Individuals 'sitting on land' in Athy and Castledermot
new houses one with a "sold" sign
A substantial amount of land designated for housing in Athy and Castledermot is currently lying idle, with a recent meeting hearing that there are 20 acres in Athy and 15 acres in Castledermot currently being left unused.
Cllr Brian Dooley proposed at the last Athy Municipal District meeting that Kildare County Council “provides an update on the extent in acres, of land, currently zoned for residential housing in Athy Town and Castledermot but with no planning application made and lands not being used”.
Senior planner in forward planning, policy, and heritage and nature Amy Granville issued the council’s response, which stated that there are three sites in Athy totalling 8.01 hectares (around 20 acres) and five in Castledermot toalling 6.04 hectares (around 15 acres) which are zoned for residential development but have no planning permission in place.
Speaking at the meeting, cllr Dooley expressed his concern “that people are sitting on lands they’re not doing anything with”.
The Fianna Fáil councillor also said that more land should be zoned for housing in the context of the town’s growing population.
Cllr Aoife Breslin expressed her support for the motion.
Director of servives Alan Dunney said the “big tool that’s at hand at the moment is Residential Zoned Land Tax” - a government tax on land that is zoned for housing and is not being developed.
He noted that while some land is exempt, there are sites in Athy and Castledermot that can be looked at by the council’s planning team “on an individual basis”.
