Increased planning charges for one-off houses

A “huge” hike in planning charges for one-off houses up to 200 sq m, €1,362 to €4,000, is proposed to come into effect early next year for new applicants and those who have not started building.

The increase is part of a review of planning levies that would also change charges for agricultural, commercial and amenity applications and is due to go for public consultation next month.

The proposals were put to a meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee on Planning and Transport last Friday, where it was announced that changes to planning levies are in line with charges in neighbouring counties. The levies fund social and community infrastructure such as car parking and open spaces.

Westmeath County Council took in on average €750,000 a year in planning charges in the last six years. It went to schemes like the Old Rail Trail, Grange community centre car park, Ardmore Road footpath, the skate park in Mullingar Town Park, Athlone and Kilbeggan town enhancements, village enhancement in Fore, the Count John McCormack sculpture and Burgess Park development in Athlone, footpaths and other schemes.

If the new levies are approved by councillors, they will come into force in early 2022 and apply to anyone looking for planning thereafter and any developments that have not already started.

“I know we have to get money from somewhere,” said Cllr Tom Farrell, but the increase would “put a huge strain on people building houses” when they are already crippled by soaring building costs. He asked that the increased levies be applied over a period of time “rather than this wholesale jump from €1,362 to €4,000”.

Barry Kehoe, director of services, said it was up to the councillors to decide. He expects that the council will be getting submissions from the public along the lines of what Cllr Farrell said.

Members were advised that the existing contribution for one-off dwellings was “abnormally low and out of kilter with the rest of the country” and what is being proposed is below the average of neighbouring counties.

In Longford, the charge is €2,200, the lowest in the country; Offaly is €4,000 or €3,000, depending on where the development is located, Roscommon is at €4,400 and €6,600, Cavan, €5,000 and Meath, €7,500. The average for those counties is €4,442, €442 more than is being proposed for Westmeath, and the figures are likely to increase as other councils review rates.

Cllr Liam McDaniel said Westmeath could have two bands, and a lower charge in rural areas.

Mr Kehoe said the council wanted to avoid distinguishing between urban and rural areas. “It is not a place we would like to be at,” he said. He pointed out that in terms of providing infrastructure, it can cost more to service rural areas, particularly transport. Urban areas are more efficient from that point of view. He said the fairest way was to have the same rate for urban and rural.

Cllr Denis Leonard said that talking about rural versus urban public transport was ludicrous as rural transportation was “non-existent”. “So they really are paying for nothing when it comes to one off houses,” he said.

Cllr Leonard said there are people who like, want or need to live in rural Ireland and the council should not adversely penalise them for doing so. With the current one-off housing policy and if development levies become too prohibitive, “you will have a flight from the land”. We can’t have that because these are the people who look after the land, the flora, the fauna, the trees, the shrubbery, the farms, the landscape, these are the people who have lived there for generations and who will mind the countryside, he said.

“We are in danger in this country of losing what has kept our heritage and our culture alive in so many different ways,” he continued. He agreed that urban life is wonderful for those who choose it, but he said that if the cost of living in rural Ireland gets too high, too fast people will think twice about living there.

“The reality is that if we don’t keep rural Ireland alive, we are in danger of losing our landscape, our environment, our biodiversity and everything that goes with it. We might as well be just one national park.”

Mr Kehoe replied that many of those getting planning in rural areas are getting sites at reasonable prices or off the family farm. There are financial advantages to building in the countryside compared to buying in town, he suggested. Mr Kehoe urged the members to look at all angles and consult with the people.

The chairperson, Hazel Smyth asked that the consultation process incorporate how the money is to be spent. She suggested that community orchards, allotments, a dog park and such ideas be considered. “It makes sense that those who are putting the most burden on our public services properly contribute,” she added.

Mr Kehoe replied: “Certainly there is scope to flag any projects that are in our county development plan and the monies can be used to fund them. If a member wants to make any special requests, we can add that in to the indicative list of projects at the end without any difficulty.”

Members were also reminded that applicants will not have paid this levy before and therefore, they will not necessarily be aware of an increase. They were asked to bear in mind that housing applications were, in terms of services, one of the most infrastructure intense pieces of development for which the council has to cater.

Brendan O’Brien, executive planner, in a report to the meeting, also revealed that a new charge is being proposed in respect of extensions to residential properties. He said that a lot of large extensions were being built and the council is only proposing to charge where the extension is over 40 square metres.

There are changes too to retention rates. “If you come in for retention, you pay 1.25 times the standard rate with no exceptions,” he said.

Another change proposed is the sub-division of agricultural classes into intense, such as piggeries, poultry and mink, and less intense, such as garden centres, kennels, horticulture and equine. Different rates will apply based on the intensity of a development and the demand it would put on the infrastructure.

For commercial, industrial, retail developments, the council is proposing a reduced levy of €10 per square metre for non-retail warehousing, manufacture and distribution centres, which have large buildings, but a lesser demand on infrastructure.

Stakeholders and the public will be invited, probably in the next week or so, to make submissions to the council on the proposed changes. This public consultation process will run for six weeks.