Over the last few months, I’ve spent far more time than I ever expected reviewing planning policy.

The National Planning Framework. The Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy. The Cork Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan. The Cork City Development Plan. Climate action plans. The National Biodiversity Plan.

For someone who works in biodiversity and sustainability, it has been fascinating. But it has also left me with a simple question. If we have spent years developing these plans, why do we seem so willing to abandon them when pressure mounts?

Let’s be clear. Cork (Ireland!) needs more housing. Anyone paying attention can see that. Young people are struggling to buy homes. Families are struggling to find suitable accommodation. Rents are too high. Housing supply needs to increase.

Also, for clarity, this is not an argument against housing. It is an argument for planning.

The current proposal to rezone parts of Cork’s green belt, including significant lands at Moneygourney, raises important questions about how we are choosing to grow as a city. Not because housing is unnecessary, but because the proposal appears difficult to reconcile with many of the planning principles that Cork, the Southern Region, and the State itself have spent years promoting.

Again and again, our planning policies emphasise compact growth. They prioritise brownfield regeneration, infill development, city centre living, sustainable transport........

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