Wexford County Council opts to double contribution scheme despite concerns regarding first-time buyers
Wexford PeopleFirst-time buyers in Co Wexford are “going to get nailed” if the county council goes ahead with proposals to increase its development contribution scheme (DCS). The scheme sees a fee charged to those seeking planning permission for the construction of residential or commercial properties in the county and is calculated per square metre.
Wexford County Council (WCC) has not changed its DCS since 2013 and, according to director of services Liz Hore, has “contribution receipts” which “fall far below that of the majority of the other local authorities nationally”.
At the September meeting of WCC, chief executive Eddie Taaffe explained how the proposed increase had been estimated.
“Chartered surveyors estimate that the cost of construction for a new residential build is €3,200 per square metre, at the moment our existing levies are 0.3 per cent, we’re looking to bring it to 0.76 per cent,” he said. “We haven’t had an increase in a number of years and this levy will be used towards the cost of footpaths and lighting.
"The cost to us of building those things to facilitate housing has doubled so we think this increase is reasonable.”
However, some councillors were concerned this increase would see developers pass additional costs onto first-time buyers.
“If someone is a first-time buyer they are going to get nailed with additional charges (because of this),” said Cllr Michael Sheehan. “I would be hesitant in increasing the costs of construction and placing an additional charge on what’s already an expensive endeavour. Can we bring in a grading system or an incentive for first-time buyers so that they won’t get hit with fees?”
Cllr Pat Barden had similar concerns.
"I’d also be very worried about first-time buyers and how cost increases will affect them,” he said. “We’re talking about doubling the contributions. I have three lads getting married in the next few years, they’re not going to have a hope in hell of building a house, first-time buyers really have to be protected, we have to seriously consider that.”
Since 2018 the DCS has generated €15.5m for WCC and enabled it to complete projects like the Bridgetown/Ballyteigue Blueway, improvement works at Cahore Car Park, and upgrades to the New Ross marina upgrade. In order to continue to deliver similar works around the county, Ms Hore said it was now “considered necessary to introduced a new DCS similar to other counties”.
“WCC has the lowest DCS nationally, we have an ambitious programme here and we will need additional funding to complete it,” she added.
The proposed increase will now go undergo a public consultation period of six weeks before returning to the councillors for approval. Should it be ratified there will immediately be questions as to where the increased funding will be spent. Some councillors were already thinking ahead.
“How much additional revenue will this generate?” asked Cllr Robbie Staples.
Reluctant to discuss figures until the public consultation period concluded, Ms Hore said she had yet to “dig into the calculations”.
Cllr Ger Carthy requested that she do so if and when the changes were approved.
“I’d like a breakdown of what the projected income will be on any proposed increase and where we intend to spend that money,” he said.