BIO-NEIGHBOUR report calls for biodiversity to become standard in all new housing developments
Irish Green Building Council and Trinity College Dublin set out national roadmap to embed nature-led design across 500,000 planned homes by 2040
12 May 2026 | 📧 editor@ipropertyradio.com
A new national research report has warned that Ireland risks missing a major opportunity to integrate biodiversity into future housing delivery unless nature-led planning and development practices are rapidly scaled across the construction sector.
The BIO-NEIGHBOUR project, led by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), has published a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at mainstreaming biodiversity measures in all new residential developments.
The research responds to growing investor expectations, policy pressures and incoming regulatory requirements around biodiversity protection and green-blue infrastructure in housing schemes. While biodiversity-focused design guidance and training programmes already exist, the report states that implementation remains inconsistent and fragmented across Ireland.
The report argues that Ireland’s housing targets and biodiversity obligations must now be treated as interconnected policy objectives. It points to the Government’s housing strategy targeting 300,000 homes by 2030, alongside the longer-term ambition for 500,000 homes by 2040, as a critical opportunity to embed nature restoration into future communities.
Researchers said the integration of biodiversity measures into new housing developments can reduce planning risks, streamline approvals, improve climate resilience and deliver healthier neighbourhoods with cleaner air and enhanced wellbeing.
Central to the report is the application of the “mitigation hierarchy”, which prioritises avoiding ecological damage before minimising impacts, restoring habitats and, only as a last resort, offsetting biodiversity loss.
The report calls for a coordinated national strategy on biodiversity and development, supported by a dedicated National Planning Statement on Nature, Biodiversity and Development. Other recommendations include a nationally agreed biodiversity measurement system, greater resourcing for local authorities, and mandatory biodiversity standards for publicly funded housing projects.
Among the proposals is the introduction of a “Sustainability Pass” modelled on the existing Safe Pass system, aimed at ensuring all construction workers and built environment professionals receive baseline biodiversity and sustainability training.
The research also identifies major inconsistencies between local authorities in how biodiversity considerations are assessed through planning and development processes. Participants in the study reported that ecological protections are often weakened during construction or diluted through long-term maintenance practices after developments are completed.
To address this, the report recommends evidence-based biodiversity mapping across all local authorities, stronger biodiversity requirements in planning validation processes, and site-specific ecological guidance where land is zoned for development.
The stakeholder engagement process involved more than 100 organisations and practitioners from across planning, ecology, architecture, engineering, development, local government and construction between January and December 2025.
Contributors included local authorities, developers, infrastructure bodies, housing providers, consultants and educational institutions, alongside organisations such as Cairn Homes, Glenveagh Properties, the Land Development Agency, Engineers Ireland, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and multiple county councils.
The report concludes that embedding biodiversity into mainstream housing delivery will require a “whole of Government, whole of society” approach, with greater collaboration between policymakers, local authorities, industry and academia.
The BIO-NEIGHBOUR project was developed by the Irish Green Building Council and Trinity College Dublin with support from The Housing Agency.
