Excessive zonings hindering strategy

EXCESSIVE AND inappropriate land zonings by local authorities have obstructed the implementation of the National Spatial Strategy, a mid-term review of the strategy has found.

The strategy was published in 2002 as a blueprint for economic and social development within the State over the following 20 years. It designated the State’s cities as “gateways” and a large number of county towns as “hubs” around which development should be focused.

However, the National Spatial Strategy Update and Outlook Report 2010 has found that bad zoning decisions and development-driven planning created a demand for “uneconomic and inefficient infrastructure”.

Zoning and planning decisions which were led by the applications made by developers instead of by coherent plans had created “urban and extra-urban sprawl”. This had undermined efficient exchequer investment by directing new infrastructure to greenfield locations while existing infrastructure in city and town centre locations became under-utilised.

This was evident, the report said, in the struggle that city centre and inner suburban schools had in staying open because of falling enrolment numbers while demand for school places in outer suburbs was rapidly increasing.

This inefficient development had also led to increasing oil dependency and greenhouse gas emissions as people were living farther from work. The report found that the percentage of people choosing sustainable modes of transport was continuing to fall.

“Experience in the past indicates that development-driven planning is wasteful of resources and makes it difficult to assemble the schools, community facilities, healthcare, parks and sporting facilities in strategic locations, undermining the ‘pull’ factor of urban areas and adding costs in providing such infrastructure both initially and operational cost over time over a wide range of locations.”

Separately, the Department of the Environment report on “ghost” estates – vacant or unfinished housing estates – will be published later this month, a spokesman for the department has said. The report will outline the different states of development of about 2,700 estates and will recommend solutions for their development, or demolition.