Sir, – Frank McDonald’s opinion piece highlights the possibility that the Government is preparing to bail out and de-risk developers and the construction industry (“Government getting ready to bail out the developers again”, Opinion & Analysis, January 18th). This will be done, it seems, by advance purchasing some of the 70,000 or so residential units that already have planning permission so that building will commence.
If the Government decides to go down this route then it is perfectly reasonable to attach conditions to the bailout.
Any use of public funds should be conditional on the build-to-rent schemes being redesigned to become homes that our young people want to live in and these homes must conform to the best planning and design norms. There should be a maximum density of 60 units per hectare. Reapplying for planning permission should not be needed. The matter could be dealt with by new specific planning policy requirements (SPPRs) since it was the SPPRs issued in 2018 that brought us to the need for yet another bailout.
We also need environmentally friendly landscaping to address biodiversity loss. – Yours, etc,
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ANNE BARRINGTON,
Chair,
Ó Cualann
Cohousing Alliance,
Co Dublin.
