That icon of Irish suburbs, the three-bedroom semi-detached, is now likely to be succeeded by more complex houses built at much higher densities, according to Mr Robert Molloy, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal.
He was speaking at a press conference this week to announce new guidelines for housing layout and design which recommend a doubling of the standard density of suburban estates, although Mr Molloy said this was not intended to enable developers to "cram in more houses willy-nilly".
With the number of households expected to increase rapidly over the next decade, he suggested that the future market would need a different type of housing from the traditional low-density three-bedroom semi-detached. Quality design would be vital.
The guidelines suggest that more compact innovative types, such as terraced or single-aspect houses built at higher densities, would help contain urban sprawl and ribbon development in the countryside. It should also lead to cheaper construction costs and an increased supply of affordable housing.
Given the Government's aim to stabilise house prices and because the draft guidelines are so advanced, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said, local authorities were being told to "take them on board straight away" so that more efficient use could be made of zoned and serviced land.
They are also being asked to review policies in their own development plans which might inhibit the achievement of higher residential densities, such as off-street car-parking standards, height restrictions and the need to consider the prevailing density and character of an area.
Mr Molloy emphasised that higher-density housing did not necessarily mean high-rise. "With good design, one can achieve excellent residential amenities and quite high densities without going above three storeys," he said. It was not simply a question of doubling the number of houses on a site.
The new guidelines are intended to avoid "excessive suburbanisation" and to promote greater use of public transport. Local authorities are also being told to examine the prospect of providing higher-density housing close to existing and proposed rail links and to prepare action plans for such areas.
In future, greenfield sites would be developed as net residential densities in the range of 14-20 dwellings per acre, or double the prevailing densities of most suburbs built since the 1960s. On land closer to public transport routes, the guidelines suggest a density of more than 20 per acre.
The draft guidelines were prepared by Mr Fergal McCabe, architect and town planner, in association with McCrossan O'Rourke, architects, and Jones Lang Wootton, chartered surveyors. Interested parties are invited to make submissions by April 20th, before the adoption of a final version.
The report of Tuesday's press conference on housing density was inadvertently omitted from yesterday editions
