Fingal approves 5,000 new homes amid ‘significant’ flood risk concerns in green belt areas
Land has been made available for 5,000 new homes in Fingal, despite concerns from local representatives that it will “encroach” into green belt areas and pose a flood risk.
Fingal County Council (FCC) has made changes to its development plan to expand the county’s housing capacity from 35,000 homes to 40,000.
Locations across Barnhill, Clonsilla, Balrothery, Skerries, Lusk, Malahide, Kinsealy and Clongriffin have been identified, including land currently zoned as a green belt.
At a meeting held this month, councillors debated over potential risks to rezoning green belt land in those areas.
“There is very little green belt left here, and we should not be eating into it,” said David Healy, Green Party councillor for Howth-Malahide.
“We have a lot of undeveloped zoned land in this area. We have enormous areas in Baldoyle and Clongriffin.
"There is not a need for us to zone this extra field with all the flooding issues and the green belt encroachment issues that it represents.”
FCC said the “single largest contributor” to the new plan is a new residential area at Dunsink, close to Blanchardstown, where approximately 2,500 new homes are planned in the short term.
"It is expected that the development of Dunsink as a new residential district will become one of the most significant urban expansion projects in the Dublin region during the lifetime of the development plan,” said FCC’s Chief Executive, AnnMarie Farrelly.
"There is now 852 hectares of zoned residential lands in the county, complemented by a further 164 hectares at Dunsink and 225 hectares within the strategic reserve (land identified by the council for development).
“Together, these provide a strong and balanced pipeline that will add significant momentum to the delivery of new homes in the years ahead.”
Councillor Healy raised two motions offering alternatives for housing in brownfield land – unused areas with planning permission – in Blanchardstown and Navan Road. Both motions were voted against and dismissed.
“There is concern locally that the green belts aren't being respected. It’s an important part of Fingal’s development plan that’s being abandoned,” cllr Healy said to the Irish Independent.
“It should be brown land – we have areas that have planning permissions that have not been acted on and houses that have not been built where work can start rapidly and that has good public transport routes available.
"This is a distraction from the homes that have not been built in areas where we already have planning permission. Why are we looking at green belt areas with these risks when more sustainable options are available?”
FCC said the changes to the development plan is in response to the government’s new planning framework which requires local authorities to increase housing supply and speed up their delivery.
“As housing represents the single largest investment we are making, the approval of this variation demonstrates a strong commitment to delivering more sustainable homes in the right locations,” said councillor Tom O’Leary, Mayor of Fingal.
Councillors said that areas identified in Barnhill and Clonsilla as part of the expansion posed a “significant” flood risk.
"Residents living in Barnhill where land has been rezoned are very worried about the risk of flooding and that existing infrastructure won't be sufficient to manage the scale of housing development,” said Labour councillor for Castleknock, John Walsh.
“The concern I have is that it had flooded a number of years ago. The defenses were fine then while it’s a light, green belt development. So I’m seeking more in-depth flood risk assessment since that’s changing."
Director of Planning and Development at FCC, Roisin Burke, said that flood risk assessments were carried out and that the council was “satisfied” that there was adequate planning.
“Significant work has gone into ensuring that the new zoning allocations strike the right balance between meeting housing demand, protecting the environment, matching infrastructure capacity and supporting long‑term sustainability,” said Ms Burke.
"The approved variation not only aligns with updated national targets but also positions Fingal to plan strategically and responsibly for the decades ahead.”
Councillor Walsh added that the new variations to the county’s development plan were “regressive”.
“I support some elements of the variation – bringing forward Dunsink has been done with proper planning with an urban area plan that provides for the necessary infrastructure and public transport," he told the Irish Independent.
“However, basing all this on the assumption that Fingal has a lack of zoned land is fundamentally flawed. There are 9000 homes that have never been built on sites that have full planning permission in this county – the government has done nothing to address these failures.
“Most elements of this plan is totally incompatible with our goals. Moving into so many green belts across the county is deeply regressive and will not solve the housing crisis.”