In this article we cover:
- What the plan is to make it easier to build in the countryside
- Why the rules are likely to be changed
- Timeline: changes are 20 years in the making
Minister for Housing James Browne told the Sunday Independent he would liberalise rural housing guidelines in a bid to help people build their own home in the countryside.
“Rural people who want to remain in their local communities, to live on their family’s land, in their local parish, near their own family, find it almost impossible to build,” he told the newspaper.
“We have existing guidelines which have become quite outdated and have been interpreted and reinterpreted. Every local authority now has a different interpretation of what those are.”
“I want to bring a consistency back into it, to give people much greater freedom to live in their own local community. In a lot of areas, that has become almost impossible,” he said, adding that the guidelines would be published by this summer.
Each local authority has its own County Development Plan (CDP) which sets out zoning guidelines. These vary between counties and often require applicants to prove a strong local or family connection to the area to build in a rural setting.
The updated policy is intended to provide a more consistent national approach while still allowing councils to manage development in sensitive locations.
The forthcoming guidelines will form part of a broader review of rural housing policy. Once introduced, they will require planning authorities to align their development plans and decision-making with the new national framework.
20 years in the making
The guidelines are the basis for each local authority’s county development plan, which are updated every 10 years and revised halfway through that time period.
The Office of the Planning Regulator checks each development plan to make sure that it aligns with national or regional strategies.
LOCALS ONLY TIMELINE
2005 The Department of Housing publishes its Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines restricting one-off housing in the countryside, introducing locals only rules
2007 European Commission issues infringement notice to Ireland in relation to the “local needs criteria”, deferred pending and European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on a case taken against Belgium
2013 ECJ rules the Flemish Decree resulted in hampering the free movement of people; Irish government notified of the decision, original infringement notice on locals only rule stands
2017 County Council special meeting resulting in letter to minister; Circular Letter PL2/2017 states that the 2005 guidelines are still in place with promise of setting up a working group to examine changes to the guidelines.
2018 Infringement case closed.
2019 Working group to examine changes to the guidelines is appointed. Publishing the guidelines are a “priority”.
June 2021 Draft Sustainable Rural Housing guidelines to be published by the Department of Housing
August 2021 “Aim” to publish guidelines end of 2021, according to press office.
May 2022 Guidelines at “advanced stage of drafting” according to press office, including screening for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA).
October 2022 Draft Guidelines will be published this quarter (Q4 of 2022), with a period of public consultation to commence thereafter, according to the press office.
Q2 2023 Publication of draft guidelines expected.
2023-2025 No guidelines published.
Summer 2026 Publication of draft guidelines expected.
