Mayo one of only two counties to act on Government rezoning directive as swift response unlocks access to €1bn housing fund
Mayo County Council is one of just two local authorities nationwide to act on a Government directive to rezone additional land to accelerate housing delivery, a move that has placed the county in a position to access significant State-backed infrastructure support through the new Housing Activation Office.
With 480 acres rezoned for housing, enough to deliver up to 3,000 homes, Mayo is now eligible to access financial support from the Department of Housing to help fund the infrastructure needed to develop and start building on the land.
During a visit to the county last year, Minister for Housing James Browne said that councils which “move quickly” on rezoning land would receive “greater support” from his Department, while those that failed to act would be “waiting for support”.
To date, only counties Mayo and Waterford have acted on the Government’s request, which was issued last July.
Minister Browne has expressed concern that many local authorities are not stepping up to their responsibilities, and reportedly called the rezoning directive the “biggest test of local democracy in decades”, as he stressed that the “fundamental purpose of local authorities is that they are housing authorities”.
With Mayo County Council having followed the Government's instruction and successfully rezoned land, the focus has now shifted to securing Departmental support to deliver the infrastructure needed to activate the newly zoned land.
The county is working towards a target of delivering 1,111 homes annually until 2034, in line with the revised national housing objective of 55,000 homes per year over the same period.
Responding to queries from the Irish Independent on the Minister’s comments and on the types of supports that will be made available to County Mayo, a Department spokesperson said that additional zoned land is eligible for “significant Government supports” being overseen by the new Housing Activation Office (HAO).
Established last November, the HAO brings together senior officials from the Department of Housing and multiple State agencies including ESB, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, National Transport Authority, EirGrid, Uisce Éireann and the Land Development Agency.
Industry bodies including the Irish Home Builders Association, the Construction Industry Federation and Property Industry Ireland are also represented.
“The HAO will accelerate the delivery of infrastructure needed to service zoned lands and accelerate housing development,” the spokesperson said, “[It] is actively working with local authorities and infrastructure providers to unlock key sites with potential for large-scale housing development.”
In January, the Government announced a €1bn Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund, which will be overseen by the HAO and is aimed at “unlocking serviced land at scale”.
“The fund will support the construction of the public infrastructure needed to activate thousands of homes across towns and cities, forming a central pillar of the Government’s new housing action plan,
“By unblocking infrastructure constraints on zoned lands, we can ensure that investment is targeted to where it can have the greatest impact,” the spokesperson said.
Tom Gilligan, Director of Service for Housing at Mayo County Council, confirmed that the council is in regular contact with the Department, and emphasised that early clarity on funding streams for infrastructure would assist in accelerating housing delivery.
“These discussions are part of the normal progression from planning to implementation, and they have focused on the preparatory steps that are required before any commitments on infrastructure or delivery can be made,” he said.
Mr Gilligan said the completion of the rezoning process reflected “a deliberate strategy” by the council to ensure it is “in the best possible position to support future housing delivery”.
He noted that the council has “worked proactively to meet the national requirements” and placed itself in a strong position to ensure they are able to deliver housing, but explained that moving land towards construction is a complex and lengthy process.
Progressing sites to the development stage involves “technical assessments, infrastructure planning, and alignment with the wider capital and housing programmes,” he said, adding that engagement with the Department is expected “to continue to evolve” as work advances.
“From our perspective, early clarity on infrastructure funding streams would greatly support the pace of delivery,” he added.
“These are issues that all local authorities are working through, and strong partnership with the Department and other stakeholders will be key to maximising the potential of the land that has now been zoned.”
Having acted on the Government’s rezoning directive, the council now stands to benefit from the €1bn Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund, with initial funding calls expected to open to local authorities and the Land Development Agency.
Councils across Ireland that have already begun updating their County Development Plans must complete the process by April 30. Those that have not started have until March 13 to begin, and have a final deadline of June 30.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.