1.9 Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Flooding

The way in which areas such as Kinsaley develop into the future can have a significant impact at local level on reducing the impacts of climate change.

This can include measures such as:

• Increasing the level of tree coverage
• promoting reduced travel demand by integrating land use and public transport
• encouraging passive solar design and energy efficient buildings
• facilitating an increase in the modal share of sustainable modes of travel
• promoting waste reduction and the re-use of existing building stock
• Providing green measrues to control/ manage surface water

Development if not managed appropriately can exacerbate the natural flooding process. The Department of the Environment and the Office of Public Works have published The Planning System and Flood Risk Management: Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2009, which require Planning Authorities to ensure that, where relevant, flood risk is a key consideration in preparing a Local Area Plan. The aim of the guidelines is to avoid flood risk where possible, substitute less vulnerable uses when avoidance is not possible and mitigate and manage the risk where avoidance and substitution are not possible.

As part of the preparation of the LAP, Fingal County Council will include policies and objectives to support the reduction of the impacts of climate change, promote energy conservation and greater use of renewable energy sources/technologies as well as identifying measures to minimise the potential for flooding in the area.