Louth sees fall in number of homes granted planning permission

There was a fall in the number of homes granted planning permission in Louth in the first three months of this year (Q1), compared to the final three months of 2023 (Q4), according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Planning permission was granted for 269 houses and 119 apartments in Louth in Q1 of this year, down from 329 houses and 234 apartments in Q4 of 2023.

It represents a fall of 18.2% in the number of houses granted planning permission and of 49.1% in the number of apartments granted planning permission. It remains an increase however, on Q1 of 2023, when planning permission was granted for 111 houses and 59 apartments in Louth.

Of the 269 houses granted planning permission in Q1 of this year in Louth, 254 were for multi development homes and 15 were one off houses. The 15 one off houses represents a decrease in the 21 granted planning permission in Q4 of 2023, and the 30 in Q3, but is on a par with the 15 granted planning permission in Q1 of last year.

Nationally, the number of dwelling units granted planning permission was down 28% in Q1 2024, from 11,659 units in Q1 2023 to 8,387 units in Q1 2024. Houses accounted for 58% of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q1 2024, while apartments made up the remaining 42%.

In Q1 2024, the number of houses granted planning permission fell by more than 20% when compared with Q1 2023, while apartment approvals declined by more than a third (-36.7%). There was also an annual fall of more than 9% in the number of one-off houses receiving planning permission from 1,420 units in Q1 2023 to 1,288 units in Q1 2024.

There was an annual decline of almost 24% in the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission in Q1 2024 compared with an annual increase of almost 54% in Q4 2023.