Chapter 7: Housing for All

Contents

7.1 Introduction

7.2 The Housing Strategy and the Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA)

7.3 Housing Policies

7.4 Homelessness

7.5 People with a Disability

7.6 Housing Options for Older People

7.7 The Kerry Traveller Community

7.8 Community Integration for Refugees

7.9 Increase Land Availability for Residential Development

7.10 Address Vacancy in Housing

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7.0 Housing for All

7.1 Introduction

This Chapter builds on the policies contained in the preceding Chapters that set the overall Settlement Policy Framework for the County and specifically provides for the implementation of the objectives of Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland. 

Chapter 3 Establishes the settlement and growth strategy for the County, including the quantum and location of development over the lifetime of the Plan. 

Chapter 4 Builds on the core strategy by establishing the principles of development in the County’s towns and villages and by delivering on the vision of both the NPF and RSES in relation to compact growth, including the concept of regeneration of town and village cores, and the reuse of brownfield, vacant and derelict sites.

Chapter 5 Focuses on Rural Housing, the strengthening of rural communities, through the regeneration of rural towns and villages and providing policies for the specific needs of sustaining population in rural areas.

Chapter 6 Targets the requirements for establishing and maintaining healthy, sustainable and inclusive communities through the provision of community and social infrastructure, appropriate housing and broader social inclusion policy across a range of sectors.

This section deals with Housing Policy based on the housing needs identified in the Housing Needs Demand Assessment and Housing Strategy for Kerry in Volume 6 of this Plan.

Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland

The Government has committed to addressing the state’s Housing system through the Housing for All Plan. The overall aim of the new housing plan for Ireland is that: Everyone in the State should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a high quality of life.

Housing for All provides four pathways to achieving four overarching objectives:

• Supporting Homeownership and Increasing Affordability;
• Eradicating Homelessness, Increasing Social Housing Delivery and Supporting Social Inclusion;
• Increasing New Housing Supply; and
• Addressing Vacancy and Efficient Use of Existing Stock.

Under each of these pathways there are a suite of actions, which require intervention including Statutory Change at national and local level. 

At the time of publication of this Draft Plan the Housing for All objectives and actions have recently been announced and will be refined over the coming months particularly through the publication of Section 28 guidelines and other amending regulatory provisions.  The Development Plan supports the implementation of the objectives of the Housing for All Plan.

7.2 The Housing Strategy and the Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA)

The preparation of a Housing Strategy is a mandatory requirement under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). The purpose of a Housing Strategy is to evaluate the housing needs of the existing and future population in County Kerry over the Draft Plan period. In addition, the NPF identified the need to carry out a Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA), in conjunction with the Housing Strategy, the purpose of which is to assist Local Authorities to develop long term strategic views of housing need across all tenures, including social and affordable housing and specialist housing. The purpose is also to provide a robust evidence base to support decisions about new housing supply, wider investment and housing related services that inform an overall housing profile.

As outlined in Chapter 6, the development of sustainable communities is a core policy of the County Development Plan and in tandem with a need to increase housing supply, is the need to facilitate improved housing choice to cater for evolving demographics across the County, as analysed in the HNDA. By providing good housing choice, existing residents can remain within their local communities and the necessary choice of accommodation will be available for new households.

The Housing Strategy and the HNDA process complements the Core Strategy in providing the quantitative evidence base to articulate the medium to longer term spatial development strategy of the functional area of the Local Authority. In so doing, it demonstrates that the Draft Plan and its objectives are consistent with national and regional development objectives.

A Draft Housing Strategy and Draft HNDA for Kerry has been prepared and is set out in Volume 6. It provides a detailed analysis of Kerry’s existing housing profile, which forms a basis for housing demand generally and social housing provision. The provisions of the Draft Housing Strategy will guide new residential developments in terms of the form of housing that may be required within Kerry over the lifetime of the Draft Plan.

The Draft Housing Strategy and Draft HNDA addresses the provision of housing for the existing and future population of Kerry and takes account of:

• The existing need and likely future need for housing for the purposes of the provision of social housing support and of housing for eligible households;
• The need to ensure that housing is available for persons who have different levels of income;
• The need to ensure that a mixture of house types and sizes is developed to reasonably match the requirements of the different categories of households, as may be determined by the Planning Authority and including the special requirements of older people and persons with disabilities;
• The need to counteract undue segregation in housing between persons of different social backgrounds;
• The provision of good housing mix in all developments will be encouraged to ensure that residents have access to a range of house types and tenures.

7.3 Housing Policies

The County Development Plan mirrors the overall policy contained in Housing for All, and the policies outlined in Chapter 6 for the development of vibrant sustainable communities including that everyone in the County should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a high quality of life.

This policy refers to people irrespective of their age, ability or social or ethnic background. The Housing Strategy in particular provides for older people or those who have a disability, either physical or intellectual. The Housing Strategy acknowledges the need to meet the housing requirements of those who are homeless and to provide suitable accommodation for the Traveller Community and minority groups.

It is a policy of Kerry County Council to:

• Support the pathways identified in Housing for All to ensure that everyone in the County should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a high quality of life.
• Encourage and foster the creation of attractive mixed-use sustainable communities which contain a variety of housing types and tenures with supporting community facilities, public realm and residential amenities.
• Require a high standard of design in all new residential schemes that are built in a style and scale that is appropriate to the landscape/urban setting.
• Integrate new housing into the existing social and urban fabric of the County’s settlements.
• Recognise the need for people with disabilities to enjoy a decent living environment in the County and to support local communities, health authorities and other agencies involved in the provision of facilities to people with disabilities.
• Support the concept of independent living for older people and people with disabilities and ensure where possible that housing for such groups is integrated into mainstream housing in their existing communities.
• Provide appropriate accommodation for the Traveller Community, minority ethnic groups, migrant groups and homeless.
• Ensure that all new housing is designed in a way that is adaptable and flexible to the changing needs of the homeowner, and has regard to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government ‘Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities – Best Practice Guidelines for Delivering Homes Sustaining Communities (2007).
• Support a sequential approach to residential development in which the first-choice location for new housing is within the built-up area of towns and villages, while maximising under-utilised infill and brownfield lands within town and village centres.
• Facilitate consultation with approved Voluntary and Co-operative Housing Associations on an ongoing basis in order to identify and agree opportunities for their participation in the provision of all social housing delivery options.
• Promote rainwater harvesting and energy efficiency both during the construction phase and during the lifetime of residential development by sensitive design and layout taking into account topography, orientation and surrounding features.

The Council will promote the provision of public (including social and affordable) housing by prioritising sites for servicing that have a potential for public (including social and affordable) housing.

7.4 Homelessness

Reducing and preventing homelessness is a central tenet of Housing for All. It identifies the availability of social housing as one of the key factors in addressing homelessness and the availability of one-bed homes for individuals that are homeless.  

Housing First is a housing-led approach that enables people with a history of rough sleeping or long-term use of emergency accommodation, and with complex needs, to obtain permanent secure accommodation, with the provision of intensive supports to help them to maintain their tenancies. The Housing First National Implementation Plan 2018-2021 was designed to provide this response and contains tenancy targets for each Local Authority. An updated National Implementation Plan will be published by year end and Kerry County Council will support the delivery of the targets contained in the Plan.

7.5 People with a Disability

Under the guiding principle of Housing for All and underpinned by the national and local housing strategies for people with a disability, Kerry County Council will work to deliver appropriately designed and specified housing for people with a disability, in line with the vision and principles of universal design. Kerry’s Housing Delivery Action Plans will set out how dedicated social housing provision for people with a disability will be delivered by the Council and social housing delivery partners, matching the scale and extent of housing need identified, and having regard to forecasts in the Department of Health’s July 2021 Disability Capacity Review.

The Council must also consider the needs of people with a disability in the wider planning process. In this regard, the new HNDA Framework, referenced above, also specifically requires consideration of the housing needs of people with a disability. The evidence garnered through the HNDA process on disability included in the Kerry County Council Housing Strategy ensures that the planning process fully considers how to provide for the housing needs of people with a disability.  (See Chapter 6 Sustainable Communities for broader policy context).

7.6 Housing Options for Older People  

Kerry has an ageing population and it is likely that the population over 80 will quadruple by 2040. As people get older, they are likely to have increasingly complex healthcare needs, with a requirement for services and facilities to support provision of suitable and necessary care. Chapter 6 - Sustainable Communities considers the broader policy areas for Age Friendly Communities and the policies contained in the Kerry Age Friendly County Strategy 2018-2022. The housing needs of this sector of the population are considered hereunder, focusing on the policies included in Housing for All.

Our aging population have specific housing needs relating to access, medical care, security and personal safety. In addition to the concept of Universal Design the location of housing is an important issue for older people particularly those who live alone and are reliant on public transport and local services. Dwellings and other residential facilities catering specifically for older people should be located in close proximity to convenience shops, community facilities and public transport nodes. Living close to local services and facilities creates a convenient lifestyle for older people and encourages them to remain active and healthy. It is the policy of KCC to support older people to live with dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Consideration should be given to providing single storey properties in large residential developments that would provide older people with the option of downsizing if so desired. This would have the positive knock-on effect of releasing larger homes for younger families. The adaption of existing homes to meet the changing needs of older people is also supported.

This further reinforces the need for well-designed lifetime adaptable infill and brownfield development close to existing services and facilities, supported by universal design and improved urban amenities, including public spaces and parks as well as direct and accessible walking routes.

7.7 The Kerry Traveller Community 

Travellers are recognised as an ethnic minority. The Council has adopted a Traveller Accommodation Plan following the prescribed process.

The Council working with the Traveller community will continue to address the specific needs of travellers, ensuring that targeted provision is achieved in line with those needs and that this is also incorporated into housing and traveller accommodation strategies.

Kerry County Council recognises the distinct requirements of the Traveller Community in relation to the provision of accommodation and other facilities, the socio-economic issues relevant to the Travelling Community and the link between adequate accommodation, employment, health and education.

7.8 Community Integration for Refugees

Local Authorities played a central role in the successful first round of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, with 2,871 persons (571 families) accommodated across 23 counties. Local Authorities are required to agree national spatial distributions for the accommodation of the 2,900 refugees under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme 2020-2023 and will source and provide accommodation, as well as supporting integration of refugees and their families into local communities. Kerry County Council will work with the relevant agencies at local and national level to implement this strategy recognising the needs of the individuals, families and receiving communities.

7.9 Increase Land Availability for Residential Development

Under Housing for All, the Government is bringing forward a suite of measures to address the need to increase land availability for residential development, including the introduction of a significant new measure to achieve Land Value Sharing and a strong Land Development Agency. The Government will make public land available for residential housing purposes. It will increase the sites available to the LDA to build housing and continue to fund Local Authorities to purchase land for social housing. It will make the necessary reforms to the planning system to make the development process as streamlined as possible.

Another mechanism included in Housing for All is the concept of The Urban Development Zone (UDZ). The UDZ mechanism takes the planning focused Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) concept and expands it to address development and regeneration of urban areas with significant potential for housing. UDZ designation will be applicable to large-scale areas in single or multiple land ownerships that could include public and/or private lands and sites and transport-led development areas. 

Kerry County Council will support the implementation of these new measures as they apply to the delivery of housing lands in the County. (Chapter 4 Towns & Villages Sec 4.3 Active Land Management).

7.10 Address Vacancy in Housing

Housing for All has addressed vacancy and the efficient use of existing stock through a number of strategic objectives and through the use of prioritised existing and new grants and funding opportunities. The Urban and Rural Regeneration and Development Funds are targeted at the activation of vacant properties. The national policy also supports the Town Centre first initiative which seeks to align policies and to target available resources to deliver the best outcomes for town centres including the promotion of residential occupancy in rural towns and villages. 

The Housing Plan also proposes new programmes for CPO of vacant properties for resale on the open market and for the provision of serviced sites for housing to be delivered by local authorities to attract people to build their own homes and also to support the refurbishment of vacant properties enabling people to live in small towns and villages (Croí Cónaithe Fund).  Policies are included in relation to resolving issues of unfinished housing estates, the utilisation of heritage buildings, the issues of short-term lettings in relation to their impact on the availability of permanent housing.