Number of new dwellings planned in 2018 at highest level for a decade

THE latest set of figures for planning released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have shown the growing sense of confidence within the residential construction sector witnessed during 2017 carried on into last year

The final figure for planning permissions granted during 2018 once again reflected the increases seen over recent years, with the annual total for the year at its highest level for a decade.

The CSO figures showed that permission was granted for 29,243 dwelling units across the State over the 12-month period, up by almost 41% on the total for 2017 of 20,776.

To put that into further perspective, the final figure for 2017 was up by almost 26% on the final total for 2016 of 16,375.

Broken down the final tally for 2018 was divided in to 20,019 houses (up by 29.7% on the 2017 figure of 15,540). This consisted 14,538 multi-development houses (up from 10,125) and 5,481 ‘one-off ’ units (up from 5,225).

It also incorporated 9,224 private flats/apartments (up from 5,336 in 2017),

The 2018 total represented the highest number of permissions granted in a single year since 2009, when 26,814 units were given the green light. The number was at its lowest in 2012, when just 5,389 permissions were granted.

That trend was mirrored across Cork County, with 2,879 permissions granted in 2009 – a figure that plummeted to just 973 in 2010.

While the figure for Cork jumped slightly to 1,076 in 2011 it fell again the following year, reaching its lowest point in 2013 with just 561 planning permissions granted.. By 2015 that figure had increased to 1,053, to 1,538 in 2016 and to 1,714 in 2017.

In 2018 planning was granted for a total of 2,689 units in Cork. This comprised of 508 multi-development houses, 191 ‘ one-off ’ houses and 1,291 private flats/apartments.

While the signs are encouraging for Cork, the figure for 2018 was still well behind that experienced before the financial crash, when the total figure for dwelling units across the county during 2008 stood at 4,622.

The CSO figures showed the total number of planning permissions granted for non-residential buildings in 2018 stood at 2,336, compared to 2,239 in 2017.