REZONING IN LUCAN & COUNTY 2026

REZONING PROPOSALS 2026
What Areas in South Dublin Are Proposed for Residential Rezoning in 2026?
Where can I find out more about this?
What Happens Next?
What Can I Do About This Potential Rezoning?
What Are the Crucial Dates Around These Rezoning Proposals?
Suggested Submission Template For Your Use
Need Help With Making a Submission On Rezoning Proposals?
What was the NPF meeting on 4 Feb 2026 about and how might it affect rezoning in Lucan?
A Stark Look at Housing Delivery Across Dublin’s SDZs
SDCC Visuals of Lucan Areas Proposed for Rezoning

What Areas in South Dublin Are Proposed for Residential Rezoning in 2026?

At the meeting on 4 February, 2026, the Chief Executive of SDCC and Planning Department, presented the list of areas around the county to Councillors present. Councillors did not choose these locations for potential rezoning, but we will get a final vote on whether they are rezoned for residential use, in May 2026. Of the 15 areas presented for potential rezoning, 6 were in Lucan. Areas in Lucan are in BOLD: see below.

Where Can I Find Out More About This?

SDCC’s Public Consultation Portal https://consult.sdublincoco.ie/en/consultation/proposed-variation-no-2-south-dublin-county-development-plan-2022-2028 now has full plans for you to view.

You can read each rezoning proposal, with reasons why and maps using the link above. Look at the right side of the screen for the “Materials” section which lists all the documents and maps. Register for an account, as it will make it much easier for you to lodge submissions.

SDCC will be holding two drop-in open days to present the plans to the public and answer questions on the process. These dates are:

• 25 February, 2026 in County Hall, Tallaght
• 4 March, 2026 in Lucan Library, 2-8pm

What Happens Next?

On 4 February 2026, all SDCC Councillors received a briefing by SDCC Chief Executive and Senior Management to show the layout of proposed changes to the County Development Plan (areas for proposed rezoning for residential use), what legal steps have to be followed, and a short summary of what changes are being suggested — including details of exactly which pieces of land around the County might be rezoned, in order to meet the Government’s targets.

Currently, the proposal is live on SDCC’s Public Consultation Portal for six weeks of public consultation, where members of the public can send in their views. This is where YOU need to get involved! You need to lodge your submission on this proposed rezoning. You can object / support one area, or any amount of proposed areas. You can send in as detailed or as short a submission as you want, but you need to add your voice now so that SDCC can take your views into account!

When the consultation period is over, the proposal comes back to the Council. At that point, Councillors will discuss it and decide whether to accept it, amend it, or reject it. I will not be voting for rezoning in areas without sufficient infrastructure or services to support a reasonable quality of life, or in ecologically sensitive areas such as Edmundsbury.

What Can I Do About This Potential Rezoning?

You can object or support the plans on SDCC’s public Consultation Portal here – the proposal is open for submissions until 13 March 2026. Each rezoning proposal is explained in detail and you can decide if you wish to agree or disagree with it; you should make a submission to ensure your voice is heard!

You can read some of the existing submissions here if you want to get a sense of what others are writing. Your submission does not have to be a detailed report! Observations as short as an email are just as valuable as long submissions. You can send in observations as an individual, or as a group. If you register for an account, it will make it much easier to get alerts about consultations and easier for you to lodge submissions.

Myself and Paul Gogarty, TD, are happy to discuss the rezoning plans with you or with groups and resident’s associations; please contact us about this.

SDCC will also be holding two open days to present the plans to the public and answer questions on the process. These dates are:

• 25 February, 2026 in County Hall, Tallaght
• 4 March, 2026 in Lucan Library, 2-8pm – put this date in your diary!

What Are the Crucial Dates Around These Rezoning Proposals?

• 4 March, 2026 in Lucan Library, 2-8pm – put this date in your diary!
• 13 March, 2026 Public Consultation Deadline
• May, 2026 proposals go before SDCC Councillors for a vote

Suggested Submission: Template For Your Use

It’s important you make your voice heard in this process. If you feel as I do, that the proposals for Lucan rezoning are either inappropriate locations (St. Edmundsbury / Finnstown) or excessive (Adamstown & Aderrig extensions), then the template below might be a good starting point for you to customise:

Subject: Submission on Proposed Variation No. 2 to the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022–2028

To: SDCC

From: [Your Name]

Address: [Your Address]

Group name, if relevant: [Your Group Name]

Date: [Insert Date]

1. Introduction

I [Your Name] am submitting my views on Proposed Variation No. 2, which focuses on identifying suitable land for extensive residential rezoning across the county, including land around Lucan.

The scale of the proposals raises significant concerns about sustainability, environmental protection, and the ability of existing infrastructure to cope with additional growth.

2. Objection to the Proposed Rezoning at St. Edmundsbury

I strongly oppose the proposed rezoning of lands at St. Edmundsbury, currently zoned High Amenity. These lands play a vital role in maintaining the character and environmental quality of the area.

St. Edmundsbury should not be rezoned for residential development or any other rezoning except as part of the green corridor leading into the Liffey Valley Strategic Amenity Area (SAA). This green connection is essential for safeguarding biodiversity, landscape value, and public amenity in the wider Liffey Valley.

3. Concerns About Additional Rezoning Across Lucan

The rezoning proposals do not stop at St. Edmundsbury. Significant land parcels are also targeted at:

• The edge of Adamstown
• Aderrig
• Finnstown
• Foxhunter

Collectively, these rezonings would add thousands of new housing units to Lucan, even though Adamstown and Clonburris are far from complete, at present. Lucan has already absorbed a disproportionate share of SDZ and regional housing, and continuing to rezone without parallel infrastructure delivery, service delivery or community support is not sustainable.

4. Finnstown Lands Should Be High Amenity

The lands at Finnstown should be rezoned as High Amenity, not residential. The adjacent road & area:

• Is heavily congested with traffic,
• Lacks adequate green space in relation to its existing population, and
• Functions as a much‑needed open buffer and wildlife corridor, in an increasingly built‑up part of Lucan.

Rezoning Finnstown for more housing would worsen congestion, reduce available open space, and further strain essential services.

5. Public Transport in Lucan is at Breaking Point

Lucan’s public transport system is already at capacity. Buses routinely pass stops at peak times due to overcrowding, rail services are inadequate, and peak-time bus services are inconsistent (ghost buses) and overstretched.

BusConnects has failed to deliver meaningful improvements

Instead of enhancing public transport, BusConnects has resulted in:

• Reduced route coverage (especially for Dodsborough / Hillcrest / Adamstown with the removal of the 25, which should have been extended into Adamstown),
• Heavily overcrowded services, and
• Poorer reliability for daily commuters with critical impacts on work, education and other responsibilities.

No direct public transport link to Dublin Airport

It is unacceptable that a growing community of Lucan’s size — with two major SDZs — still has no direct bus route to Dublin Airport. This lack of connectivity is a major gap in transport planning.

Adding more housing before addressing these structural transport deficits is not responsible or sustainable.

6. Lucan’s Infrastructure Is Already Overstretched

Across key services, Lucan is struggling to cope with existing demand:

• School place shortages
• Insufficient childcare spaces
• Overburdened healthcare facilities (GP’s, clinics)
• Severe road congestion
• Insufficient community, youth, and sports amenities
• Under‑resourced green and recreational spaces in parts of Lucan
• Pressure on utilities and drainage systems

Significant new residential development cannot continue without major infrastructure upgrades delivered before we even consider additional rezoning.

7. Requests to South Dublin County Council

I respectfully request that SDCC:

1. Remove the proposed rezoning of St. Edmundsbury and designate the lands as part of the green corridor feeding into the Liffey Valley SAA.
2. Rezone Finnstown lands as High Amenity, protecting essential green space in this densely populated and traffic‑congested area.
3. Pause further rezoning in Adamstown, Aderrig, and surrounding areas until:
   • Adamstown and Clonburris SDZs are substantially delivered;
   • Public transport capacity is significantly expanded;
   • A direct airport link is provided for Lucan;
   • Infrastructure assessments demonstrate sufficient capacity to absorb new development.
4. Provide clear justification to residents for the scale and cumulative impact of these rezonings.

8. Conclusion

Lucan has borne a substantial share of housing delivery for the entire county. Continuing to rezone more land — especially environmentally sensitive areas like St. Edmundsbury and key green spaces such as Finnstown — without addressing major infrastructure deficits and community needs is neither equitable nor sustainable.

I urge the Council to take a balanced, sustainable, infrastructure‑led, and community‑focused approach to future development. Let’s not make the same mistakes as the past.

Signed:
[Your Name]

When you have written / customised your submission, you follow the following steps. Written submissions or observations may be made between Friday 13th February 2026 to Friday 13th March 2026 (inclusive) in one of the following ways:

1. Through the online consultation portal at Create Your Submission | South Dublin County Council’s Online Consultation Portal    OR
2. By post to: Variation No. 2, Senior Executive Officer, Forward Planning Section, Planning and Transport, South Dublin County Council, County Hall, Tallaght, Dublin 24, D24 A3XC

All valid written submissions or observations with respect to the Proposed Variation No. 2 and accompanying documents, made within the above stated period, shall be taken into consideration by the Council before the making of the Variation.

In respect of making a submission or observation please note the following:

Email submissions and late submissions will not be accepted.

Children, or groups or associations representing the interests of children, are entitled to make submissions or observations.

All submissions or observations should include your name and a contact address and, where relevant, details of any organisation, community group or company etc., which you represent.

Submissions and observations should be made in one medium only i.e. hard copy by post or via the consultation portal.

Need Help With Making a Submission On Rezoning Proposals?

Don’t know where to start with making a submission? Email me at hfarrell@cllrs.sdublincoco.ie or DM me on WhatsApp 087-2794936. I can help you with the submission, give you more info, give you some suggested wordings, or meet you in person at one of my drop-in cafe clinics in the Lucan area (weekend and evening times available). Alternatively you can read some of the existing submissions here to get some inspiration.

What was the NPF meeting on 4 Feb 2026 about and how might it affect rezoning in Lucan?

View my 3 February 2026: video update on potential rezoning in our County (3.25 mins)

A Stark Look at Housing Delivery Across Dublin’s SDZs

When you examine the figures, it becomes evident that South Dublin County Council carrying a disproportionately large share of new housing delivery compared with other Dublin Local Authorities, largely due to the scale of development within the Adamstown and Clonburris Strategic Development Zones (SDZ’s). As of February 2026, there are still approximately 12,000 homes left to be delivered before these SDZs are fully built.

This figure does not include the additional rezoning proposals now being considered. If approved, these could increase the total number of housing units across Adamstown and Clonburris to roughly 20,500 units. In Adamstown alone, this may add a further 4,000 residents on top of the already‑planned population of 25,000, but without additional infrastructure.

(Image: Bar chart showing data from the SDCC Housing Supply Monitor & other sources, for total planned housing units in SDZ’s within each Local Authority in the Dublin Region.)

Here are the facts:

🟦 South Dublin County – ADAMSTOWN SDZ

• Target: 9,395 homes
• Delivered to Date: c. 5,100
• Remaining (to hit target): c. 4,214

🟦 South Dublin County – CLONBURRIS SDZ

• Target: 9,416 homes
• Delivered to Date: c. 800
• Remaining (to hit target): c. 8,624

📌 Note: SDZ Planning Schemes provide a range for homes — these targets represent the mid‑point.
📌 Delivered to Date Source: SDCC Housing Supply Monitor.

🔍 How This Compares to Other Dublin Local Authorities

While SDCC’s two SDZs together total 18,811 planned homes, here is the scale of SDZs in neighbouring local authorities:

🟩 Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown – Cherrywood

• c. 10,500 homes
  (maximum permissible within the SDZ)

🟥 Dublin City – North Lotts & Grand Canal Dock

• c. 2,600 homes
  (target within the SDZ)

🟥 Dublin City – Poolbeg West

• c. 3,800 homes
  (maximum permissible)

🟧 Fingal – Hansfield (Blanchardstown)

• c. 3,000 homes
  (target within the SDZ)

⚖️ The Reality

When you put these side by side, the picture is very clear:

➡️ SDCC’s SDZs alone account for far more housing than any other council area in Dublin.
➡️ Clonburris and Adamstown together exceed the combined totals of multiple SDZs elsewhere.

SDCC Visuals of Lucan Areas for Proposed Rezoning

See the SDCC Book of Maps (PDF) for the proposals below, or alternatively, you can view “Materials” on the right side of this screen for all the official SDCC documents related to the rezoning proposals.