Build to Rent and Shared Accommodation

Shared Accommodation: it is submitted that a ban be placed on all planning applications for shared accommodation schemes. Shared accommodation is socially undesirable and is unsuited to Ireland. Any references in the county development plan to shared accommodation should therefore be removed. (This is in line with our submission on this very issue re Chapter 3 – Settlement & Housing Strategy)

Roll-Down Shutter Blinds: We have in the past read critical comment about roll-down security screens. What on earth is wrong with a business wanting to protect their premises in an age of increasing crime? Any policy on this issue should be deleted; it’s daft.

Public Art at industrial/ warehousing, etc: We have examined other county development plans and read the following statement from the Meath County Development Plan 2021: DM OBJ 119; which states: ‘To require that all significant Industrial, Office, Warehousing and Business Park Development incorporate works of public art in the form of outdoor sculptures, special architectural and landscape features or other appropriate art work in the development.’ More daftness. If there are similar references in the current draft plan; they should be deleted too.

VIEWS AND PROSPECTS

Appendix 10 contains a list of Protected Views and Prospects.

South Kildare is poorly represented in the table of protected views and a list of additions is proposed hereunder. Furthermore, the protected views are poorly described with reference only to local names and with no reference to road grid references or the new GPS signage currently being rolled out. It would be helpful if such views should be referenced using such scientific criterion where possible. We had gone to the trouble of providing a list of views and prospects for the strategic issues paper and are surprised that this appears to have been overlooked or worse still ignored. In addition to the list in the draft plan, it is submitted that the following views be added: -

Archaeological Heritage

1. A list of National Monuments and Registered Historic Monuments are contained in the Appendix. Archaeological structures may, in some situations, also be considered as architectural heritage and therefore may appear on both the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) and the Record of Protected Structures (RPS). The below sites are recommended for inclusion. We were unable to find the below sites on the list. They should of course be included on the next development plan.

Appendix 6 Record of Protected Structures