Draft Donegal Development plan to 2030 goes out for second public feedback 

The draft Donegal Development plan for 2024-2030 will now go back out for a second round of public consultation next week after a marathon two special plenary sessions of Donegal County Council (DCC), held this week and last in Lifford.

Reflecting on the two meetings, the second of which was held on Monday and lasted almost nine hours, Cathaoirleach of DCC, Cllr Martin Harley said that while the were lengthy in duration, the decisions made would set out the planning agenda and important directions for housing and development within the county for the next six years. 

The Draft County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 was initially published for public consultation last August running until October 13, 2023, but the plan has since taken on board the public consultations, the CEO’s report on those consultations. It has now culminated with any material alterations that the councillors felt were needed.

It was pointed out at the two meetings by some councillors that the final decisions and plan would have to take into consideration the views of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) and indeed, if required, directions from the Minister. 

This meant that ultimately, all the decisions they had suggested and agreed upon, would not by right, be included in the final plan.   

Cllr Harley said: “This week and last were  an important couple of meetings because everybody wants to get zoning in their own areas. The plan is an important document and sets out the plan for the next six years. You are trying to get it right, or try to get most of it right.”

He explained that the draft plan will now have taken on board the comments of the councillors and from February 21, it will go back out to the general public for consultation for a period of six weeks, “with what is in the document now”.

He added that this would take it up to the second week in April. Councillors will then consider the feedback based on the CEO's report on the second batch of submissions, before the members consider the material alterations and adopt the final draft plan. 

“Under the planning guidelines, you are only allowed to zone much more limited areas within each town. Years ago they were going left, right and centre, but now it is now we are limited to so many acres per town. And you have to keep the zones as close to the centre as possible.

“The general feeling amongst councillors is that they need more, because at the end of the day, we may have zone lands close to the centre of towns, but the person that owns that, might not want to develop that land. Say you take 20 acres zoned. If there are 15 of those acres owned by someone who does not want to develop them, it means you only have five acres for the next six years.”    

Referencing Residential Phase 1 (the priority set of land to be developed for housing) he added that a new Residential Phase 2, would give planners and developers greater options in the future.

He added that new legislation would see a new Residential zoned land tax. This would mean that land with prescribed development zoning attached, and which was not freed up by landowners for sale, would be subject to an annual tax at a rate of three percent per annum, based on the valuation of the land.

“So if you were to sit on your land for 20 years, it could end up worthless”.