'All about housing' as Ballina councillors reject proposed Draft Local Area Plan
BALLINA Municipal District councillors have rejected that part of the Draft Ballina Local Area Plan 2024-2030 which covers land zoning on the basis that it doesn't cater for the housing need in the town.
Describing the process as 'a charade', Councillor Mark Duffy (Ind) led resistance as council members were asked to consider the proposed material alterations to the draft plan along with the chief executive's report on submissions received in relation to same.
There were 38 material alterations to consider, 13 of which related to land zoning - and it was those 13 that council members had concerns with.
In his report, the chief executive recommended making the plan without the proposed material alterations to land zoning in the majority of the 13 cases.
Highlighting the current housing crisis, Councillor Duffy said private developers already faced a lot of challenges in relation to housing projects - for example planning permission, connections to services, and finance - and they (councillors) didn't want to be another barrier in the way.
“It seems like local democracy is dead, the way we go through this,” continued Councillor Duffy. “The planners' hands are tied by the OPR (Office of the Planning Regulator) and other bureaucracy beyond the county level. The whole process is a disgrace.”
Councillors Annie May Reape (Fianna Fáil), Joe Faughnan (Ind) and John O'Hara (Fine Gael) agreed with their colleague.
Councillor Reape said their rejection of the chief executive's recommendations on the 13 material alterations concerning zoning was a 'no-brainer'.
“We should all be supporting this,” she said. “It's the 21st century and here we are fighting about getting land re-zoned for housing.”
Councillor O'Hara (leas cathaoirleach) agreed that if they had a builder on site willing to develop houses, they should support that.
Senior planner with Mayo County Council, John McMyler, said they would now have to change the plan within the next five working days and send it to the OPR, who would take it from there. He also explained he would have to include a reason for the OPR in a separate letter, to which Councillor Duffy said it needs to be made clear there is a housing emergency in Ballina, with perhaps just two estates developed in the town in the past 20 years.
Director of services Catherine McConnell outlined that the draft deveopment plan is now operational with the exception of the section pertaining to zoning until the Minister (for Local Government, Darragh O'Brien) makes a call on it following the report he receives from the OPR.
Councillor O'Hara concluded: “It's all about housing - and the housing is not here in town.”