settlements and development and the politics of neo ... · settlements and development and the...
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Critical Social Thinking, Vol. 5, 2013
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Settlements and Development and the Politics of Neo-Liberal Planning: A
Critical Review of Ireland’s Recent Approach to Zoning, Housing Provision
and the Prospects for Reform
Clara O’Neill, BSc (Government), MPlan
Abstract
This article considers the Irish government’s recent decision to effect substantial reforms of the
planning system through the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 (PD(A)A 2010)
which attempts to enshrine the concept of evidence based approaches to planning for housing and
to depoliticise the contentious arena of land use zoning by using the Core Strategy provision. This
research suggests that the PD(A)A 2010 represents a noticeable reform of the plan-making system
and epitomises a perceivable shift in both ideology and practice away from the developer-led,
laissez- faire approach to housing provision that characterised the last number of years in Ireland.
The research emphasises the importance of ensuring that future housing [privately and publicly
provided] should only occur only in locations that are appropriate and sustainable, and cautions
strongly against the idea that unused housing stock in badly serviced and poorly located areas
should be used as a means of meeting the demand for social housing.
Keywords: Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, housing policy, land use zoning,
sustainable development
Critical Social Thinking: Policy and Practice, Vol. 5, 2013 School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland
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Introduction
There has been significant public and media attention focussed on the role of the planning system
in contributing to the housing and development crisis in Ireland. The Mahon tribunal findings
suggested that although no systemic corruption existed within the planning system, fundamental
structural and legislative reforms were needed to prevent excessive and unsustainable
development patterns and to support planning’s role in addressing the common good. Throughout
the Celtic Tiger era, inadequate legislation and a lack of integrated evidence-based spatial plans
have left a tangible legacy of poorly located developments, over-zoning and unfinished
developments culminating in a peak of 42,058 hectares of land zoned for housing in 2009,
representing an oversupply of 4.5 times actual need (Gormley: 2009).
This article considers the driving forces behind central government’s decision to impose new
requirements on Local Authorities by way of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act
2010 (PD(A)A 2010) which attempts to ensure that Development Plans and Local Area Plans are
streamlined with national and regional development objectives set out in the National Spatial
Strategy (NSS) and Regional Planning Guidelines (RPGs). Drawing on previous research,
particular focus is paid to the obligation to prepare a Core Strategy demonstrating in quantitative,
qualitative and illustrative terms, how Development Plans are consistent with RPGs and the NSS
and critically appraises the way in which Local Authorities have fulfilled their obligations.
The article examines the extent to which the legislation may be interpreted as a shift away from
the neo-liberal, deregulated, developer-led approach to the housing and development sector, to
one where local government, in its capacity as a housing and planning authority, has an enhanced
role to play in ensuring the right development occurs in the right places. Finally, the article
considers the territorial dimensions of the legacy of overdevelopment and considers the reasons
for which the future of housing provision in Ireland, in the context of the aftermath of the Celtic
Tiger collapse, has fundamentally changed.
Summary of Research and Methodological Approach
This article draws largely on research conducted on the PD(A)A 2010, the RPGs and analysis of
all adopted City and County Development Plan Core Strategies. The research included an
investigation into the whether the Core Strategy provision was likely to be an appropriate
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response to the problems of over-zoning and overdevelopment. A comprehensive analysis of both
the legislation and the official Ministerial guidance was undertaken which identified the
fundamental requirements imposed on Local Authorities in relation to the Core Strategy provision
arising out of the PD(A)A 2010. Following this, a complete sample of every Core Strategy was
assessed against both the explicitly stated requirements under Section 7 and the elements
recommended by the DoECLG official Ministerial guidance. This analysis was then organised and
represented using a simple scoring matrix whereby the Core Strategies were assessed against
selected criteria.
1994-2007: Housing, Planning and the Pro-Growth Neo-Liberal Political Model
Ireland’s economic, social and physical landscape has radically transformed over the last twenty
years. Not surprisingly, Ireland’s planning system was shaped by the significant pressures
brought about by exceptional growth in the economy during this time. Kitchin et al., (2012:1320)
outline that from 1997 onwards the Irish government ‘…pursued a neoliberal agenda of promoting
the free market, minimising regulation, privatising public goods and keeping direct taxes low and
indirect taxes high’ and that one of the key drivers behind this agenda was the intention to secure
export oriented Foreign Direct Investment. This occurred in the context of a rapidly growing
population, according to the Central Statistics Office (2011:56) the population of Ireland increased
by 16.2% between 2000 and 2010 (the highest percentage increase in the EU). Increased
incentivisation for development came in the form of tax incentive schemes such as the Seaside
Resort Scheme and the Rural Renewal Scheme for the Upper Shannon Region.
Deregulation of the financial sector occurred alongside the promotion of a laissez-faire planning
system. Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, Part V provisions place various
obligations in Local Authorities as Planning and Housing Authorities, and the planning system
was largely responsible for all housing policy implementation. This legislation included a highly
significant clause relating to the provision of social and affordable housing requiring developers to
relinquish ‘20% of land zoned for residential development or up to 20% of the residential element
of land zoned for a mix of residential and other uses…’ (DoEHLG, 2000:i). A fundamental aim
of the Part V provision was to avoid social segregation and promote integrated communities in
terms of both tenure and social classes (DoEHLG, 2000:7). However, this objective was
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completely undermined in 2002, following a period of intense pressure from developers, who
displayed a ‘strong aversion’ to implementing Part V (McManus: 2012). The 2002 Planning and
Development (Amendment) Act (PD(A)A 2002) enabled developers to renege on their principal
obligation to provide social housing units under Part V of the Planning and Development Act
2000 by allowing developers alternative ways of fulfilling their legislative responsibilities such as
the provision of alternative land or money in lieu of including social and/or affordable housing in
their developments. O’Connell (2007:166) contends that the provisions introduced in the PD(A)A
2002 reinforced ‘…the perception that social housing is best kept at arm’s length from
‘respectable’ private stock’. So, while private housing stock increased at a considerable rate,
social housing lists continued to grow at the same time.
There is a strong tradition of homeownership in Ireland. In 2006, almost three quarters of private
dwellings in the state were owner occupied, which was the highest level of home ownership in
Europe (Kitchin et al, 2012:1316). In addition, demand for property, particularly in urban areas,
rose exponentially amid speculation about further rises in property prices. In this regard, Williams
et al. (2010:7) note that ‘The inelastic supply of housing development in Dublin at a period when
employment and business space was massively expanded created competitive market conditions
pushing potential occupiers and purchasers to use all available capital resources to secure scarce
housing’. This only served to further exacerbate what O’Connell (2007:139) described as ‘the
depth of the spatial segregation between home ownership and social housing’. Meanwhile
Ireland was held up as a global exemplar for how neoliberal economic reform can be used as a
mechanism for increasing GDP/GNP (Kitchin et al. 2012: 1302-1303).
Number of Dwellings Completed 1970-2010
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Fig 1: Dwellings completed in Ireland from 1970-2010 (Source CS0, 2010:63).
Problems in the planning system at a local level were perhaps what intensified the extent to which
Ireland’s property bubble inflated and gave its subsequent crash a unique ‘fingerprint’ (Kitchin et
al, 2012:1321). Essentially, planning policy decisions at a local scale encouraged, if not enabled,
supply-led development and competitive ‘politics of place’ practices to be engaged in by local
elected representatives. These clientelist practices tended to focus on an approach that was
localist and which largely ignored the strategic spatial objectives set out in the NSS and RPGs
(Convery et al., 2006:172).
In the absence of robust funding mechanisms for Local Authorities and the considerable financial
gain to be obtained from permissive zoning and development regimes, part of the problem related
to the fact that land use zoning for residential purposes was viewed by Local Authorities as
revenue generating measure through the system of development contributions as well as a means
of delivering population, economic activity, jobs and regeneration.
As a consequence, Local Authorities often promoted development against the principles of
balanced sustainable development advocated in national and regional policy. Often, there was an
observed ‘bandwagon effect’ of such practices as adjoining Local Authorities were afraid to be
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left behind. In this regard, NIRSA (2010:4) outline that ‘…permissions and zoning have been
facilitated by the abandonment of basic planning principles by elected representatives on the local
and national stage and driven by the demands of local people, developers and speculators, and
ambitious, localised growth plans framed within a zero-sum game of being left behind with
respect to development’. In effect, housing provision became detached from the fundamental
objectives underlying housing provision, to view housing as ‘a fundamental expression-a building
block- of societies, and…a core issue of socialisation’ (Herrman, in O’Connell 2007:x) and Local
Authorities lost sight of their duty to accommodate demand for housing in sustainable locations.
As a consequence of this ‘addiction to zoning’ (Jan O Sullivan, Minister for Housing and
Planning: 2012) there was a considerable amount of excessive zonings in the country.
In 2008, Ireland entered into recession. This sudden decline in national economic performance
was inextricably linked to, and had a significant effect on, the planning and development system.
Ireland’s economy was overly reliant on the construction sector which accounted for
approximately 20% of annual GNP (Kelly: 2009). Reckless lending practices by the banking
sector particularly in relation to commercial property and building loans dangerously exposed
them to funding and solvency pressures. As property prices and land values rose, the perceived
risk of property related lending fell as the value of collateral increased. Kitchin et al, (2012:1321)
contend that ‘the severity of the crash was significantly exacerbated by the states neoliberal
agenda and lack of oversight and foresight and poor policy formation with respect both the
planning system and the banking sectors’. This impetus for change, the collapse of the housing
market and construction industry and the inherent problems associated with the over-
development, over-zoning, and poorly serviced and located developments were, without doubt,
the drivers for legislative reform.
Post- Celtic Tiger Reform
As a direct government reaction to the effects of over-zoning and overdevelopment ‘…largely
prescribed and facilitated through a highly localised development plan system’ (Brady & Hall,
2012: x), regional planning and the regional planning tier in Ireland have been significantly
strengthened. In doing this, the Irish government have introduced statutory legislation designed
specifically to strengthen and enhance the performance of the regional planning tier. One of the
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key objectives and practical outcomes of the legislation was that it was intended to support
targeted investment on infrastructure by the State and modernise land zoning. The new ‘Core
Strategy’ provision requires Development Plans to include relevant information in order to
demonstrate how the policies and objectives of the development plan are consistent with national
and regional planning policy. Brady & Hall (2012:22) contend that ‘the malfunction of the
planning system with respect to zoning and development has been characterised as a product of
localist tendencies to generally disregard strategic concerns in favour of narrow and short term
parochial growth- orientated aspirations... [the recent reforms are] significant in scope and impact
on the workings of the planning hierarchy in the long term’. Therefore, the purpose of the reform
was to instill a more streamlined and hierarchical planning policy structure and to develop an
evidence based approach to the zoning process as part of the Development Plan process.
Discussion
Shifting paradigms in the planning and housing sectors
According to Redmond (2012:12) ‘We let an unregulated property market lead us to the brink of
economic and social destruction’. The fluctuating dynamics of the planning and development
system in Ireland prompted amendment of the main body of planning legislation and effectually
and intentionally strengthened the regional planning tier.
Mutually reinforcing hierarchical plans have the potential to depoliticise the contentious arena of
land use zoning and realign the disconnect between demand and supply of housing that
characterised the last number of years in Ireland by ensuring that the locational nature of housing
provision is grounded in a way that is substantive and evidence-based. With this in mind, the
reforms of the planning system enacted by way of the PD(A)A 2010 can be perceived as
representing somewhat of an ideological shift away from the previously laissez-faire system
compounded by the perpetual growth of the development sector and pro-growth Local Authorities
generating ‘ambitious localised growth plans’ (Kitchin et al. 2012:1320). The new legislation is a
marked attempt to critically address the issues of inappropriate zoning in order to restructure the
national housing land bank and, through the translation of national and regional targets and
reinforcing the principle of subsidiarity, direct development (both publically and privately funded)
toward those locations that have the necessary and adequate infrastructure and services. A key
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element of the research conducted examined the extent to which local authorities adhered to their
legislative and departmental obligations and revealed a significant level of variance in adherence
(See Table 1.).
From the perspective of housing provision, the overall policy objectives outlined in the DoECLG
Housing Policy Statement 2011, indicate a considerable deviation from previous policy
objectives. In its 2007 Statement on Housing Policy Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities
(2007:7) the Department outlined that the key housing objective is to ‘Enable every household to
have available an affordable dwelling of good quality, suited to its needs, in a good environment
and, as far as possible, at the tenure of its choice’ and it was on this key objective that much
housing policy was predicated. Conversely, the most recent Housing Policy Statement (DoECLG,
2011:3) implies a deliberate departure from the tendency of Irish housing policy to foster the path
dependency on home ownership that has been a consistent trait of the Irish housing system since
its inception, stating that ‘the concept of ‘affordable’…reinforces the high and often
disproportionate value placed on owner-occupation that has been so detrimental to Ireland’s
society and economy’. In this context, it is unclear whether this is a pragmatic response to the
global economic downturn, or a conscious recognition that in order to achieve true integration of
tenure a more holistic approach is necessary. However, in the context of achieving its new key
housing objective the exclusion of the emphasis on homeownership for the future of housing and
social housing provision in Ireland appears to signify a deliberate attempt to avoid ‘repeating the
mistakes of the past through over-stimulation of the market’ (DoECLG, 2011:2).
Territorial implications of overdevelopment
Kitchin et al. (2012: 1310) outline that ‘It is now abundantly clear that, during the Celtic Tiger
period, property supply and demand became disconnected so that when the bubble burst the state
was left with a staggering level of oversupply’ and it is this oversupply that presents a significant
contemporary concern for local authorities in their role as housing and planning authorities. In
September 2011, the DoECLG completed its second national survey of all housing developments
of two or more dwellings in the country. The report recorded 2,066 unfinished housing
developments in the Country and that of these sites, 1,822 were mainly inactive at the time of
inspection with only 245 active. In terms of vacant housing the 2011 Census results (CSO,
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2012b:7) indicate that there are 230,056 vacant housing units in the country (excluding holiday
homes). This is an exorbitant amount of oversupply and there is an immediate need to establish
the parameters for addressing this within the planning and housing sectors regardless of what is
happening in the financial sphere. As previously outlined, the development and construction
industry was allowed to produce housing units as if the normal rules of demand and supply didn’t
apply. This is inherently contradictory because by resisting or rejecting the norms of intervention
and regulation it represents an explicitly neo-liberal approach which should have had the inbuilt
ability to respond to the vagaries of the market and those established economic imperatives of
demand and supply, however, these ‘rules’ were, in fact, completely ignored. In this regard, there
are a number of points to make with regard to the physical legacy of unfinished housing
developments in Ireland. Firstly, the geographical and territorial dimensions of the
overdevelopment story signify how far the from the principles of proper planning and sustainable
development the planning system had actually come in relation to housing provision and
accommodating demand for housing in sustainable locations.
Percentage of Dwellings Vacant in Each Electoral District
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Source: Central Statistics Office 2011 (CSO, 2011a:19).
To what degree this overprovision was just an unfortunate, badly timed consequence of the rapid
downturn in the global economy or rather, as Brady & Hall (2012:1) assert, ‘…prescribed and
facilitated through a highly localised development plan system’ which is most prominently
reflected by the physical legacy associated with unfinished developments. Results from the 2011
Census (2011:19) indicate that the highest level of overdevelopment has occurred, for the large
part, along the entire western coastline of the country from Donegal to South Kerry and West
Cork and the Upper Shannon Region. Williams et al. (2010:17) contend that the high rate of
vacancy epitomises the extent to which ‘speculative financial activities’ became interlinked with
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‘questionable planning decisions’ and that as a result there are significant costs to bear for society
and taxpayers in particular. Secondly, a societal cost of particular concern in the aftermath of the
biggest construction boom ever to occur in Ireland is the issue of social housing. McManus
(2012:13) contends that ‘Social housing concerns over the past year have been eclipsed by the
major economic issues facing the country such as fiscal problems and unemployment’. However,
in the light of recent legislative and policy reforms it is imperative that a coherent strategy for
future housing provision [both public and privately funded] be underpinned now to ensure the
mistakes of the past including over-stimulation of the market are not repeated.
‘There is a current Social Housing Crisis’ (Harrington, 2012:15). Over a short period of time,
Ireland went from a situation where an unprecedented demand for housing led to the subsequent
increase in supply of housing that occurred during the construction boom and now, in the
aftermath of the crash, there is a high level of oversupply coupled with an alarming increase in the
numbers of people in need of social housing. It seems somewhat illogical and farcical to be
facing two simultaneous crises in the housing sector, one relating to the oversupply of private
housing units and the other to the undersupply of social housing units. Unfortunately, inadequate
legislation is probably what compounded this problem. In this regard, O’Connell (2007:166-167)
provides some critical insights into the implications of the 2002 Amendment Act stating that:
‘…the tendency for cash strapped local authorities to accept cash contributions (up to €60million
in 2006)…in lieu of social and affordable housing elements of new residential developments…
(largely at the behest of elected representatives rather than housing officials) are reneging on their
statutory duties to provide for those households deemed in need.’ Essentially, the PD(A)A 2002
enabled local authorities to issue developers with Certificates of Exception allowing them to pay
considerable development contributions as a way of fulfilling their social and affordable housing
obligations and, in doing so, jeopardised the fundamental aim of the Part V provision which was
to ‘avoid social segregation and promote integrated communities in terms of both tenure and
social classes’ (DoEHLG: 2007).
Recently, considerable media attention and public debate has raised the issue of using the large
proportion of vacant housing stock to accommodate the demand for social housing (Dáil Debates:
28/06/2012, Cork Chamber of Commerce). Dunne (2012:18) outlines the aspiration that
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‘unfinished housing, will offer opportunities to deal with social housing problems’ and it appears
that much contemporary debate pertaining to the oversupply of housing units and the shortage of
social housing units are characterised by similar sentiment. The CEO of Bord Gáis and president
of Cork Chamber, John Mullins recently stated: ‘There are thousands of NAMA properties sitting
empty around the country and I can’t understand why we don’t use them as social housing
properties…I feel the NAMA properties should benefit society rather than being left empty.’ In
the context of this debate, it is worth noting data from the 2011 Census indicated that there are a
total of 230,056 vacant dwellings in the state excluding holiday homes (CSO 2012b:48). Data
from the Housing Agency (2011:8) indicates that 98,318 people are on social housing waiting lists
throughout the country. Of immediate concern are the areas for which there is over 25%
vacancy. Given that one quarter of overall social housing need exists in the five major urban areas
in the country (23,614 people in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway respectively)
coupled with the locational nature of much of this oversupply (along the western seaboard), it is
clear that accommodating the need for social housing in these areas (characterised by low levels
of demand) is a completely unviable as well as socially detrimental option. Notwithstanding the
obvious social implications of allocating social housing to the most isolated and poorly serviced
areas of the country, the significant proportionate differences between the two figures only serve
to further exacerbate and invalidate the case for using Ireland’s vacant housing stock for
accommodating social housing need and this research cautions strongly against such practices. In
this regard, Dunne (2012:18) similarly cautions against this practice stating that: ‘An oversupply
of housing in an area of low demand will not contribute to solving the housing problems of those
on insufficient incomes whose only chance of finding work is in areas where the supply of
housing is more restricted. People on low incomes should have the greatest possible freedom to
move where there is opportunity…certainly not houses left over after the boom in places where
employment may be difficult to find or access.’ Furthermore, , even if the government were
persuaded to use the demand for social housing as a solution to the problem of oversupply there
would still be 131,738 vacant houses in the county.
In a pragmatic sense, local authorities in their capacity as Housing and Planning Authorities
should be less concerned with filling up vacant houses and ensure that housing [both private and
public] be provided in sustainable, well-connected and well serviced locations where there is
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adequate demand. ‘Planning should provide checks and balances to the excesses of development
and act for the common good, even if that means taking unpopular decisions’ (NIRSA, 2010:2).
In summary, those advocating that the problems of vacant housing can be partially addressed
through social housing allocation tend to ignore that reality that the simple model of supply and
demand applied at a national level is largely theoretical and tends to ignore one crucial variable,
location. There is a multiplicity of housing markets within the state and in this context the
potential to address the supply problems within the private housing sector using latent demand in
the social housing sector is extremely limited and should generally be avoided.
Conclusion
The Housing Policy Statement (DoECLG, 2011:2) states: ‘We now know the consequences of
encouraging people to choose their housing options on the basis of investment and yield rather
than hearth and home.’ In the context of addressing the problems of overdevelopment and over-
zoning in the wake of the Celtic Tiger Collapse, the PD(A)A 2010 has the potential to
fundamentally change the future of housing provision in Ireland and the increased role for
national and regional plans in the allocation of growth targets signifies a deliberate attempt to
move away from previous localised neo-liberal planning practices. By ensuring that Core
Strategies are aligned and consistent with superior planning policies and that they are mutually
reinforced by the provisions of Housing Strategies, the recent reforms in both the planning and
housing sectors represent a significant departure from previous planning practices. If implemented
correctly, the reforms have the potential ‘…to reconfigure the relationship between society, state
and housing in a more fundamental sense…[to] address the deeply rooted and embedded tenure
prejudice which has been politically cultivated since the foundation of the state…’ (O’Connell,
2007:167-168). The reform enacted by the PD(A)A 2010 has meant that the allocation of growth
targets from the NSS to the RPGs and down to the CDPs throughout settlement hierarchies has
provided the opportunity for the provision of housing to be grounded in an increasingly evidence-
based way. In this regard, if the legislation is adhered to and correctly implemented the problems
of overdevelopment and over-zoning should, in practice, be avoided.
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Notwithstanding the scale and complexity of implementing the requirements of the legislation,
analysis of the Core Strategies of City and County Councils has indicated a high degree of
disparity in terms of the consistency, content and scope within which Core Strategies are being
implemented (See Table 1). A key recommendation in this regard highlights the role for the
DoECLG in exercising oversight to ensure adequate implementation of the legislation and
guidance.
It is considered that the Irish government’s recent decision to effect substantial reforms of the
planning system through the PD(A)A 2010 if coupled with coherent departmental implementation
review mechanisms have the potential to be sufficiently robust mechanisms to enshrine the
concept of evidence based approaches to planning for housing and depoliticise the contentious
arena of land use zoning. The PD(A)A 2010 represents a noticeable reform of the plan making
system and epitomises a perceivable shift in both ideology and practice away from the developer-
led, laissez faire approach to housing provision and signifies a commitment to a more proactive
and assured role for local government in its function as a Housing and Planning Authority and an
express attempt to realign housing provision with the principles of proper planning and
sustainable development. Fundamentally, it is considered that these structural and legislative
reforms have the potential to prevent excessive and unsustainable development patterns and serve
to support planning’s role in addressing the common good.
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Table 1: Sum
mary of Local Authorities’ Legislative and Guidance Consistency
[1] √√ refers to the Local Authorities w
ho used exact figures from
relevant RPGs. √ refers to the Local Authorities w
ho varied somewhat in terms of the RPG allocated population targets.
[2] In some cases both the quantum of land currently zoned and the quantum of land proposed to be zoned were not given, in which case Local Authorities received √.
[3] In some cases the measures for phased developm
ent w
ere not outlined by Local Authorities however, if the Core Strategy indicated that phasing would be undertaken at LAP level √ was given.
[4] If a Local Authority mentioned one or more (but not all) areas for w
hich it intended to produce or review LAPs √ was given.
[5] If Core Strategy Maps contained one inconsistency √√
was given, if there was tw
o –three inconsistencies √ was given.
[6] √ represents Local Authorities w
ho provided the majority of the required information in tabular form over a series of two or more tables, X represents Core Strategies that did not provide the required information.
[7] If Local Authorities allocated medium/low densities in areas recom
mended for high densities in the DoEHLGs Guidelines for Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas X was given as compliance with the guidelines was demonstrated
elsewhere in the Core Strategy.
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