Presentation at ’Creating Sustainable Communities’ Green Building Forum Conference on 6th May 2011.

1. The Green Building Forum -
The Potential of Landbanking in
Ireland
Alice Charles, BSc Hons PG Dip TCP MRTPI
MIPI

2.  The legacy of the boom
 Banking Solutions
 Landbanking solutions employed in Ireland
and elsewhere
 What we need to do
Disclaimer:
Whilst I am an External Member of the NAMA Planning Advisory
Committee, views are mine & mine alone in capacity as Planning
Consultant.
Overview

3. The Legacy of the boom…

4.  Collapsed economy & development
sector
 Surplus partially completed or completed
development:
 Unfinished estates
 Zombie hotels & golf courses
 Struggling private hospitals
 Vacant modern offices
 Vacant dated offices
 Derelict historic properties
 High levels of vacany in village, town and
city centres
 Abundance of Raw Land:
 Permitted development
 Zoned land - 44,000 hectares
 Unzoned land
The legacy of the boom

5. The legacy – Infrastructure Deficiencies

6. The legacy… Inadequate Waste Water Treatment & Plethora
of One off Housing

7. Banking Solutions…

8.  NAMA established as mechanism to deal with
riskiest loans on banks balance sheets
 NAMA operates within confines of NAMA Act 2009
 Asset management agency
 Acquires good & bad loans at market value from
Irish banking institutions
 Requires borrowers to submit business plans for
approval
 Can appoint receivers
 c76 billion Portfolio & c22,000 Loans
 Assets spread throughout Ireland, UK, US & wider
world
 Planning Advisory Committee established in 2010
Banking Solutions: NAMA

9.  Majority established Global
Restructuring teams
 Manage major corporate clients who
in financial distress.
 Aim is to maximise debt recovery
 Revised Business Plans sought for
approval
 Can appoint receivers
 Land/Property assets could be
partially managed by NAMA and
foreign banks
Banking Solutions: Foreign Banks

10. Landbanking Solutions employed
in Ireland or elsewhere….

11.  Land Commission established through Land
Act 1923 & dissolved by Oireachtas in 1992
 Land vested in Land Commission for re-
allocation included:
 Tenanted land
 Untenanted land in Congested District Boards
(CBDs)
 All untenanted land outside CDB acquired by
voluntary agreement and re-allocated
 Landlord initially paid through Govt Bonds &
post 1950 in cash.
 Tenant received a notional advance from the
Land Commission & entered into a Land
Purchase repayment scheme – like a
mortgage.
 2.5 million acres of land were distributed
among some 150,000 beneficiaries
Landbanking Solutions Ireland – Land
Commission

12.  Industrial Development Authority established
1949 (now Industrial Development Agency
Ireland)
 Responsible for the attracting & developing FDI in
Ireland
 Identify strategic employment locations, acquires
land, seeks planning approval, services &
landscapes site & attract occupants.
 Today Major Strategic Employment Sites include:
Letterkenny, Belview Port, Ringaskiddy, Dundalk,
Oranmore & Athenry.
 Reviewing wider landbank and offloading non
core assets.
Landbanking Solutions Ireland – IDA
Ireland

13.  Formerly English Partnerships
 National housing & regeneration delivery agency for
England
 Work in association with Regional Development
Agencies & Local Authorities
 Programmes include:
 Affordable Homes Programme
 BLAC
 Land & Regeneration
 National Coalfields Programme (est 1997)
 Surplus Public Sector Land
 Growth Points Initiative
 Urban Regeneration Companies e.g. Gloucester
Heritage
Landbanking Solutions England – Homes
& Community Agency

14.  Brownfield Land Assembly Trust (BLAT) established as
pilot in 2002 by South East of England Regional
Development Agency (SEEDA)
 Est as Brownfield Land Assembly Company in 2007 -
PPP
 Aim to tackle shortage of good quality housing at
affordable prices & community & social infrastructure
needs in South East.
 Worked in partnership with Local Authorities & Housing
Corporations.
 Identified small brownfield sites not in urban capacity
studies, acquire & assembled sites, decontaminate,
develop masterplan & seek planning approval, service &
in some cases develop.
 Operated in Growth Areas: Thames Gateway, Reading &
Hastings
 Targeted purchase of 1000ha
Landbanking Solutions employed in England
– SEEDA’s BLAT

15.  Unification of Germany led to a 1
million empty apartments, abandoned
industrial parks & social & cultural
facilities in East Germany.
 Govt started to plan for shrinking
cities & started demolition
programme to remove abandoned
buildings & put back to agriculture or
park land.
 Shrinking Cities movement became
active after 2000
 Movement thinking has spread to
other shrinking cities like Detroit
Landbanking Solutions Germany- East
Germany planning for shrinking city

16. What should we do?

17. Partially completed or
completed development

18.  Identify location (Done)
 Prepare Site Resolution Plans
 Engage with community
 Recognise each Estate is unique.
 Options include:
 Sell
 Demolition – Where remote from public transport, services, employment, in
flood plain, etc
 Retro fit – Where not developed in accordance with permission, BER
standards & life times homes
 Betterment – relocate residents from Estates allocated for demolition to
superior property elsewhere
 Reuse for community, social & recreational infrastructure, Allotments,
Urban Farms, residential care, offices or other temporary uses.
 Pepper potting social & affordable housing in accordance with LA %
requirement for social & affordable housing – need balanced communities!
 Role: Local Authorities, Developers & NAMA
.
1) Unfinished Estates & Apartments –
Partially completed or completed

19.  Identify location
 Demand for bed spaces
 Prepare Site Resolution Plans
 Options include:
 Continue trading
 Sell
 Demolish
 Reuse Hotels for nursing homes, schools,
hospitals & temporary uses
 Reuse Golf Courses for agriculture, provision of
community, social and green infrastructure,
forestry, horticultural uses and temporary uses.
 Role: Failte Ireland, Local Authorities, Developers
& NAMA
.
2) Zombie Hotels & Golf Courses

20.  Identify location
 Assess demand for offices
 Prepare Site Resolution Plans
 Options include:
 Sell
 Demolish
 Reuse Offices for apartments, hospitals,
residential care, community, social and green
infrastructure and temporary uses
 Role: Local Authorities, Developers & NAMA
.
3) Unfinished and or Vacant Offices – Modern &
Dated

21. Raw Land

22.  Develop Geographical Information System to
allow for analysis & strategic planning:
 Dev Plan (Layers inc. land zonings, permissions,
Natura 2000 sites, floodplains, etc)
 AIRO (Layers to include Unfinished Estates /
Hotels, etc )
 Other layers that need inclusion: grid, wind speed,
transportation links, servicing, community & social
infrastructure, employment profile, etc)
 Role: DoEHLG, Local Authorities, other Govt
Depts, Universities & NAMA
 Also should consider working with likes of
IBM Smart Cities team
1) Survey, Analyse & Plan

23.  Revise & focus the NSS around 5
key cities
 Needs to provide strategic
framework for energy & waste
related development to avoid
next bubble
 Develop Marine Spatial Plan to
inform strategic energy related
development
 Role: DoEHLG
.
2) Revise National Spatial Strategy &
produce Marine Spatial Plan

24.  Prepare Urban Capacity Studies when Plan
Making (survey of district, housing capacity,
include empty homes strategy, living above the
shops, employment land survey, etc)
 Plan for infrastructure by undertaking
Infrastructure Capacity Assessments
(Include Physical, Social, Recreational &
Community Infrastructure – Water, Waste
Water, Transport, Health, Parks, Schools, etc)
 Equitable way of developing costed
development contribution schemes
 Role: Local Authorities working with DoEHLG
3) Establish land capacity & Plan for Infrastructure

25.  NAMA &/ IDA Ireland form Land Commission /
National Regeneration Organisation
 Programmes could include:
 Return to Agriculture & Forestry (NAMA managed
lands unzoned or dezoned & only suitable for
agriculture/forestry)
 Brownfield Land Assembly initiative (assemble
NAMA, State & Local Authority Brownfield Assets,
masterplan, seek planning permission & service)
 Strategic Employment & Development Zones in
Gateways
 Surplus Public Sector land & Foreign banks assets (If
adjoining NAMA assets) - Purchased/vested in
organisation
 Village, town & city centre regeneration - restore
vibrancy and mixed use living
 Role: NAMA & / IDA Ireland working with
Public Sector Bodies & Local Authority
4) Land Commission / National Regeneration Agency for 21 st
Century

26.  De-zone constrained & surplus land (above
pipeline supply requirements)
 Strategic Reserve gives hope value
 Introduce strict green belt or horticultural belt
around villages, towns & cities
 Promote development of brownfield sites first.
 Consider the promotion of a contemporary Irish
Garden City movement… Medium density
communities, gardens, allotments, integrated
water and waste systems, mixed use,
broadband, energy independent
neighbourhoods.
 Eg. Thisted Kommune, Denmark – 46,000
inhabitants, 100% electricity from renewables,
80% heat from district heating & geothermal.
 Role: DoEHLG & LA’s.
5) Plan for shrinking/consolidated villages, towns & cities

27.  Density & height often confused
 Georgian Dublin most dense
part of City
 Density needs to be achieved to
deliver transportation & services
in cost effective manner
 Development should reflect
context
 Role: DoEHLG, Local
Authorities & NAMA
6) Ensure density in our Gateways in accordance with
National Guidance

28.  Discourage continued development
frenzy of one off houses.
 One off houses cost more in terms of
delivery of infrastructure & services.
 Every one off house costs Local
Authorities, NAMA & ultimately the tax
payer.
 Serviced sites in small villages & towns &
offer housing choice & help to regenerate
settlements.
 Role: DoEHLG, Local Authorities &
NAMA
7) Discourage dispersed rural settlement pattern

29. Thank you
Alice Charles, Director, Alice Charles Planning
Email. alice@alicecharlesplanning.ie