Ministers O’Brien and O’Donnell call for public views on the draft sustainable and compact settlements guidelines

• new Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ aim to meet housing needs of more diverse and smaller household
• guidelines aim to support ‘own door housing’ and responsive, flexible innovative housing design in communities

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Planning and Local Government, Kieran O’Donnell, today called for public views on draft policy aimed at creating more sustainable and compact settlements and supporting more diverse housing types.
Publishing the Draft 'Sustainable and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities' for consultation, the Ministers emphasised that the aim of the consultation is to secure views on new national policy that supports more compact and diverse housing in all settlements, increased housing supply and greater housing choice.
The draft guidelines will expand on government policy in the National Planning Framework, in particular policies in relation to compact growth and in relation to the creation of attractive, liveable, well-designed, high quality urban places.
Following the consultation, the finalised guidelines, to be published in October 2023, will build on - and update - the existing Sustainable Residential Developments in Urban Areas: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2009).
Launching the consultation today, Minister O’Brien said:
“While progress continues to be made on housing delivery, this public consultation will help our aim of providing a broader range of housing options to meet the needs of a growing and diverse population. New housing should respond to population needs, enhance communities and facilitate a more sustainable way of building communities. I encourage members of the public to help shape the way forward and to influence the delivery of sustainable residential development in their communities."
The proposed policy approach focuses on the interaction between residential density, housing standards and quality design and place-making. It proposes:

• density ranges that respond to settlement size (e.g. cities, large towns, small and medium sized towns) and general locality in each settlement (i.e. central, urban and suburban or edge areas)
• highest residential densities at the most central and accessible urban locations, and more compact and sustainable forms of urban development overall. The preferred policy approach states that very high densities should be developed on a plan-led basis only
• greater flexibility in design standards for housing such as building separation distances and open space standards. This is in support of the construction of more compact ‘own-door’ housing, alongside traditional housing and apartment developments

Among the key proposals for consultation are:
Housing Density: to achieve compact growth, and reflecting the variety of settlements and settlement contexts where residential development takes place, the proposed approach recommends density ranges for cities, metropolitan towns, large towns (10,000+ population), small and medium sized towns (>1,500 to 10,000 population) and rural towns and villages (>1,500 population).
Housing standards: recognising the significant population growth forecast and changing demographics, and to achieve compact growth, medium-density housing models should be facilitated, alongside traditional housing and apartment developments. (Details are contained in the Notes to Editor/Further Information below)
Quality design and place-making: the guidelines set out quality design and place-making indicators, that should be applied in the preparation and consideration of individual planning applications. Examples of this could include sustainable and efficient movement, mix and distribution of land uses, integration of natural assets and green infrastructure and built form.
The Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, Kieran O’Donnell, said:
"As we continue to increase the delivery of affordable housing, it’s important that we do so in a sustainable way harnessing best practice and ensuring that the right type of development occurs in the right locations.
"These proposed guidelines focus on residential density, housing standards and quality design with the aim of facilitating the creation of attractive, liveable, well-designed, high quality urban places.
"I would encourage people to give us their views so that we can increase housing supply into the future in a sustainable way, based on best planning practice.”
Submissions on the proposed policy approach can be made up until 5pm on 5 October 2023. All submissions will be taken into consideration when finalising the Sustainable and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, which will be published in September 2023.