Government welcomes publication of NESC report Deepening Compact Growth in Ireland

The government welcomes the publication of NESC’s report, Deepening Compact Growth in Ireland. Compact growth means having more growth within the boundaries of cities, towns and villages and the development of new walkable neighbourhoods. It includes the renovation of vacant and derelict property.

This report from NESC highlights the evidence that there are multiple benefits from compact growth. The benefits of compact growth include a shift from car dependence to more sustainable travel, higher productivity and innovation, more sustainable travel, improved access to services and lower costs for public services and infrastructure.

The objective in the National Planning Framework that 40 per cent of new housing development be within existing built-up areas is being achieved. However, the fastest growing areas are at the edges of and outside towns and villages.

One of the obstacles to the achievement of compact growth is that from a developer’s perspective, greenfield development tends to be more viable than brownfield. In addition, it is less costly to develop houses than more compact apartments. However, when account is taken of the additional infrastructure costs of greenfield development as well as additional travel costs and carbon emissions, it is brownfield development that is more cost effective from the perspective of the State and society.

NESC makes several recommendations to make more progress on compact growth. These include:

• increase public investment to unlock land suited for compact growth – this includes both major urban transformation projects and investment in essential infrastructure, especially water services, to facilitate housing in towns and villages
• review development incentives with a view to achieving a structure that provides stronger incentives for brownfield development
• implement the recommendation of the Residential Construction Cost Study Report (2023) and advance the six lines of action on modern methods of construction (MMC) identified by NESC (2024) to reduce the construction cost of apartments

The government notes that many existing and planned policies contribute to compact growth. These include grants for renovation of vacant and derelict properties and the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) grants for the development of apartments in cities. In addition, many of the commitments made in the Programme for Government will contribute to compact growth, for example, the creation of a new strategic fund to invest in infrastructure, to acquire land, assemble sites, de-risk sites in existing towns and cities to maximise their potential growth. The proposal now under consideration to facilitate small dwellings in gardens also has potential to contribute to compact growth.

Compact growth is government policy as stated in the National Planning Framework (NPF), Ireland’s long term strategic spatial plan for the period to 2040. The government confirms its commitment to this objective.