Builders warn housing limits may halt construction in Kildare

Major builders have claimed they could be forced to halt the construction of new homes and mothball sites in Co Kildare because housing targets for the Dublin commuter belt are too restrictive.

Builders O’Flynn, Cairn, Glenveagh and Ballymore – among the biggest in the market – have made a joint submission to Kildare County Council saying its proposed development plan risks curtailing the delivery of dwellings needed to tackle the housing crisis. The companies said they had collectively built more than 3,000 homes in Kildare in the past five years.

Separately, the State’s “bad bank”, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), said the council’s reduced housing target for 2023-2029 would lead to the de-zoning of residential sites and to serviced land becoming unavailable for development. That was not in the public interest, it said, “particularly at a time of surging demand and chronic undersupply of housing”.

A public consultation closed this week on the local authority’s draft development plan, which contains a target of 9,144 new homes by 2028.

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The 60-page submission from O’Flynn, Cairn, Glenveagh and Ballymore — collectively described as a “consortium of housebuilders” — takes issue with the target, claiming it is “insufficiently ambitious” and fails to address the worsening national and local housing crisis.

“Our clients are facing the very real prospect of having to close existing house construction sites and mothball the opening of new ‘shovel ready’ sites because they might exceed artificially derived ‘housing target numbers’ dictated by the [Department of Housing],” said the submission, written by property advisers Turley on behalf of the consortium.

“Our clients believe that the need for new homes in the county is greater than the draft plan suggests. If adopted in its current form, it will restrict the industry from providing the homes that are required to meet the needs of local households now and in the future.

“To address the deficiencies identified in this report the plan must zone lands of a sufficient quantum to ensure the required level of flexibility to proactively plan for the increasing local housing need beyond the proposed housing target.”

The submission went on to say that stronger than expected population growth has been a driver of housing demand in Co Kildare.

“The county had an estimated 247,413 residents as of 2020, some 11,500 more than anticipated by the ESRI projections that underpin the proposed housing target and already exceeding its forecast for 2023. There is every sign that this strong population growth will continue,” it said.

“Failing to plan for this population growth would not only perpetuate the local housing crisis but also compromise the provision of infrastructure and key services.”

In its submission, Nama said significant, “well-located” and mainly residential land assets in Celbridge, Leixlip and Newbridge could be de-zoned under the plan. The current six-year housing target for Kildare represents a 50 per cent reduction on the last development plan, Nama said.

“De-zoning serviced land to meet precision in housing targets is wasteful of costly infrastructure and is counterintuitive in times of a housing crisis, particularly where sites are appropriate for development by virtue of proximity to established development and services,” it added.

“It would also undermine parallel objectives of Government to dampen land prices.”

Asked to comment on the builders’ submission, Kildare County Council said the draft plan was prepared in line with ministerial rules for setting housing supply targets and other national policies.

“The chief executive has now initiated the process of preparing a report with respect to submissions and observations received during the consultation. This report will address the issues raised in each submission and provide a response to same,” it said.