Local Neighbourhood Facilities - Requirement and Assessment

The provision of local facilities within residential development is one of the means to increase vitality, provide a sense of community and enhance the social and economic sustainability of the development. Large scale housing schemes must provide necessary services and community infrastructure to enable new growth to be satisfactorily accommodated. Otherwise they will place further pressure on already overstretched facilities and services and increase the need to travel. The need for local neighbourhood facilities to be provided in conjunction with proposals for new residential development will be assessed by the Department in consultation with relevant bodies, generally as part of the development plan process. Where such a need is identified it will be a requirement that the developer provides for this need as an integral part of the development. Any provision considered necessary will relate fairly and reasonably in scale and kind to the impact of the development proposed.