In a reply (Letters, June 19th) to my piece on the reform of Ireland’s planning framework (Opinion & Analysis, June 18th), Dr Sean O’Leary, leading planner at the Irish Planning Institute, argued that Ireland’s planning history is marked by public and political skepticism largely stemming from agrarianism, postcolonialism and Catholicism. This sentiment was particularly palpable during the enactment of the Irish Planning and Development Act 1963, a legislation borrowing from the UK’s Town and Country Planning Act 1947 which was a product of a political compromise between the Tory and Labour parties concerning new townships and private sector planning.
While Dr O’Leary contends that this discretionary, laissez-faire framework was lauded for its adaptability to socio-demographic evolution, it is worth pointing out that this stance, which arose from Anglo-American planning circles post WWII, is now widely discredited in Europe, North and South America, and Australia. This methodology, in essence, encouraged the unsustainable sprawl seen in suburban regions of numerous Irish towns and cities.
Crafting urban landscapes is multi-faceted, demanding careful thought and implementation. Several European cities like Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, and Copenhagen, as well as Dublin under the direction of our very own Wide Street Commissioners, were intentionally designed and structured to accommodate picturesque streets, squares, and tastefully scaled and elevated buildings.
Gradually, over the past three decades, Europe has come to acknowledge that the escalating intricacies of urban areas and the emergent social and environmental demands of sustainable habitation necessitate intentional planning and robust urban design to confront these challenges.
Modern urban planners in these regions now integrate traditional urban design strategies with digital twin technology to formulate visions for their towns and cities. By doing so, they can construct vivid, detailed virtual representations of future urban landscapes to inform citizens, architects, engineers, and other stakeholders.
If the Irish Government permitted local authorities in our major cities and towns to leverage expert urban design input to aid in actualising these strategies in our upcoming development plans, and strategic and urban development zones plans, and to enhance current planning staff skills, the task may be achievable within a three-year timespan.
The Planning and Development Act 2024 needs to embrace modern techniques rather than sticking to the traditional “coloured map and text” and outdated discretionary planning practices if it wants to serve Ireland’s needs in the next half century. Thus stated, Tony Reddy from Reddy Architecture + Urbanism, Dublin 6. The suggestion from Mr. Reddy to adopt a three-dimensional city planning model is indeed sensible.
This implies transitioning from simple colour-coded blocks on a map to a 3D modelled city where the potential size and mass of every site on every street can be visualised transparently. Such readily available technology is being utilised in other European nations too. This would promote more certainty for both local dwellers and developers regarding the density, magnitude and form of future constructions. Thus, objections, appeals and judicial reviews could be significantly minimised by providing clear upfront information.
However, Dr O’Leary’s letter on June 19th signals a bit of uncertainty towards this model and proposes that a discretionary organisational system might be more suitable than a rule-governed one. Yet, it’s this very flexible system that seems to have contributed to recent erratic planning, resulting in spurts of towering buildings in suburban areas. Such spontaneous developments appear not to adhere to consistent urban design principles, hence resulting in a discordant skyline that clashes with the existing urban scene.
Moreover, the concept of achieving sustainable residential densities without resorting to high-rise buildings is often overlooked. Bryan O’Rourke, a retired architect from Rathgar, Dublin 6, attests to this. Concerning planning issues today, Robin Mandal points towards the faulty strategic housing Development (SHD) procedure which got complex due to the incorporation of An Bord Pleanála along with a rigorous adherence to rules and European Union regulations, in his recent commentary on planning, published in your paper (Opinion & Analysis, June 18th).
To meet the anticipated new housing demands of 50,000 units annually in the subsequent years, we must channel around €20 billion per annum towards their financing. This isn’t even considering the financial commitment needed to boost our existing infrastructure. Currently, our data centres’ expansion is hampered by inadequate power facilities.
Moreover, the existing water bodies are contaminated due to sewage discharges, primarily because the legacy pipework of public authorities that Uisce Éireann took over is scarce and of poor quality, thereby restricting its potential to increase housing. This necessitates an extra €2 billion every year for Uisce Éireann to improve the current facilities, alongside upgrading the drinking water systems.
Particularly in the Greater Dublin Area, which includes portions of Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow, the water services are functioning at maximum capacity and aren’t able to handle further expansion. A potential solution to this problem would be the immediate implementation of the proposed Shannon to Dublin pipeline project, which would cost around €2.5 billion.
The performance of the Greater Dublin Region’s drinking water supply in the weeks ahead, during the predicted increase in daily temperatures, will be noteworthy. On the 11th of May 2024, a particularly warm and sunny day, water consumption reached an all-time high of 656 megalitres. This was about 30 megalitres more than the previous record and 20 megalitres beyond the actual production capability. If such a scenario unfolds over the coming summertime, water pressure in the mains may decrease as reservoir levels drop, causing locations at the network’s end and at higher altitudes to experience low-pressure supply, or potentially none during certain periods.
Therefore, when places like Howth and Dalkey face drinking water deficits, bear in mind that while we can purchase water from the supermarket, aquatic species have been enduring polluted waters for years.
Returning to the topic of infrastructure, the housing developments during the culmination of the Celtic Tiger era nearly drained all the available infrastructure. The budding housing crisis was triggered by immigrants seeking employment in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, the Financial Centre and the pharmaceutical industry. Sadly, we didn’t have the capacity to accommodate all these individuals at the time. Regrettably, this influx continues, leaving us with inadequate housing and infrastructure to handle them.
It’s regrettable that for the past decade, we didn’t pour significant resources into upgrading our infrastructure in preparation for a population boom. We’re about to witness the aftermath of this oversight. If you believe we’re in a dire situation presently, just bide your time – it’s likely to worsen. Our governing body must spring into action immediately: I implore them to designate an extra €6 billion yearly for the advancement of our infrastructure. Regards, Trevor Moore of Carlow.