Enough land for the construction of more than 12,000 homes a year is to be made available in Dublin city, despite the development sector building less than a third of this number annually.
Builders completed just 3,355 houses and apartments in the city last year, just half of the current housing supply target of 6,690 set for Dublin City Council. However, the amount of zoned land is set to be significantly increased, with city councillors asked to approve a strategy to allow for the construction of 12,294 homes a year.
Last July, Minister for Housing James Browne issued new guidelines to all local authorities telling them to reopen their development plans and rezone significant additional lands for housing in an effort to tackle the housing crisis.
The guidelines directed local authorities to plan for a national “baseline housing growth requirement” of 55,000 per year, but also to zone enough for “an additional 50 per cent headroom”, Mr Browne said, “enabling zoning for a total of 83,000 units per annum”.
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Mr Browne subsequently wrote to Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam stressing “immediate action” was required to identify more residential land for zoning.
The guidelines set out annual housing growth requirements for each city and county council. Dublin City Council was set a new target of zoning enough land for the construction of 8,196 homes a year up to 2034.
A report from council chief executive Richard Shakespeare to be presented to city councillors on Thursday night, states the council has already zoned enough land in its 2022-2028 development plan to meet this new target.
In addition, the 50 per cent “headroom” required by the minister will be met by the rezoning of the Dublin Industrial Estate, in Glasnevin, for up to 8,500 homes, as well as industrial lands at Kylemore Road and Naas Road, west of Inchicore, for up 5,300 homes as part of the “City Edge” project being developed with South Dublin County Council.
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The first phases of these major industrial estate redevelopment projects, along with the lands already zoned, would provide sufficient zoned land for up to 12,294 homes in the coming years.
“However, in terms of meeting the city’s housing target, it is apparent that only half of the annual 6,690 target is currently being delivered by the development sector following the receipt of a grant of planning permission from Dublin City Council,” the report stated.
Last year, 3,355 homes were built and for the first six months of this year just 1,852 homes have been completed in the city.
There were, the report said, a significant number of “unactivated planning permissions” in the city. Planning permission is in place for 25,905 homes. Of these, 10,158 are under construction, but work has year to start on 14,701.
City councillors will be asked on Thursday to approve the initiation of rezoning of the Dublin Industrial Estate lands, for the development of the new suburb Broombridge-Hamilton. The rezoning proposal will be available for public consultation for four weeks.
The council also plans to initiate the rezoning of the City Edge/Kylemore lands by the end of the year, with these lands expected to be ready for redevelopment by the middle of 2026.
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The council will also begin a process next year of reviewing its already zoned lands in strategic development and regenerations areas (SDRAs) including the Docklands, Jamestown Industrial Estate lands in Finglas and the Belmayne/ Clongriffin area to identify “potential for an uplift in housing numbers” from 2030 onwards.
It will also review potential rezoning of other smaller pockets of industrial lands to accommodate housing development after 2032.
