Newlands Farm site between Tallaght and Clondalkin was not rezoned in The County Develoment plan 2022-2028
Public asked to suggest lands for rezoning for residential use
The council are asking “the public, landowners and homebuilders” to suggest lands around South Dublin to rezone for residential use.
New annual housing growth requirements set for local authorities means that South Dublin County Council’s yearly housing targets have been increased by over 600 new dwellings per year.
They’re now looking to increase the amount of land zoned for residential developments across the county to help meet these new targets.
The Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, released in July 2025, set new annual housing growth requirements for each local authority to 2040.
“The new baseline annual housing growth requirement is 3,217 new dwellings per annum up to 2,034 and 2,414 from 2035-2040, which are cumulative delivery targets for types and tenures of housing in the county for those periods,” the council said in a statement to The Echo.
“The current South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028 provides for growth of 2,613 per annum to meet the targets at time of adoption and current delivery is broadly aligned to those targets at approximately 2,500 homes per annum as per our housing supply monitor.”
The council have now launched a consultation inviting landowners, developers, members of the public and other interested stakeholders to “put forward suggestions for lands within the county that may be suitable for residential uses to contribute to meeting the revised housing requirements”.
They are looking for sites that are “within the built-up footprint of Dublin City and Suburbs and other existing towns”, with good proximity to existing or planned public transport links and good social infrastructure (schools etc).
Suggested sites must be “serviced or serviceable within the next five year period” for water and electricity, support the development of infill housing, housing on brownfield land and help address vacancy and dereliction.
They must also not have any “significant challenges or impediments to the development of housing” such as legal or environmental issues.
Other sites that were not zoned for residential use during the consultation period for the County Development Plan in 2021 are also being re-examined, including the controversial Newlands Farm site at Gateway and Newlands Cross, which is owned by developer Hibernia Real Estate Group and was subject to a proposed development of up to 3,500 homes.
The council say there is “no guarantee” that any lands suggested in submissions will be rezoned, and that “only the extent of land needed to meet the requirements of the Guidelines may come forward as part of a formal variation of the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022-2028”.
The public submissions portal is open online at consult.sdublincoco.ie until midnight on Thursday, November 13.
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