7 Housing
and Community Facilities |
The Council’s aim in relation to the provision of housing is to
ensure that every household has accommodation suitable to their needs,
located in an acceptable environment, at a price or rent it can afford.
The Council’s role is to formulate a planning policy for housing,
consider planning applications for private housing, ensure that sufficient
lands are zoned to meet the projected housing demand and provide houses
or facilitate the provision of social and affordable housing for those
unable to house themselves. The County Council is both the housing authority
and the planning authority. In these roles it has the capacity to influence
the supply, location and scale of new housing within its functional area.
Access to housing is one of the key elements in the National anti Poverty
Strategy for fighting social exclusion and marginalisation and thereby
assisting in the fight against poverty. The Council recognises this and
through its function as a housing authority it is committed to the development
of a sustainable housing policy in partnership with the Voluntary and
Community Sectors which will fight social exclusion and marginalisation.
During the period from 1994 to 1998 there was a total of 2,286 house
completions in County Kilkenny. Of that total 2,062 houses were completed
by the private housing sector. The private housing sector has a very important
role therefore in the provision of houses for population of the County.
It is the policy of the Council:
a) To provide the necessary infrastructural investment to facilitate
the overall level of housing out put required to meet the current and
anticipated levels of demand in a planned coherent fashion,
b) To zone adequate amounts of land for housing to provide a locational
choice and allow for the probability that not all zoned land will be made
available for development.
c) To ensure an adequate supply of zoned land
d) To strive for the highest quality built environment when assessing
development proposals.
e) To encourage economy and efficiency in the use of land and services.
f) To strive for the consolidation and retention of social infrastructure
in the rural towns, villages, smaller settlements and rural areas of the
County, i.e. primary schools, post offices, Garda stations, churches and
other community facilities.
g) To support serviced land initiatives and the provision of group water
schemes and group sewerage schemes.
h) To contribute to the vitality of the towns and villages of rural areas
through the Urban and Village Renewal Programme
i) To promote high standard of architecture in the siting and design of
new housing developments.
j) To encourage a variety of house types, sizes and tenure in individual
schemes and to encourage variety, interest and social mix in private and
social housing developments.
k) To ensure that the Council’s housing policy and objectives are
linked with employment, environmental, and infrastructural policies and
objectives with the aim of improving the quality of life and the attractiveness
of the county’s towns, villages and open countryside.
Infill housing in existing built up areas of the towns and villages of
the County and in rural areas between existing houses will be encouraged.
Any proposals should be designed to integrate successfully with the existing
pattern of development in terms of housing type, scale and details such
as materials finishes, building lines etc. In all cases the protection
of the amenities of existing development should be the primary consideration.
7.4 Social
and Affordable Housing |
The National Development Plan 2000 - 2006 has identified a need to increase
social housing output to meet rising demand.
This increased housing out put will be met by the Council in a number
of ways as a housing authority through,
- Affordable housing/joint venture schemes
- the local authority’s house building programme,
- the sale of sites scheme,
- the Voluntary Housing Sector and the Rental subsidy scheme,
- the capital assistance scheme
- the disabled persons grant,
- the essential repairs grant and other measures
- the Homeless Forum initiative
The Council will continue to meet social housing needs in the towns,
villages and rural areas of the County in a balanced way avoiding over
concentration in any one particular area.
The Council in its house building programme will place an emphasis on
well designed and integrated schemes appropriate to the scale and character
of the area.
The Council recognises the important role played by the Voluntary Sector
in meeting social housing need and will support and facilitate the expansion
of that role.
It will be the policy of the Council to meet social housing need by
a) Providing houses under its multi-annual housing programme
b) Assembling land banks
c) Co operating with and assisting the Private and Voluntary Sectors.
d) Implementing the Affordable Housing/ Shared Ownership Schemes and other
housing initiatives
e) Participating in estate management & involving residents associations
through the Council’s community liaison programme.
7.5 Housing
Strategy Summary (Full text in appendix A) |
Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (the Act) requires that
housing strategies be drawn up by planning authorities and integrated
into their development plans. The strategy is to have regard to the proper
planning and sustainable development of an area and will be concerned
with the overall supply of housing within the administrative area of the
Local Authority.
The Act states that the needs for social and affordable housing shall
be a material planning consideration which must be taken into account
in formulating development plan policies, preparing the housing strategy
and deciding on planning applications. The Act places a statutory obligation
on the Planning Authority to ensure that sufficient land is zoned for
housing in its development plan to meet the projected housing requirement
over the period of the plan and to ensure that shortage will not arise.
The housing strategy shall:
(a) include an estimate of, and provision for, the existing need and
the likely future need for housing in the area covered by the development
plan. The Planning Authority shall ensure that sufficient and suitable
land is zoned in its development plan for residential use (or for a mixture
of residential and other uses), to meet the requirements of the housing
strategy and to ensure that a scarcity of such land does not occur at
any time during the period of the development plan.
(b) take into account the need to ensure that housing is available for
persons who have different levels of income, and in particular for those
in need of social or affordable housing in the area. A housing strategy
shall therefore provide that as a general policy a specified percentage,
not being more than 20% of the land zoned in the development plan for
residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, shall
be reserved for social and/or affordable housing.
(c) ensure that a mixture of house types and sizes is developed to reasonably
match the requirements of the different categories of households, as may
be determined by the Planning Authority, including the special requirements
of elderly persons and persons with disabilities.
(d) counteract undue segregation in housing between persons of different
social backgrounds. The Planning Authority may indicate in respect of
any residential area that there is no requirement for social/affordable
housing in respect of that area, or that a lower percentage than that
specified in the housing strategy may instead be required.
A housing strategy may be prepared jointly by two or more Planning Authorities.
The housing strategy for Kilkenny City and County was prepared jointly
by Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Council. In the preparation
of the housing strategy regard was had to the Model Housing Strategy and
step-by-step guide issued by the Department of Environment and Local Government
(DoELG) as part of the Housing Supply Guidelines (December 2000).
The principal features to emerge from the analysis presented in this
housing strategy are as follows:
• A total of 4,002 new households are expected to be formed in
County Kilkenny over the 2001-2006 period.
• The existing Local Authority Housing Waiting List is 1,130
• Over this period an average of 18.7% of land zoned for residential,
or for a mix of residential and other uses will be reserved to meet the
accumulated and prospective need of social and affordable housing within
the County As far as possible, the local authorities will address this
need while maintaining an emphasis on sustainable development.
• The availability of zoned and serviced land is not expected to
act as a constraint over the course of the development plan.
• As provided for in section 94(4)(c) of the Act, the local authorities
will as a general policy reserve 18.7% of land zoned for residential,
or for a mix of residential and other uses for the purpose of providing
social and affordable housing on land. In all planning applications regard
will be had to the particular circumstances (existing housing mix, location,
planning requirements, etc) in determining the breakdown between social
and affordable housing provision of the development in question.
• The County Council and Borough Council will consult with all relevant
stakeholders in arriving at final decisions relating to housing mix and
social integration.
• Both will seek to reduce the current housing waiting lists over
the course of this housing strategy.
• The local authorities are intent on promoting the principles of
sustainable development, and so the spatial distribution of future housing
will reflect an emphasis on the continued ordered development of the principal
urban centres of Kilkenny City and Environs, Waterford Environs and the
four Scheduled Towns.
a) It is an objective of the Council to implement the housing strategy
contained in appendix A of the Development Plan.
b) The Council will require that 18.7% of the land zoned for residential
use or for a mixture of residential and other uses be made available for
the provision of social and affordable housing.
Since the adoption of the 1994 Development Plan the National policy has
evolved to promoting increased densities in appropriate locations. The
National strategy outlined in the document "Sustainable Development
- A strategy for Ireland" sets out the Government Policy of encouraging
more sustainable urban development by the avoidance of excessive suburbanisation
curtailing of housing in the countryside for people working in cities
and towns along with the promotion of higher residential densities in
appropriate locations.
This will result in:
- More economic use of existing infrastructure and serviced land
- Reduced need for investment in infrastructure.
- Better access to existing services and facilities
- More sustainable commuting patterns.
The Council recognises that higher densities will not be appropriate
in every circumstance. In achieving higher densities the protection of
the amenities of existing developments and those of the residents of the
proposed development will be a primary consideration. A high quality of
architecture in the siting and design providing a good quality living
environment is essential if increased residential densities are to be
acceptable. In previous Development Plans the concept of maximum residential
densities was used. In this plan in the light of the Governments strategy
this system will not be used.
In assessing proposals for residential development in the urban areas
of the County the Council will have regard to the Government’s publication
"Residential Density Guidelines for Planning Authorities”,
and Action Area Plans prepared by the Council for particular areas.
Action area plans will play an important role in setting the framework
for the achievement of balanced development in areas of expansion. The
Council in its action area plans provides guidance in relation to appropriate
densities for particular areas. Higher densities in accordance with Government
guidelines and the Council’s Action Area Plans will be encouraged
at appropriate locations in town centres in proximity to public transport
facilities and overlooking or adjoining major public open space.
It follows from this approach that there will be no set minimum or maximum
density specified in the Plan. The emphasis will be on providing quality
housing environments based on innovation and a design led approach.
It will be the policy of the Council to:
a) Achieve a more integrated and sustainable development of all residentially
zoned land.
b) Achieve an efficient use of land through residential densities appropriate
to its context while avoiding the problems of over development.
c) Emphasise quality, innovation and a design led approach with proposals
appropriate to each site and location.
d) To encourage a variety of house types, sizes in individual schemes.
Ribbon Development is defined as a number of houses in a continuous row
outside the existing development areas constructed along a roadside.
Over the years there has been development pressure in the County for
one off scattered housing. This has not been uniform throughout the County
and has manifested itself in the form of concentrations within easy commuting
distance of the larger urban centres of the County and those urban centres
close to the County boundary such as New Ross and Waterford City.
This development pressure can be broken into four (not exclusively so)
main elements:
(a) Local people wishing to provide housing for themselves
(b) People originally from the area and wishing to return to the area
to live.
(c) People who need to live in the area by virtue of their employment
(d) Those moving from the nearest urban centre to live in a rural area.
In the main, ribbon development and urban sprawl in the countryside will
be discouraged. It is undesirable because it creates numerous accesses
onto traffic routes, sterilises backlands, land locks farmland, creates
servicing problems (e.g. water supply, drainage, footpaths and street
lighting etc.) and intrudes on public views of the rural setting.
The Council is dedicated to developing a strong, vibrant and sustainable
rural community living in the towns, villages, and smaller settlements
and in the open countryside and to facilitate and support this through
its rural investment programmes, policies and objectives.
The necessity to maintain a vibrant rural community and to strive for
the sustainable development of such communities and their services such
as schools, post offices, churches, shops etc is recognised by the Council.
The County Council recognises the need to retain the rural population
and permit the development of houses in rural areas in a manner which
will not diminish County Kilkenny's high quality rural environment and
distinctive character.
The aim of the Council is not to exclude the development of rural housing
but to accommodate the housing needs of rural dwellers and their families
who have strong affiliations to a particular area and the needs of those
who, out of necessity by reason of employment or other economic or social
reason, need to reside in a rural area and to reduce to a minimum the
amount of random speculative development.
The Council will facilitate and support this through its rural investment
programmes, policies and objectives.
In developing a settlement strategy for the County the widely dispersed
system of parishes was examined. Within each parish the location of services
such as schools, post offices, Garda stations etc. was identified. From
that survey the locations of smaller settlements that service the parish
and local hinterland were identified.
It will be the policy of the Council:
a) To meet the housing needs in rural areas.
b) To encourage housing development to locate in the designated towns
and villages where infrastructural and social services exist or are planned
to be provided.
c) To encourage appropriate levels of residential development in smaller
settlements where there is a basic nucleus of community facilities and
services such as a school, post office, small shop, and/or church etc.
d) To minimise the amount of sporadic urban generated rural housing particularly
in areas of development pressure close to Kilkenny City, New Ross and
Waterford City.
e) To meet the needs of those who need to reside in rural areas by virtue
of employment or essential social reasons.
f) To protect the areas of high amenity in the County as important elements
of rural character which underpin rural development particularly tourism.
g) To promote high quality design with appropriate siting, landscaping,
materials and fenestration.
h) To use its powers under the sanitary services small schemes programme
and group sewerage schemes programme in conjunction with local development
groups and/or private individuals and developers to facilitate the development
of waste water treatment facilities and water supplies.
The areas of development pressure and high amenity are defined on Map
7.1.
The towns and villages designated and the smaller settlements are shown
on Map 7.2.
7.8.2. Designated
Towns and Villages |
The towns and villages designated within the county were chosen having
regard to their ability to sustain growth, the Council’s infrastructural
investment programme and the need for an equitable geographical distribution
The towns and villages designated under this strategy are:
Castlecomer, Callan, Graiguenamanagh, Thomastown, Kilmacow, Urlingford,
Freshford, Johnstown, Goresbridge, Ballyragget, Bennettsbridge, Inistioge,
Clogh-Moneenroe, Gowran, Piltown, Fiddown, Slieverue, Glenmore, Ballyhale,
Stoneyford, Knocktopher, Mullinavat, Kells, Paulstown, Kilmoganny, Mooncoin,
Kilmanagh.
A number of village plans have been made by the Planning Authority. These
include Urlingford, Ballyraggett, Bennettsbridge, Inistioge, Piltown,
Fiddown, Slieverue, Paulstown, Mooncoin, Freshford, Gowran, Kilmacow,
Clogh/Moneenroe and Kilmaganny.
A review will be carried out of the above list of settlements to allow
consideration of the addition of further settlements. The Council shall
acquire suitable sites within these settlements in order to provide serviced
sites for housing.
It will be an objective of the Council to prepare local area plans for
particular areas whether rural, urban or suburban as the need arises and
as resources permit during the term of the development plan.
7.8.3 Smaller
Settlements |
There are smaller settlements dispersed through the rural parts of the
County. They possess a limited range of physical and social infrastructure
but have the capacity to cater for additional limited development. The
County Council will seek to encourage appropriate levels of development
in these areas to help sustain population levels and support existing
services.
The Council will encourage well-designed and located clusters of houses
within or adjacent to the development areas of these settlements as an
alternative to roadside development, normally no more than 8 houses off
a single access road, with public services if these can be economically
provided or other suitable effluent treatment arrangements.
The Council will require that where such schemes are granted permission
that the scheme is maintained by an approved management company with appropriate
bonding arrangements to ensure the long term maintenance of the development.
The strategy outlined above under this section is also underpinned by
investment in local infrastructure under the Council’s infrastructural
programmes in roads sewerage, and water services.
The Council will look favourably on proposals for sustainable developments
using alternative approaches to waste disposal and energy creation within
the designated and smaller settlements throughout the county in addition
to the measures outlined under the small schemes programme outlined above.
Similar clusters will be permitted in rural areas.
In order to allow balanced development of the designated towns, villages
and the smaller settlements, in rural areas thereby supporting existing
services and preventing population decline, it is reasonable to adopt
a policy of restriction for parts of the County where the development
pressure is greatest from urban generated housing.
7.8.4.1
Locations within Areas of Development Pressure |
Policy
Within the area of development pressure and the areas of high amenity
outlined on Map 7.1, a positive presumption will be given toward the building
of one-off houses, for occupation, by the applicant of the following classes
of persons.
I. Persons whose primary employment is in agriculture, horticulture,
forestry or bloodstock, or other rural based activity in the area which
they wish to build.
II. Immediate members of farm families (sons & daughters), seeking
to build on the family farm.
III. Persons whose primary employment is within County Kilkenny and need
to live in a rural location because of that employment or whose employment
would provide a service to the local community.
IV. Persons who have strong family linkages with the rural location in
which they wish to build.
7.8.4.2
Locations outside the areas of Development Pressure |
In areas outside the areas of development pressure and other than areas
of high amenity a positive presumption will be given towards the building
of one off houses.
7.9 Design
Considerations |
The appearance of new housing development can have a substantial impact
on the landscape. Inappropriately sited and designed houses can detract
from the rural character of an area.
The County’s scenic areas are an economic resource of growing importance.
Where development is acceptable in principle a high standard of siting
and design will be required to protect the character of the area.
It is an objective of the Council to produce a set of design guidelines
for developments in the countryside during the period of the Plan.
7.10 Traveller
Accommodation |
The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 placed a statutory obligation
on the Council to prepare and adopt a five year programme, subject to
periodic reviews for the provision of traveller accommodation in the County.
The County Council recognises the distinctive culture, lifestyle and
requirements of the travelling community within the County.
It is the policy of the Council to accommodate the traveller families
indigenous to Kilkenny through its Traveller Accommodation Programme and
where appropriate to provide facilities for transient Traveller families
parking in Kilkenny.
7.11
Community Facilities |
Community facilities are essential to the well being and functioning
of populated areas. These facilities include health clinics, hospitals,
schools, churches, shopping facilities, car parking, libraries, community
halls, fire stations, burial grounds etc.
It will be the policy of the Council to:
• Reserve site for community facilities in areas of population
growth as appropriate and to seek to remedy deficiencies in existing developed
areas.
• Locate community facilities within existing settlements and where
population levels warrant a particular service.
• Liaise with community groups and to assist community initiatives
subject to the availability of resources.
The Community Liaison Section of the Council was established in 1998.
Its aim is to foster participation and community organisation and develop
a strong representative group in partnership with the Council.
It is the policy of the Council to continue to establish a progressive
representative residents association in communities throughout the County
in partnership with the Council to foster a strong sense of ownership
and vision at local community level.
The County Council is the fire Authority for Kilkenny City & County.
There are stations located in Kilkenny City, Freshford, Castlecomer Urlingford,
Graiguenamanagh, Thomastown and Callan.
It is the policy of the Council to upgrade and replace fire stations
and to replace and provide new equipment and vehicles as the need arises.
The Council will continue to improve the library service in accordance
with the Council’s 5-year development programme 1998 to 2002 for
the library as resources permit to endeavour to provide comprehensive
service to all inhabitants of the county irrespective of location.
It is the policy of the Council subject to adequate resources to
• Provide a permanent library in the Piltown electoral area.
• Upgrade the present part time service points
• Provide new service points
• Automate service points and the library information service.
It is the policy of the Council to facilitate the development by the
South Eastern Health Board of a comprehensive range of health and social
care services and in particular services for the elderly including the
development of community, hospital, community nursing and day care services
throughout the County.
In the light of an increasing ageing population, investment in developing
a range of facilities for the elderly, including nursing units, has been
facilitated under the National Development Plan.
It is the policy of the Council to ensure that adequate land and services
are available for the provision of all types of facilities for the elderly
including nursing homes both public and private and the improvement, expansion
and establishment of health services generally such as extended nursing
care, day care and respite care.
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