'We’re building homes not houses' says Council
One-off housing schemes is not the answer to the housing crisis, according to Waterford City and County Council senior planner Aisling O'Sullivan.
Aisling O’Sullivan, senior planner for Waterford City and County Council, warned councillors that other factors must be taken into account when granting planning permission for housing.
At the November sitting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District meeting, Ms O’Sullivan responded to questions asked by Cllr. Nugent about one-off housing schemes in rural areas.
“When zoning land, we have to look at whether it's serviceable; there’s a lot of background work involved.
“One off housing is not the answer to the housing crisis. I’ll make no bones about it. They’re unserviced areas and there’s little capacity there.
“Our focus should be on the serviced and serviceable areas to combat the housing crisis."
Ms O'Sullivan said that you could zone all the land you want "but if you can’t build it, you can’t give permission on it".
“If we don’t come up with solutions to things like new roundabouts, or ground water, we won’t be able to develop.
“It’s not all about houses. It’s about building communities that are sustainable. It’s about place-making. We’re building homes not houses.”
