Poor public infrastructure is stalling the delivery of housing across the country, prompting calls for a dedicated fund to fast-track the servicing of sites.
Large tracts of land which local authorities have zoned for housing cannot be developed as they do not have the required water, wastewater, electricity, broadband, or transport infrastructure, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has said.
In the midst of a housing crisis, and with estimates that Ireland needs to build around 56,000 units per year to meet demand, CIF housing and planning director Conor O’Connell said urgent action is needed to address the infrastructural deficits.
“There is a real urgency required to deliver the necessary water/wastewater services and upgrades, electricity connections and transport connections so that we can build at the scale required,” he said. “Dedicated infrastructural funding must be provided for land activation in both greenfield and brownfield locations.”
The call comes as the reveals today how the delivery of hundreds of homes in Cork is being held up because of inadequate waste water treatment facilities.
In one case, near the city, plans to build over 100 new homes on land which has been zoned residential for almost 20 years are at risk because the local waste water treatment plant is at capacity.
Despite the developer offering to build a private treatment plant as an interim solution, and Uisce Éireann approving the suggestion, the county council’s planners refused to grant permission.
In Dunmanway, the local authority is no longer considering planning applications for projects that require a new connection to the town’s near-capacity waste water treatment plant. Upgrades to that plant could be five years away.
Dunmanway Chamber of Commerce said the poor public infrastructure is like a noose around its neck.
The CIF said several reports in recent weeks have set out the range of housing demand in Ireland over the coming years — the Housing Commission report estimates 56,000 units per annum, while the ESRI and the draft National Planning Framework estimate at least 50,000 new units will be needed per annum.
“To achieve this level of housing output we need to significantly increase the amount of land that is both zoned and serviced for housing delivery,” Mr O’Connell said.
“Most of that housing delivery will take place on lands that will require significant investment in public infrastructure such as water, wastewater, electricity, broadband, and transport infrastructure.
“Dedicated infrastructural funding must be provided for land activation in both greenfield and brownfield locations. We are aware of housing developments being held up all over Ireland because there simply isn’t the infrastructure in place.”
“In many instances, lands that have been zoned for housing can’t even have a planning application lodged for development as it would be deemed pre-mature pending the necessary upgrades.
“In other instances, zoned lands are subject to a route selection process or settlement caps that limit or completely constrain the ability of lands to be activated for residential development.”
He said it is understood that Uisce Éireann has sought a significant increase in its capital funding to facilitate the scale of residential development required.
But Mr O’Connell said any capital expenditure needs to be certain and multi annual in nature.
“The timelines for the provision of infrastructure for zoned lands is simply too long,” he said.