The latest National Housing Construction Index complied and issued by Link2Plans has shown a slight increase in construction activity in Westmeath while planning applications continue to follow the national decreasing trend.
Researchers at www.link2plans.com have produced the National Housing Construction Index which examines every housing construction planning application and planning commencement throughout the months of January through to June 2012. The index gives a direct comparison with the exact same period in 2011.
The research shows that from January to June 2012, 100 planning applications were submitted in Westmeath. This compared to 137 in 2011 resulting in a drop of 27 per cent. The same period saw an increase in the number of Commencement Notices issued in Westmeath from 43 to 53, a rise of 13 per cent. This was the largest percentage increase across the country.
This volume examines the number of planning permission applications for residential projects from January to June, showing a significant variation regionally when looking at planning application activity per head of population.
According to managing director of Link2Plans, Danny O’Shea, “The index is very interesting when we look at it on an all-island basis, as we see the real regional variations. There are a still a huge number of housing construction projects taking place, albeit on average smaller than in previous years. Across the island of Ireland, for the first six months of 2012, we have seen 10,287 individual residential projects apply for planning permission.”
“Our team of researchers at Link2Plans has examined the volume of construction projects in relation to the population of each area. The results are dramatic. For example, the three Ulster counties of Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan combined, have three times more construction activity, per head of population, than Dublin.
“Munster, Connaught, and Northern Ireland have in the region twice the activity per head of population than Dublin. The message coming loud and clear from this analysis, is that there are thousands of live housing construction projects; however they are more regionally spread out, rather than the large concentration in Dublin and the Greater Dublin area.”
