Vol. 535 No. 2
177 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will consider issuing guidelines to local authorities to encourage them to facilitate the development of at least one sustainable rural village project. [12466/01]
I understand that the Deputy is referring to a project known as the farm village. My Department has received a submission in relation to this proposal. Essentially what is proposed is a rural clustered housing development in the countryside which would be situated within a working organic farm or a farm in conversion to organic status. The submission to my Department requested that guidelines be issued to planning authorities requiring the "Farm Village" to be designated as a category of development open to consideration for permission in areas zoned as agricultural in their development plans.
The settlement strategy of most rural development plans is to limit development in the open countryside and promote smaller towns and villages. My Department supports this policy inter alia through the town and village renewal programme. The need to develop the smaller towns and villages is a specific policy set out in the Government's White Paper on rural development. My Department would, of course, be generally supportive of any innovative proposals for sustainable forms of development. This proposal is at an early stage of development and therefore it would not be appropriate to issue any national guidelines at this stage. It would appear that the best way forward in this case would be for the promoter of this project to identify a suitable location for a pilot development of this type and to pursue the matter directly with the relevant planning authority.
