.
From a legislative perspective, this includes for example,
- the Derelict Sites Act 1990, which imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site;
- the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2018, which came into operation on 8 February 2018, and provides for an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant areas above ground floor premises, to residential use. This measure is aimed at facilitating the productive re-use of qualifying vacant commercial buildings as homes, while also facilitating urban renewal and the bringing on stream of increased housing supply;
- the vacant site levy provisions in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, under which planning authorities were empowered to apply a vacant site levy of 3% of the market valuation of relevant properties which were listed on local authority vacant site registers in 2018, which relevant owners were liable to pay in January 2019. The rate of the levy increased to 7% for sites listed on local authority vacant sites register from 2019 onwards which site owners became liable to pay in January 2020; and
- local authorities also have compulsory purchase order powers which can be used in certain circumstances to address these issues.
From a funding perspective, significant resourcing is being provided to enhance the urban environment of our cities, towns and villages through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund established under Project Ireland 2040: The National Development Plan. The URDF, which is the fund operated by my Department, was launched in 2018 and has an overall provision of €2 billion to 2027. The URDF was established to support applicant-led projects that will contribute to regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the NPF and the NDP. The aim is to achieve more compact, sustainable and mixed use development, with a view to ensuring that more parts of our urban areas can become attractive and vibrant places in which people choose to live and work, as well as to invest and to visit. This will be done by supporting proposals that contribute to the re-development of key brownfield areas, including areas containing derelict sites and buildings, both by enabling infrastructure and new master-planned development proposals. 88 projects across the breadth of the country have been approved for URDF support thus far. A second call for proposals was launched in January of this year. The closing date for applications was 29 May 2020 and these applications are now being assessed.
Under the National Vacant Home Reuse Strategy 2018-21, the Vacant Homes Unit in my Department has, since 2018, provided annual funding of €50,000 to each local authority to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office. Each such office is tasked to support, implement and further develop, update, monitor and review the progress of local authorities’ Vacant Homes Action Plans and actions to address vacant private housing; in addition to other core functions to identify and bring back vacant homes into use. In addition, under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, two schemes were introduced to assist in bringing vacant stock back into use.
- the Repair and Leasing Scheme introduced to assist property owners in bringing vacant properties back into use for social housing purposes. The scheme is particularly targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their properties up to the required standard for rental properties.
- the Buy and Renew Scheme introduced to support local authorities in purchasing and renewing housing units in need of repair which can then be made available for social housing use. The Buy and Renew Scheme particularly focuses on older vacant homes to help tackle the problem of dereliction and improve the appearance of the community. As a complementary initiative to the Repair and Leasing Scheme, it provides the option for suitable properties to be purchased rather than leased, if that is the preference of the owners of vacant properties.
The regeneration of our towns and villages will remain an important component of urban policy and the Programme for Government in committing to the continuation of the URDF and RRDF, also proposes the bringing forward of an expanded town and village renewal scheme to bring vacant and derelict building back into use and promote residential occupancy.
