Applications received, year by year
Applications climbed to 1,465 in 2004, fell by 89% to 155 in 2014, and have settled at about 293 a year since 2016. Hover a year for its numbers.
1998–2008
8,501
applications
- 74% outside the zoned towns and villages
- 72% mention a house or dwelling
- 13% of decisions were refusals
2009–2015
1,781
applications
- 73% outside the zoned towns and villages
- 64% mention a house or dwelling
- 12% of decisions were refusals
2016–2026
3,189
applications
- 71% outside the zoned towns and villages
- 60% mention a house or dwelling
- 8% of decisions were refusals
The boom changed how much was built, not where: the share of applications in the open countryside has stayed at around seven in ten through all three periods. Refusals have fallen, from 13% of decisions in 1998–2008 to 8% since 2016.
Where the applications are
Every application since 1998, counted on a 2 km grid. The darker squares are the towns, but the spread across the whole county is the point: most of Longford’s planning activity is one house at a time.
Since 2016, by place
2,266 of the 3,189 applications since 2016 (71%) were outside every zoned settlement. Longford Town had 332.
How we worked this out
Each application in Planning Applications is counted in the year it was received (from 1998; earlier years hold only a handful of records). A point inside each site is matched to Zoning: sites outside every zoned settlement count as countryside. “Homes” are applications whose description mentions a dwelling, house, bungalow or home. Refusal rates are out of applications with a grant or refusal.