Approach to one-off housing is not a straight-forward solely logical issue

ONE- OFF housing in rural Louth again became the subject of much debate at a recent meeting of the County Council when members voiced their objections to proposals in the Draft Development plan which takes the view that one-off housing is not sustainable and has an impact on the environment.

Of course there is nothing new about this debate nor is it confined to Louth and is perhaps a much hotter topic in western counties most notably Donegal.

That debate was fuelled in 2001 when there was genuine concern after the Department of the Environment published for the first time figures that revealed that 30 to 40 percent of annual home completions are single houses in the countryside.

Attempts to curb one-off housing date back to 1976 when An Foras Forbartha produced a report which found that mail delivery to widely dispersed housing was three and a half times more expensive, waste collection cost two and half times more, phone (and internet) and electricity connections were between two and five times more expensive while footpath and public lighting were 11 to 13 times more expensive.

According to that report by Foras an ‘urban generated rural dweller’ lives in a single house in the countryside but works in a town or city.

All of these facts and figures have been known for some time and are all grist to the mill for those who argue that all oneoff housing in rural Ireland should be not be allowed, except in very exceptional circumstances.

That argument pays little heed to family, social and community needs that are at the heart of the arguments that many councillors make for they are constantly under pressure to ensure that family members are allowed build on their farms, or that communities will not survive if all one-off housing is prohibited.

Allowance must also be made now for the new reality the COVID has imposed on the way of life for many in that more and more people are working from their homes, with some of these homes located in remote rural areas.

Whole villages in some parts of the country have been revitalised by this new phenomenon as workers who previously only saw their homes for a few hours each night or at week-ends are now shopping locally for their coffee or groceries.

It would be prudent therefore for to allow for a study to be undertaken to determine the numbers likely to work from home post COVID and to factor these figures into any draft of a development plan that seeks to determine who should be allowed build one-off houses in rural areas.

In addition it would do no harm to look at village rejuvenation which is receiving greater attention in north America where it is boosted by New Community Design. Under this model new houses and shops are arranged so that the easiest way to get from one to the other is on foot or by bike, the aim being to reintroduce walkable communities.