Sir, – Michael McElligot makes some good points regarding outdated data on population growth and inappropriately zoned land in his article “Development plans doomed to fail due to flawed data” (Opinion & Analysis, September 19th).
He notes that often owners of rezoned land have no desire or ability to get that land into development, but these landowners will benefit massively when they sell that rezoned land to those who do desire and do have the ability to develop it.
The massive price increases caused by rezoning from agricultural use to residential development do have a substantial effect on the final selling price of a residential property.
This is just one more reason why the current rezoning system needs to be changed from its present form, to one where the planning authorities, who have expertise in such matters, are the ones who decide which land should be designated (not rezoned) for future urban development.
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Only as and when that designated land is required for expansion of an urban area would it be purchased under compulsory purchase order by the State, and the landowner would then be compensated, based on agri-land prices and some compensation based on loss of income.
The State would then make the land available immediately for development as decided as appropriate by our professional planners and recoup only its costs from the final purchaser of the home, with no artificial price rises created by speculation or slow release of land by vested interests along the way.
With likely rapid population growth in the future, due to immigration driven by climate change and conflict in other regions of the world, it is more important than ever that total planning of urban development, from designation of land, to the types and variety of buildings being built, and where and when, be done.
The current system of land rezoning and “planning” is not fit for the present and certainly not fit for the future and is badly in need of a complete overhaul, which needs to put actual planning at the heart of the system and not just development, which currently is very haphazard and based on individual developers’ personal thoughts and interests for individual sites, rather than total integrated planning by professional planners, with logical and appropriate development of facilities along with residential units.
When the authorities put their minds to it, they can be very effective, as witnessed by the success of the foreign direct investment programme.
The same abilities need to be poured into Ireland’s future housing needs, which have fallen badly behind our industrial development success and are causing huge social problems and hardship in every stratum of Irish society and are contributing to the flight of our newly and expensively trained medical staff, engineers and apprentices and other professionals, with housing costs making work less and less attractive, especially for those on lower incomes.
The capability to change Ireland’s housing morass lies within our present political system, if they choose to put in the effort, and produce a revised urban development system in which the State, through its professional planners, leads, rather than takes a back seat. – Yours, etc,
DAVID
DORAN,
Bagenalstown,
Co Carlow.