Councillors in Co Louth have voted to confirm the dezoning of residential land in Dundalk, potentially blocking hundreds of new homes in defiance of formal recommendations from the planning regulator.
As the housing crisis worsens, the vote prompts questions as to whether Niall Cussen, the chief executive of the Office of the Planning Regulator, asks Minister for Housing James Browne to consider issuing a direction to the county council to revoke the dezoning of the lands at Haggardstown, Blackrock.
Mr Cussen’s office provided no guidance on his likely course of action. “We decline to comment at this point in time,” it said.
The “new residential” land owned by builder Glenveagh was previously earmarked for some 500 new homes when Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green and Sinn Féin councillors voted at the beginning of the general election campaign in November to rezone it as “strategic reserve” land.
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The planning regulator intervened in January, telling Co Louth planners the recommendation to maintain residential zoning related to “clear breaches of the relevant legislative provisions, of the national or regional policy framework and/or the policy of Government, as set out in the Ministerial guidelines”.
The regulator noted Dundalk was classified as a regional growth centre and said up to 700 housing units could be built on the lands, adding that such homes “would lessen the pressure for development in other less sustainable areas”.
In a report to councillors in February, council chief executive David Conway said he agreed with the regulator “that a residential zoning is appropriate”.
At a meeting this month, 11 councillors voted to reject the chief executive’s recommendation to keep residential zoning and six were in favour. Another 11 councillors were absent from the vote and one abstained.
The rejection of Mr Conway’s recommendation was, in effect, a vote to endorse the earlier vote to dezone the land.
[ Nimbyism or valid objection: the fight over one Dundalk housing schemeOpens in new window ]
The voting majority comprised four Fianna Fáil councillors, three from Fine Gael, three Independents and one Green.
The vote came despite the Coalition led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael repeatedly citing the delivery of housing as its top policy priority in domestic politics.
Those voting to keep the residential zoning included five Sinn Féin councillors, who reversed previous party support for dezoning the land. One Fianna Fáil councillor, John Sheridan, voted to keep residential zoning.
The reasons cited in the council minute of the vote included the view that residential zoning on the lands “do not follow a sequential pattern of development”.
The minute also said there were “deficiencies” in water services infrastructure in the area.
Citing deficiencies in sewerage services in a June 2024 ruling, An Bord Pleanála refused Glenveagh permission for 502 homes on the lands.
In his letter, however, Mr Cussen said his office recently consulted Uisce Éireann and understood the subject lands “while not currently serviced, can be serviced during the lifetime” of the 2024-2030 local area plan.
The lands were also identified as “serviceable” in a capacity audit that informed the draft local area plan, the regulator said.
Housing development would “directly benefit” from proposed bus routes, cycle networks and a greenway, he said.
“Having regard to all of the above and also to the fact that there are no flooding concerns with respect to the subject lands, the office is strongly of the view that the new residential land use zoning objective should be retained as it represents compact, sequential, sustainable growth for the town of Dundalk.”
Such plans aligned with the principles of the national planning framework, regional development strategies and the county development plan “particularly in relation to the delivery of housing at sustainable, serviceable locations”.
