The Green Party will deliver

The Green Party will deliver the policy by:

1. Mobility Management Plans (MMPs)

Introducing a Sustainable Transport Programme that will ensure that the bias of public spending will shift from private to public transport. Under the programme local authorities will have more funding for transport investment in growth areas and will deliver local sustainable transport plans with corridors for cycle and walkways along existing rail, roads and waterfronts. Businesses will be obliged to take responsibility for their own transport problems with Mobility Management Plans (MMPs) becoming a key requirement for planning approval in all urban areas.

2. Linking Transport and Planning

Establishing a National Transport and Planning Agency to coordinate transport and land-use planning, and ensure that local planning approvals are not given to badly located traffic generating developments.

3. Listen to people's needs

Putting people at the heart of planning in the design of residential areas and in the promotion of more public participation in the planning system. The Green Party will ensure that the focus of urban residential planning is to create long-term sustainable communities.

4. Urban Design Guidelines

Producing new Residential Guidelines based on good Urban Design principles to ensure that areas are designed to cater for the lifetime needs of people. Local authorities will set down new standards so that developers will produce a greater number of styles within schemes. All areas will have units for single people, young couples, growing families, single families and older people.

5. Green space and playgrounds

Revising the Open Space Standards so that all green spaces provide both social and ecological benefits. Green Spaces will be designed to promote active use as meeting places, spaces for community events and designed with needs of children's play and observation in mind. Urban micro-forests must be planted, landscaping plans must enhance biodiversity and space must be provided for allotments within new residential schemes.

6. Remove the bottlenecks to affordability

Ensuring the delivery of 5,000 Part V social housing and 5,000 affordable housing units a year, until the social housing waiting lists are cleared, by insisting on a minimum of 20% social housing provision within new developments. New rules will also be introduced to limit developers from using land or financial transfer to opt out of building social housing units within new residential schemes.

7. Increase public awareness

Establishing a new National Planning Advisory Agency as a counter balance to the Strategic Infrastructure Bill. The agency will inform the public about large planning applications in their local area and will have a role in providing technical services on national and local planning policy to the public.

8. Increase public participation in planning

Removing the ?20 Planning Participation Fee and all administrative rules that act as a barrier to open participation in the Irish planning system.

9. A Regulator for Management Companies

Addressing the problem of Management Companies within estates and apartment buildings by allowing hand-over to Local Authorities upon completion of building work and establishing a Regulator to oversee the activities of management companies (see: Green Party Housing Policy).

10. Greater use of levies to fund Infrastructure

Making a direct link between public investment in infrastructure and increases in land value in areas benefiting from these investments. Local authorities will be able to recoup some of these costs in new section 49 zones.

11. Factor in the environment

Making it an explicit element of the Irish planning framework that environmental resource consequences must be factored into decision-making. Local authorities will be required to produce environmental accounts for the consequences of individual policies within Development Plans and for any subsequent zoning decisions. Planners will be required to map out local land-use issues against site sensitivities that must be considered within the context of setting out new County Development Plans.

12. Improve energy efficiency to address climate change

Amending the Planning and Development Act 2000 to allow County Development Plans lay down standards on energy efficiency and use of renewables in all buildings. A new Energy Audit Unit will be opened within Sustainable Energy Ireland to provide funding supports for making buildings more energy efficient and CDP training to those working in the building sectors.