Clare County Council last night adopted the Government's requirement that developers transfer up to 20 per cent of development land to local authorities for social and affordable housing, following the threat of sanction by the Department of the Environment.
At this month's council meeting, councillors were told the council would face sanctions if it failed to adopt its own draft housing strategy by the end of July. Drawn up in compliance with Part V of the 2000 Planning and Development Act, the draft strategy estimates 8,149 households need to be built by 2006 to accommodate the county's growing population.
It said 24 per cent of that figure should be social and affordable housing.
As a result, the council has made provision for the transfer of up to 20 per cent of development sites from developers and intends to reserve 20 per cent of residentially zoned land to meet social and affordable housing needs in the county.
The chairman of the council's policy committee on housing, Councillor Paul Bugler (FG), said developers "were offering a derisory 3 per cent of land for social and affordable housing".
The chairman of the MidWest branch of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Mr Tony O'Shea, vowed to oppose the council's decision. He said: "It will be very, very difficult to implement and I would question the council's figure of 20 per cent and how they can justify it. There is an acute shortage of affordable housing and we want to play a very positive role to reduce that. We want to co-operate with the council, but I believe the council do not need 20 per cent of developers' land."
Mr O'Shea confirmed the CIF will make a comprehensive submission to the council when the strategy goes on public display before it goes back to the council for formal adoption in the autumn.
