‘Startling’ low level of builds contributing to Buncrana housing crisis

The “startling” low level of housing construction in Buncrana over the last ten years has contributed to the town’s accommodation crisis, a public meeting has heard.

The meeting, aimed at finding possible solutions to the housing situation, was told that there have been just 58 registered completions of housing units in the last decade.

The meeting was called by Donegal County Council as part of the process of identifying lands that could be developed for housing as part of the preparation of the town’s local area plan.

The draw of rural living in one-off houses has contributed to the low level of housing development in the town but the lack of housing development in the county’s second largest town is having a detrimental impact on its development, planners say.

The council is seeking to identify land that could be developed for social housing and for development by the private sector.

Planners are also concerned about the high number of derelict commercial and residential buildings in the town, the second biggest in the county and the third largest town in the north-west region, after Letterkenny and Sligo.

Local councillors also want more land zoned for commercial and industrial development.

Cllr Rena Donaghy, who chaired the meeting, said the town, which has around 75% of the mica-affected houses in Inishowen, is experiencing a housing crisis, partly due to the low level of development in the last ten years.

Land needs to be zoned “to allow homes to be built for the many that need them,” she said.

“It has almost been impossible to find a house to rent or buy in Buncrana for the last eight years and people have had no choice but to go on a very long waiting list.”

Mica, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have all contributed to the housing crisis, she said.

The meeting heard from the floor that much of the land zoned in the Buncrana area is agricultural and “family land” that won’t be developed in the near future despite a 3% levy which is to be introduced on zoned land that has not been developed.

A draft of the new local area plan is expected to be published early next year.

Senior planner Róisín Kelly said the partial completion of the inner relief road was positive and the completion of the road would be a part of the plan. Investment by Irish Water in infrastructure and the €1.7m funding for regeneration, were also positives, she said.

But the fact that only 58 houses had been built in Buncrana since the beginning of 2012, was “quite startling,” she said.

The town had 158 vacant and derelict residential housing units in 2020, she said, a drop of 5% over five years, and 61 vacant commercial units - an increase of 38% over five years.

Speaking to the Inish Times, senior planner Eunan Quinn said “viable, quality” residential options “within the envelope of the town” are needed.

“Then you start to have growth in the town, you start to have businesses being more viable and you start to have a walkable town - you are not reliant all the time on private transport, which is choking all our towns.”

Speaking after the meeting, local councillor Nicholas Crossan said he was disappointed at the low turnout at the meeting, which was attended by fewer than 30 people.

He said half of the land zoned in the area “will not be built on in my lifetime”.

“We need more land for development because we have people that are ready to go to build houses but they can't get planning because the rules and regulations say there is enough land zoned in Buncrana.”