Housing
Newbridge is classed as a Commercial heart of Kildare, with a view to activating employment in light of the population of Newbridge being greater than Naas that KCC switch Newbridge to become a Key Town
Sustainable Communities and housing
Croí Cónaithe (Cities) | The Housing Agency expansion in to Kildare also supports the Government’s objectives of compact growth and creating vibrant liveable cities for people who want to live close to work and urban amenities. Will the CDP create an inclusive affordable housing strategy for artisanal makers to afford to live and those with lesser incomes ?
Inclusion:
- As important soil and biodiversity is being taken/lost in any building development, leading to habitat loss and large gaps in green corridors, every new building such as industrial, commercial or housing units should have a certain percentage of the roof areas dedicated as a ‘Green Roof’ to aid and replace the lost biodiversity, as well as insulating the buildings in a natural way helping to decrease heating costs.
"KCC propose that a county study be undertaken with the aim of disseminating information about and promoting best practice in the use of green, PV Solar and bio-solar roofing as part of future planning in the County. In particular, the adoption of bio-solar roofing (a combination of photovoltaic panels with vegetated roofs and potential for bird habitats) , when properly designed, will have many benefits. Among these will be new job creation, the productive use of large roof areas, an increase in sustainable electricity generation, a reduction in the volume of surface-water run-off, an improvement in air quality and the provision of much needed habitat for flora and fauna that is essential for healthy communities now and in the future"
Here is the contact for expert on Green Rooftops Dusty
"Thanks for this. Of course I am a but of an authority on this having designed several of the largest combined biosolar in London.
Projects can be seen at
https://livingroofs.org/gallery-home/biosolar-roof-solar-green-roofs/ London
I need to create a gallery of the semi - biosolar - i.e it is a solar green roof but it is where the solar panels are mounted above but not integrated into the green roof
Also one in Cambridge
https://livingroofs.org/gallery-home/david-attenborough-building-biodiverse-solar-green-roof/
Listen to my podcast series - https://livingroofs.org/depave-podcast/
Dusty Gedge
TWITTER: @greenroofsuk
PRESIDENT EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF GREEN ROOF ASSOCIATIONS
Any older building suitable for green roofs should be given incentives/funding to incorporate such green roofs
When housing estates are being developed instead of sterile, unfriendly estate walls being erected, ‘living walls’ such hedgerows, tree lines or similar should be sought as an alternative to encourage biodiversity.
If, however, estate walls and walls between new houses are incorporated, there should be ‘holes’ or ‘fauna gateways’ in the estate and dividing walls to act as corridors for fauna, and the walls be covered in suitable climbers (other than ivy), otherwise more and more loss of green corridors is inevitable, thus habitats and specie’s number decline is imminent.
Proposed amendment or inclusion:
- Community-Led Housing - evolving across Europe and the wider world - empowers communities to develop solutions which address their particular housing needs. This approach provides a framework for residents and communities to collaborate in the creation and revitalisation of new and existing neighbourhoods. The unique feature of Community-Led Housing is the empowerment of future residents to meaningfully participate in both the design and long-term management of their homes. Community-Led Housing is an umbrella term, encompassing a wide range of approaches, including cooperative housing, cohousing, Community Land Trusts (CLTs), and self-help housing. Although no two Community- Led Housing projects are the same, they all share a common goal of meeting specific local housing needs via collaboration, empowerment and mutual support. Community-Led Housing (CLH) is premised on the conviction that a house is not just a building, or an asset, it is a home: a place to live. SOA have released some very important publications on this topic which has led to recent amends amendments made to the Affordable Housing Bill. This will see community-led housing and community land trusts referenced in Irish legislation for the first time. This research can be found here: https://soa.ie/
Rationale:
The Draft plan currently has no references to community-led housing. With its recent addition to the Affordable Housing Bill, KCC can take the lead and implement community-led solutions that can quickly alleviate the housing crisis across this county. This contributes to the efforts to achieve SDG 1, 3, 10, 11 and 17.
These funds are important to support regeneration but the development plan should also recognise and support the importance of citizen-led and social financing opportunities in this area.
Proposed amendment or inclusion:
- The Kildare County Development Plan should support new and innovative social finance initiatives to give power to local communities and shift the balance of power away from central sources of finance and towards citizen-led action.
- In 2017, South Dublin County Council’s Participatory Budget initiative, the first in Ireland, allowed citizens to vote for projects designed and submitted by citizens. An additional EUR 300,000 was provided specifically for this purpose. Citizens took part in facilitated workshops to generate ideas, identify community needs, and develop supportive networks. More details can be found here: http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Media/Item/41961
- Community shares are a way to raise money by offering communities a chance to own shares in a local organisation. They are usually about more than just profit and work best for people who want to get involved and support a cause or a project that they really care about. They are particularly useful in rural areas and issued to support the community to take over a vacant building or ensure a local pub is not closed. https://communitysharesscotland.org.uk/
- The community right to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land came into force in Scotland on 27 June 2018. It gives community bodies a right to compulsorily purchase land (and by land they mean land, bridges and other structures built on or over land, inland waters, canals and the foreshore) which is wholly or mainly, abandoned or neglected or the use or management of the land is causing harm to the environmental wellbeing of the community. In 2020, this act was updated to provide the opportunity for communities across Scotland to apply for a compulsory right to buy at market value for the purpose of sustainable development. While it is recognised that this is a complex process that goes beyond the remit of Kildare County Council and the current development plan it is included in this feedback to highlight depth of change that will be necessary to achieve whole-scale sustainable development.
Rationale:
Relying solely on external funding from central government can delay regeneration and placemaking efforts across the county. Taking a citizen-led and proactive approach to financing and public participation can open up new opportunities and actively involve citizens in the process of building communities.
- Church of the Oak that we host a celebration of the Oak a pioneer species of tree and grant oak trees, in light of the oak coverage of Ireland historically, a protected status and that trees rights be represented and advocated for in county council meetings
- KCC Logo lends itself to honouring the presence of a symbolic seat for an Oak Tree as Japananese municipal meetings invite the presents of a “mountain” and nature at their meetings to reflect the need for natures voices to be considered in council planning
- KCC Logo includes an acorn thus lends itself to honouring the presence of a symbolic seat for an Oak Tree as Japananese municipal meetings invite the presents of a “mountain” and nature at their meetings to reflect the need for natures voices to be considered in council planning will KCC do so ?
That KCC champion oak planting and a ultra long term vision for oak and bog work centric designs and be oak tree protectors. Oak is a pioneer species granting an ecosystem to over 200 species. That KCC plant native oak trees on council owned land as part of that ultra long term plan
That KCC implement the https://theblueshield.org/ principles and steps to protect cultural property from climate damage
CPD for KCC to include a move away from a sprawl-led development model begins by recognising that housing is more than just an asset and we, as a society, have failed to appreciate its role building communities of place and address this creatively as follows
- An increase in allotments, especially affordable ones to those of low means or income, for every town and village.
- Every allotment should have a mandatory beekeeper on site to aid native bee populations, increase awareness and education, as well as encourage more people to become potential beekeepers
- Allotment horticulture and beekeeping courses should be made available to various groups for free, such as the Men’s Sheds, biodiversity groups,schools
- Any insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, herbicide or similar should not be applied in any public space, garden, forests, parks, parklands
- Any commercial, industrial, or similar site should have a percentage of their open spaces dedicated to the national pollinator plan
- That a social enterprise bike delivery scheme be piloted cycling food waste by bike. The bike travel to restaurants in a town to a central location and the restaurant logos be on the bikes to carry their food waste and / or brown bin residential waste to a central location e.g. pilot this in Newbridge with AES and BNaMona as a food waste project. The waste can then be used as compost or energy.
Placemaking for the new communities to assimilate in Kildare ought to be duly celebrated in consultation with the nationalities in question in their languages to aid assimilation of cultures inclusively
industrial heritage of Kildare is under developed as a tourism attraction. Kildare hosted the first parliament , which now sits in Kildare Street yet KCC can actively invest in positive placemakng to build a pride of place to Kildares rich history.
That the Twinning Committee of KCC will add a Ukranian town to the Twinning towns
That the twinning committee actively supports agro tourism areas within Europe high support social enterprises in agro and eco tourism. Italy and France are leaders willing to exchange progress they accomplished
The honouring of the industrial legacy of the bogs have yet to be marked meaningful and their oral histories and archives ethically , inter operatively , sustainably with formal ethics of informed consent recorded. That KCC undertake to commence meaningful placemaking for this sector. Newbridge Silver are a good example of positive and economically sound industrial heritage champions. Athy have a Music placemaking road map. Newbridge has a strong musical legacy uncelebrated as yet. That KCC will take Newbridge to develop and celebrate the creativity linked legacy from those engaged in bog working. The musicians, artist, poets and those who experienced bog economy are not celebrated as a distinct cohort who enhanced the place of bog workers and left a positive legacy in Kildare by their presence. Not event a plaque to their heritage exists in Newbridge as a starting point.
Inviting renown creative talent to mark the industrial and musical heritage will create a sense of place see https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35875379 David Bowie mural here as art delivering sense of pride of place and tourism income.
Allotments spaces to ground newfamilies and help with putting down roots :
- An increase in allotments space to accommodate new communities, especially affordable ones to those of low means or income, for every town and village
- The first National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland was published in 2019 and with the recognition of social enterprises as businesses whose “core objective is to achieve a social, societal or environmental impact. Like other businesses, social enterprises trade in goods or services on an ongoing basis. However, any surpluses they generate are re-invested into achieving a social impact.” The growth of organisations such as Rethink Ireland highlights the emergence of this sector. Since 2016 they have established a €72 million fund, supporting 246 social innovations, reaching over 400,000 people, creating over 500 jobs in the social innovation sector and supporting almost 1,000 people into employment. It is important to note that this ‘growth’ delivered by social innovations is more sustainable, just and economically viable in the long-term.
