Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020
281. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will publish the report of the working group established in May 2017 to review the 2005 planning guidelines on sustainable rural housing; the number of times the group met and when; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31603/20]
View answer282. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress made by his Department in 2020 on the scoping exercise for the updating of the sustainable rural housing guidelines, on foot of the 2013 Flemish Decree case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31604/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 282 together.
Under the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing 2005, planning authorities are required to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way that ensures the housing needs of rural communities are met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing.
A working group was established to review and, where necessary, recommend changes to the 2005 Guidelines and met on five occasions between May 2017 and January 2019. During this period, in 2018, the National Planning Framework (the NPF) was published and provides an important strategic basis for interpreting the 2005 Guidelines. National Policy Objective (NPO) 15 of the NPF fully supports the concept of the sustainable development of rural areas by encouraging growth and arresting decline in areas that have experienced low population growth or decline in recent decades, while simultaneously indicating the need to manage certain areas around cities and towns.
The 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines are framed in the context of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) 2002. Given the superseding of the NSS by the National Planning Framework (NPF) in 2018, together with the long-standing need to address the implications of the 2013 European Court of Justice ruling in the "Flemish Decree" case, the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines require updating, in a broader rural development and settlement context. My Department has commenced scoping this work and I expect a draft by the end of this year.
In the interim, the NPF objectives together with the 2005 Guidelines, enable planning authorities to continue to draft and adopt county development plan policies for one-off housing in rural areas.
