DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has agreed plans to rezone land for up to 25,000 new housing units in the capital. 

The plan was agreed by the council at a special meeting last night. 

To achieve the 25,000 units, the council will incorporate the plans for the development of a new Dublin suburb, Broombridge-Hamilton in Glasnevin, into the plan.

The suburb, which was renamed from Ballyboggan, will be a mixed-use area with the capacity for around 8,500 homes. 

The council will also incorporate plans for the City Edge project in Kylemore, which anticipates around 5,300 houses. 

From the beginning of next year, the council will review lands in the existing Strategic Development Regeneration Areas in the city with a view to rezoning. A preliminary review has already identified a possible uplift of between 6,000 and 8,000 housing units. 

Some vacant and underutilised Employment and Enterprise lands will also be reviewed with a view to potentially rezoning them. A preliminary figure of 2,000 units has already been identified. 

Last month, Taoiseach Micheál Martin hit out at Dublin City Council for saying it did not need to rezone land for housing, saying he was “taken aback” by it and that the government would take steps to rezone land if council bosses fail to do so.

Dublin City Council also agreed last night to launch a new “rejuvenation pilot project” that will focus initially on Middle Abbey Street, North Frederick Street and the surrounding areas. 

The plan aims to transform derelict, vacant, and underused buildings into new cost-rental homes for key workers.

It will also include new commercial, retail or mixed-use spaces.

The plan was developed by an urban redevelopment working group, which consulted with more than 100 stakeholders across Dublin City Council, state agencies, Approved Housing Bodies, developers, financiers and industry experts. 

The council said the project “will demonstrate a new model of city-centre rejuvenation that can be scaled up city-wide”. 

The project will form part of the Dublin City Centre Task Force’s recommendations.