End of 'one-off housing' in parts of Mayo?

Mayo county councillors will try this week to persuade government planners that their new county plan, which allows for one-off housing, should not be reversed. One-off housing refers to the building of individual rural houses, outside of towns and villages. It contrasts with housing developments where multiple units are constructed as part of a housing estate or city street. There has been a lot of controversy about one-off housing in recent years.

Arguments against 'one-off housing':

• The conservation organisation, An Taisce, maintains a policy against the 'bungalow blitz' in rural areas. They are against 'ribbon development' with individual houses built for three to four miles along the main road from a town or village. They say increased demand for private car use that follows from one-off housing developments will lead to a greater average carbon footprint for residents.

• 'One-off housing' draws people out of rural towns and villages, stifling the growth of these regions.

• Population growth is not desirable in 'ultra-rural' areas that should by right become natural recreational areas with land-owners employed in land-maintenance, forestry and tourism-related services.

• Economist, David McWilliams' view on the matter is clear: "If we have one-off housing, we cannot have a functioning public transport system, public health service, public education system or postal system, never mind universal access to broadband or cable".

Arguments for 'one-off housing':

• People should have the right to either build on land they own or else that people should have the right to build a house near to where their families live.

• Ireland has a dispersed pattern of settlement going back thousands of years and why should that change now?

In July, Environment Minister, John Gormley, issued a directive to the Council to ‘‘prioritise and develop residentially zoned lands in the Castlebar-Ballina hub over other locations in the county’’. The county councillors don't want new one-off housing having to be moved to the hubs of Ballina or Castlebar. They say currently, 70% of Mayo's population live outside of towns and villages and it's been like that for centuries and should remain so.

The councillors will present the case for their plan at a joint Oireachtas committee meeting on Tuesday.