DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL Update Report 225/14 Housing Construction Collaboration for Vacant Council Lands & Technical Dialogue Follow Up Meetings Dick Brady & Jim Keogan 22 July 2015

Context Population 506,000526,000606,000 (RPG) Population Growth ,000 Household Size Housing Demand4,200 units per annum Residential Completions 7, (2011) (2014) Dublin City 2006 Dublin City 2011

Background In a public notice Feb 2015 Council sought expressions of interest from parties willing to take part in “technical dialogue” about how three large Council owned sites might be developed for mixed use mixed tenure schemes. Process involved entering into discussion with market about how best to achieve development of the sites using the land as leverage to achieve the desired mix of tenure and uses. In addition the technical dialogue facilitated discussion with market about how Council lands might be used to meet housing shortage but also to stimulate construction in Dublin. By mixed tenure the Council includes owner occupation, private rented market and below market rental and social rented.

Technical Dialogue Process Notice received positive response from property sector specialists and providers comprising: house builders/developers (24), project managers specialising in property, engineers, architects, estate agents (14), investors (10) Approved Housing Bodies (8) modular housing specialists (2) and consortia from Ireland and UK. All respondents (65) were asked to meet expert panel and 58 did meet in hour to 2 hour interviews. Expert panel with in-depth knowledge of planning, valuation & housing comprising mainly existing & former local authority officials. Process produced report with market recommendations.

Housing Typologies Most participants understood that apartments are necessary part of meeting severe housing shortage. The start up cost of apartment development can be prohibitive, however in accordance with recent density policy to kick start development lower densities can be considered on certain suburban sites. There was concern about apartments and the demand for this type of housing particularly among potential owner occupiers. There was a lot of interest in single ownership apartment blocks, schemes but with mixed rental tenures within the scheme – Council, Approved Housing Bodies, Private Market Rental and Below Market Rental. This was seen as best approach for investors rather than mix of owners and renters. It overcame the concerns about management, maintenance and service charges. Some participants wished to see greater use of modular housing as a way of reducing construction cost uncertainty. These participants pointed to gains in terms of consistency and attainment of high standards including energy efficiency but also speed of delivery of a high end product.

Market Recommendations The report which was tabled to both the Housing and Planning SPC committees sets out the background to the technical dialogue process in greater detail. The 3 main market recommendations can be summarised as follows: 1.Focus on Oscar Traynor and Belcamp Lands, but bring in two of the former PPP lands at O Devaney and St Michaels Estate. 2.Review Masterplans where they exist to see if they are fit for purpose and update as necessary prior to bringing lands to the market. 3.Consider disposal by freehold with lease option for part of sites to encourage/incentivise development of rental market including at below market cost but also social rental and owner occupation.

Selection of Sites The market is strongly of the opinion that it is premature to seek to develop the lands at Cherry Orchard at this time. The City Council will include the entire Cherry Orchard area in a Local Area Plan. The market soundings undertaken as part of the technical dialogue process advised that the Oscar Traynor lands and Belcamp lands should be developed but that former PPP sites closer to the city centre should also be considered. In particular the sites at O Devaney and St Michaels were seen as worth considering for a mixed use mixed tenure development. The sites which have the most detail by way of existing Masterplans are Oscar Traynor, O’Devaney, St Michaels with Belcamp needing more work. This would therefore be the order in which they could be approached.

Multi disciplinary Team The Council has already in place a multi disciplinary team which prepared the 225/14 report which led to the technical dialogue process and which in turn led to this report. This team will be responsible for implementing proposals arising. Their first task will be to review the existing plans and Masterplans. These plans may need to be updated, but the Council developed them following an intensive consultation process so there is every intention to retain the core principles.

Next Steps The team to create lots within each site. Each lot would offer the potential to develop a mix of uses and tenures (using the land as leverage to achieve supply side interventions where appropriate such as below market rental as well as other forms of tenure including social housing). The creation of lots within a large site could allow several developments on a large piece of land to happen at the same time. The Council may have to undertake enabling works to put in place the basic infrastructure to allow development to take place. The cost of the enabling works would need to be met by the Council initially although it could be recouped from the sale of lands particularly parts that were deemed appropriate for non residential including retail and commercial uses.