One of Ireland's leading property developers has said that regulation to allow for smaller gardens could be a "game changer" in solving the country's housing crisis.
The Irish Times reported that Glenveagh Properties has presented a plan to Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien which would allow developers to cut the distance between the back of houses by more than a quarter.
Current guidelines which date back to the 1900s state that there must be 22m from back door to back door. At the time this was to allow for outdoor toilets and vegetable growing. Glenveagh are seeking a reduction from 22m to 16m to allow for more "low-rise, high-density developments. They claim this would be "the biggest game-changer in house-building in Ireland."
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Last week the Government gave the greenlight for a €186 million funding stream to assist in the building of 8,400 homes in a new town in west Dublin. The Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) will be located between Lucan, Clondalkin, and Liffey Valley and it is around 10km from the city centre.
In 2018, plans were approved for the scheme by South Dublin County Council and An Bord Pleanala that will see 8,437 homes built to house an estimated 23,000 people. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and South Dublin County Council are progressing also plans to deliver up to 2,600 social and affordable homes at six local authority-owned sites in the SDZ.
Welcoming the announcement, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said: "This funding will make it possible for a whole new town to be built in west Dublin, the first project of its kind in a generation, one which was strongly supported by the Taoiseach and the wider Government. Clonburris will be a well-designed town with over 8,700 homes, good transport links and vital amenities and services.
"Up to 2,600 of these homes will be social and affordable homes delivered by my Department and South Dublin County Council. Today’s announcement illustrates the ever-growing reach of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund in revitalising our cities and towns, improving their offering as places in which to live, work, visit or invest."
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