Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
784. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he expects to publish the revised rural housing guidelines in the context of a review of the 2005 planning guidelines on sustainable rural housing; and if he will confirm that such guidelines will comply with the ECJ ruling in the Flemish decree case. [17104/23]
View answerUpdated Rural Housing Planning Guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department. The updated guidelines will expand on the high level spatial planning policy of the National Planning Framework (NPF), in particular on National Policy Objective (NPO) 19 which relates to rural housing. This objective makes a clear policy distinction between rural areas under urban influence (i.e. areas within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment) on the one hand, and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining, on the other. NPO 19 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social (intrinsic part of the community) or economic (persons working full or part time) need are to be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.
The proposed Draft Rural Housing Guidelines will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for rural housing, based on the high level policy framework set by the NPF. The guidelines will continue to allow county development plans to provide for housing in the countryside based on the considerations detailed in NPO 19 of the NPF, and will also highlight the need to manage development in certain areas, such as the areas around cities and larger towns and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to avoid over-development.
Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 (which continue to have effect) there have been important changes to our planning system. Most notably, obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of the environment and adapting to and mitigating climate change have become more central to the operation of the planning system. While planning policy is a national, as opposed to an EU competence, due care is being taken to ensure the updated guidelines will not operate to conflict with fundamental EU freedoms, comply with EU environmental legislative requirements and have due regard to decisions of the European Court of Justice.
In this regard, the ‘Flemish Decree’ case was a successful challenge in the European Court of Justice to a March 2009 decree of the Belgian Flemish Region on land and real estate policy, which made the purchase or long-term lease of land (i.e. all immovable property, that included existing homes, businesses and farms) in certain Flemish communes conditional upon there being a ‘sufficient connection’ between the prospective buyer or tenant and the relevant commune. The Flemish Decree therefore effectively restricted more than development rights in respect of new housing development.
The draft planning guidelines will address these complex environmental and legal issues, while also providing a framework for the sustainable management of housing in rural areas.
The guidelines are at an advanced stage of drafting and environmental assessments relating to the impact of the proposed guidelines on the environment are being finalised.
It is intended that the draft guidelines will be published for a period of public consultation in Q2 2023.
