Development plan · Cavan County Council
Cavan County Development Plan 2022–2028 — Chapter 7
One part of the council's development plan written statement, which the council publishes in parts.
Cavan County Council · 2022–2028 · 38 pages
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- ROW 01 ROW 02 ROW 03 ROW 04 7.11 Public Rights of Way Public Rights of Way constitute an important recreational amenity for local people and visitors. They enable the enjoyment of high quality landscape and cultural heritage. A public right of way is a persons’ right of passage along a road or path, even if the route is not in public ownership’. It is a policy of Cavan County Council to maintain, protect, preserve, promote, enhance, support, improve and encourage the provision of, for the common good, a network of Public Rights of Way to traditional outdoor amenities including heritage sites and features of archaeological interest, national monuments, mountains, hills, rivers, forests, lakes, geological and geomorphic systems, water corridors, places of natural beauty and other natural amenities. Where appropriate links to established public rights of way in other counties be identified. A preliminary list of potential rights of way has been included in Appendix 5. 7.12 Information Technology and Broadband Cavan Digital Strategy was formally launched in July 2021.Cavan needs to build a recognised digital ecosystem in niche areas of strength to attract external investment and sustain a dynamic enterprise base. The common features will include a vibrant start-up community, a critical mass of large firms, R&D and innovation, specialised 3rd level education programmes, a dynamic and skilled labour market and a proactive support network. The Strategy contains the following 4 pillars l Pillar 1 - digital society & skills l Pillar 2 - digital economy l Pillar 3 - digital connectivity l Pillar 4 - digital transformation Connected Cavan will set the foundations and roadmap for a citizen focused, entrepreneurial and dynamic digital economy & society over the coming decade. This will be delivered through intensive partnership & collaboration and the targeting of resources into assets and activities that have a real and lasting impact on local communities, carbon reduction and economic prosperity for the county and region. Information Communication and Technology Investment is essential for furthering the social and economic development of County Cavan. The provision of an efficient broadband service is critical in the development of a knowledge based economy. To this end, the need to build new infrastructure to provide increased capacity in order to raise the quality of coverage and to meet the demand for services is recognised. 7.12.1 Broadband The National Broadband Plan (NBP) was signed on 19th November 2019 with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) to build, operate and maintain the network. The rollout is currently in progress with a 3 to 5 year implementation period for the bulk of connections (90% or the 537,595 fibre connections will be complete within this period). This is the final piece of this enormous investment in the ICT infrastructure of Ireland and will see fibre brought to the last remaining areas, business premises, households, schools and community facilities in the difficult to reach and commercially unviable locations of the state. Rights of Way Development Objectives It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Identify and map on an ongoing basis Public Rights of Way within the County and incorporate them into the plan by way of a Variation. Where appropriate, links to established public rights of way in adjoining counties will be identified. Cooperate with Coillte in the establishment of access ways, nature trails etc with a view to opening up state forests for recreational use, compatible with forestry requirements. Commence a review of walking and cycling routes in the county, protect existing public rights of way for the common good, and bring forward proposals for the creation of public rights of way, which give access to places of recreational utility or natural beauty, particularly in relation to lakes, rivers and forests and areas of historical, archaeological importance within two years of adoption of the Plan. Explore the feasibility of commissioning a study to carry out comprehensive analysis of rights of way in the County within two years of adoption of the development plan.Transportation and Infrastructure 315
- Cavan is in the first wave of homes and businesses being connected to high-speed broadband through commercial operators. Cavan County Council led the way by being the first Local Authority to grant a licence for the scheme and in January 2021 became one of the first counties in the country where premises have been successfully connected. High Speed Broadband will be delivered to every premises in Ireland through a combination of commercial investment and state investment. This table provides an overview of the total number of premises per county that are in the commercial area (BLUE) and the State’s Intervention Area (AMBER). The figures are based on the most recent map update and include any new premises. County Total Premises NBP Intervention Premises % Commercial Operator Premises % Cavan 42,250 16,242 38% 26,008 62% Despite Cavan having a relatively high percentage of connections which need to be delivered under the NBP (38%), the county still has a fairly extensive fibre infrastructure around the urban centres and some larger rural villages. In Cavan town, there is a 1Gb fibre under the Siro service into a number of enterprises and commercial clusters. The Eir fibre service is also extensively available in Cavan town and other urban centres which delivers speed of up to 150mbps. Broadband Connection Points (BCP) are key NBP priority locations in communities across Ireland. The BCP’s have been selected for prioritising as high speed broadband points in the community in the first year of the roll out of the NBP. The rollout of the WiFi4EU initiative across towns and villages in Cavan, releasing up to €60,000 in European funds for free public Wi-Fi access. An efficient telecommunications system is important in the development of the economy. Fig. 7.3Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028 316
- ICT 01 ICT 02 ICT 03 ICT 04 ICT 05 ICT 06 ICT 07 7.13 Prevention of Major Accidents The EU Directive (96/82 EC) on the control of major accident hazards, commonly referred to as the SEVESO II Directive, was adopted on February 3rd 1999. It was introduced into Irish Law through the SI EC (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 476 of 2000), on December 21st 2000. The Directive aims to prevent major accident hazards involving dangerous substances and chemicals and the limitation of their consequences for people and the environment. These objectives must be pursued through controls on the following: l The siting of new establishments, l Modifications to existing establishments, l Development in the vicinity of an establishment which, by virtue of its type or siting, is likely to increase the risk or consequences of a major accident. The Health & Safety Authority provides advice to Planning Authorities, where appropriate, in respect of planning applications for development within a certain distance of the perimeter of these sites. The document, entitled ‘Policy & Approach of the Health & Safety Authority to COMAH Risk-based Land-use Planning’, sets out the policy of the Authority on the landuse planning requirements of the European ‘Seveso’ Directive on the control of major accident hazards. Directive 2012/18/ EU was adopted taking into account, amongst other factors, the changes in EU legislation on the classification of chemicals and increased rights for citizens to access information and justice. This Directive is known for convenience as the SEVESO III Directive. Directive 2012/18/EU was transposed into Irish legislation through S.I. No. 209 of 2015 Chemicals Act (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2015. S.I. No. 209 of 2015 came into effect on June 1st 2015. For clarity, the SEVESO III Directive replaced the SEVESO II Directive (96/82/EC). One of the requirements of S.I. No. 209 of 2015 is that the Health and Safety Authority shall advise the relevant Planning Authority of a consultation distance for a SEVESO III establishment, following the receipt of a notification from the operator, and shall periodically review and update the consultation distance as necessary. ICT Development Objectives It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Support the delivery of high capacity Information Communications Technology Infrastructure, broadband connectivity and digital broadcasting, throughout the county, in order to ensure economic competitiveness for the enterprise and commercial sectors and in enabling more flexible work practices. Support the co-ordinated and focused development and extension of broadband infrastructure throughout the county. Co-operate with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and public and private agencies where appropriate, in improving high quality broadband infrastructure throughout the county. Achieve a balance between facilitating the provision of telecommunications infrastructure in the interests of social and economic progress, and sustainable residential amenity and environmental quality. Ensure the locations of telecommunications structures minimise and/or mitigate any adverse impacts on communities, public rights of way and built or natural environment. Encourage co-location of antennae on existing support structures and to require documentary evidence as to the non availability of this option in proposals for new structures. The shared use of existing structures will be required where the numbers of masts located in any single area is considered to have an excessive concentration. Facilitate the provision of telecommunications infrastructure throughout the county in accordance with the requirements of the ‘Telecommunications Antennae and Support Structures – Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ July 1996 and Circular Letter PL 07/12 or any update thereof.Transportation and Infrastructure 317
- The Directive provides that appropriate consultation distances must be put in place so as to ensure that before decisions are taken, technical advice is available to Planning Authorities in respect of relevant establishments. The Health and Safety Authority provides such advice, where appropriate, in respect of planning applications within a certain distance of the perimeter of these sites. At present, there is one approved Seveso site in the County. 7.14 Roads and Infrastructure Climate Context and Development Objectives In accordance with the format set out in Chapter 5 Climate Change of this Plan the following is an assessment of the content of this chapter in a climate context and associated development objectives. Travel is a source of unwanted noise, emissions, and energy use, accounting for 42.2% of Ireland’s Total Final Energy Consumption in 2018, the largest take up of any sector1. When compared to Energy, Industry, Residential and Agriculture, Transport has also been the only sector that has not reduced its CO2 emissions since 1990, continuing to account for nearly 30% of Ireland’s total emissions – 72% of which coming from road transportation alone; with passenger cars accounting for 61% of same.2 In line with Ireland’s National Mitigation Plan (NMP) 2017 on climate change and the NPF shared goals, by 2040 we need to have moved away from polluting and carbon intensive propulsion systems in favour of cleaner and quieter towns and cities, completely free from combustion engines. Separately, the Northern & Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) 2020 – 2032 has prioritised reducing the ‘need’ for travel over economically ‘efficient’ travel, reinforced by the Climate Action Plan 2019 (CAP) in its ambition to make growth less transport intensive, through better planning, remote and home-working and modal shift to public transport. The CAP also aims to accelerate the take up of Electric Vehicle (EV) cars to meet a target of 950,000 EVs on the road by 2030, which will see approximately a third of all new vehicles sold within the next decade to be Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). 1 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) (2019), ‘Energy in Ireland – 2019 Report’, December 2019. https://www.seai.ie/publications/Energy-in-Ireland-2019-.pdf 2 European Parliament (2019), ‘CO2 emissions from cars: facts and figures’, 22 March 2019. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-andfigures-infographics MA 01 MA 02 MA 03 MA 04 Major Accidents Development Objectives It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Have regard to the provision of the ‘Major Accident Directive’ (Seveso III) (European Council Directive 2012/18/EU) and impose restrictions in consultation with the HSA, on developments abutting or within proximity of a Seveso site. The extent of restrictions on development will be dependent on the type of risk present and the quantity and form of the dangerous substance present or likely to be present. Permit new Seveso development only in low risk locations away from vulnerable residential, retail and commercial development. In areas where Seveso sites exist in appropriate locations with low population densities, ensure that proposed uses in adjacent sites do not compromise the potential for expansion of the existing Seveso use, and in particular the exclusion of developments with the potential to attract large numbers of the public. Have regard to the advice of the Health and Safety Authority when proposals for new Seveso sites are considered. Require developers to submit a detailed consequence and risk assessment with all Environmental Impact Statements and/or legislative licence applications for all Seveso sites.Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028 318
- Current Government proposals will see the banning of a new petrol and diesel cars by the same 2030 deadline under the Climate Action Amendment Bill 2019. Census 2016 data reveals that in County Cavan, most commuters travel by car either as a driver (19,919) or passenger (10,243). Almost two thousand people work from home (1,961); 5,576 use a bus/coach; 4,201 travel on foot; and 239 cycle to work, school or college. The proportion opting for cycling as a mode of commuting in Cavan is 0.49 per cent compared to 2.7 per cent nationally. Green Infrastructure serves a wide variety of important functions including but not limited to; provision of habitat, increase biodiversity, ecological corridors, climate change adaptation and mitigation, water treatment, water retention, local amenity provision, air quality improvement, cultural and heritage preservation, a mental restorative environmental and flood mitigation. Biodiversity protection relies heavily on quality Green Infrastructure, defined as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services in both rural and urban settings (EU Green Infrastructure Strategy). The EU Biodiversity Strategy has set the backdrop, requiring that by 2020, ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced by established ‘Green Infrastructure’ and restoring at least 15% of degraded ecosystems. The responsibility lies with the local authority to consider the potential for carbon sequestration in Green Infrastructure Strategies, whereby certain areas can be considered as a strategic and integral mechanism for the long-term storage of carbon to mitigate the contribution of fossil fuels emissions and combat climate change. Careful land management is also needed to ensure that land use changes do not impact on the ability of the natural environment to absorb climate impacts. Sustainable land use management and natural flood risk mitigation measures can slow down the water flow in catchments and rivers, for example by protection and/or rewetting of peatlands and bogs and by planting hedgerows across hillsides. Such measure may not be able to solve severe flood problems on their own but can form part of the solution and can also help to achieve environmental goals, including improving water quality, nature conservation / biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Green adaptation seeks to use ecological properties to enhance the resilience of human and natural systems in the face of climate change, such as creation of green spaces and parks to enable better management of urban micro-climates. Today most of Ireland’s energy use comes from the burning of fossil fuels, like coal, oil and peat. To counteract this reliance, the NPF proposes an aggregate reduction (since 1990) in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 80% by 2050 across electricity generation, built environmental and transport sectors. Ireland has excellent renewable energy resources including wind, bio-energy and solar. By 2020, Ireland has a commitment to generating a minimum of 16% of all energy from renewable resources (Renewable Energy Directive Ireland), having already achieved 22% in 2016 (Ireland 2050) from a base of 9.1% in 2015. This will include 40% from renewable electricity, 12% from renewable heat and 10% from renewable transport. A report prepared by Baringa commissioned by the Irish Wind Energy Association has claimed that renewable energy technologies like wind, solar, bioenergy and hydro alone can provide 70% of our electricity demand by 2030. This target can also be achieved in a way that is cost neutral to the electricity consumer while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions by 30%. Wind energy is both Ireland’s largest and cheapest renewable electricity resource, third in the world in its usage behind Denmark and Uruguay. In 2018, wind provided 85% of Ireland’s renewable electricity and 30% of our total electricity demand, second only to natural gas3. Since 2010, solar PV has been the fastest growing power generation technology worldwide, however solar PV installed capacity in Ireland is amongst the lowest in Europe. One square metre of solar panels provides the same amount of hot water as the equivalent of more than 100 litres of oil and is effective even when the sky is overcast or cloudy (SEAI). 3 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (2020), ‘Wind Energy’. https://www.seai.ie/technologies/wind-energy/Transportation and Infrastructure 319
- RIC 01 RIC 02 RIC 03 RIC 04 RIC 05 RIC 06 RIC 07 RIC 08 RIC 09 RIC 10 RIC 11 Worldwide, the sun delivers more energy to earth in an hour, than is used worldwide in a year. To capitalise on this effect, designing our homes and buildings to face south and capture as much light as possible can reduce our energy bills by more than 10%. Aside from Solar and Wind, Biomass and Hydroelectricity at 3.5% combined largely makes up the remainder of Ireland’s renewable energy supply4. Biomass by comparison to other forms of renewable energy is comparatively expensive, with a limited availability of indigenous biomass, high import costs and its inconvenience in comparison to other fuels, such as oil and gas. Although poorly developed, Tidal/Wave Energy potential in Ireland is enormous, calculated by the SEAI to be 29GW, and easily meeting Ireland’s peak electricity demands of above 5GW (Eirgrid). New energy systems and transmission grids will be necessary for a more distributed renewablesfocused energy generation system, harnessing both the considerable onshore and off-shore potential from energy sources such as wind, wave and solar and connecting the richest sources of that energy to the major sources of demand. 4 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (2020), ‘’Electricity’ https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-statistics/electricity/ Roads and Infrastructure Climate Development Objectives It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Support the use of Electric Vehicles (EV) at all Cavan County Council public service locations, and the use of EV vehicles. Require all one-off housing to install a minimum of 1 no. Electric Vehicle (EV) home charger unit in accordance with current Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)recommendations. Require all multi-unit, residential developments to install 1 recharging point per 5 units, and ducting infrastructure for every parking space within the development boundary. Require all non-residential developments with more than 10 parking spaces to install 1 no. recharging point per 20 parking spaces, and ducting infrastructure for at least 1 in 5 parking spaces within its property boundary. Actively encourage and incentivise public and private carpooling / carsharing, assigning 10% of all public parking, and parking associated with future commercial and industrial applications, for its sole provision. Require all developments to provide bicycle parking in accordance with Table 7.4. Bicycle parking shall be well lit, sheltered, with cycle racks fixed to a permanent structure. Prepare a feasibility study (to include route options) for a cycle route on approach and through each town within its functional area. Prioritise the appointment of public transport service providers with the lowest, demonstrated CO2 emissions across their fleet. Require all future footpaths to be a minimum of 2 metres in width, space permitting. Facilitate community participation and/or micro-generation of renewable power, as well as community gain arrangements, while encouraging the development of small scale, community owned wind farms. Convert all public streetlighting within the functional area to well designed and directed LED lights, with dimmable capabilities where preferable.Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028 320
- RIC 12 RIC 13 RIC 14 RIC 15 RIC 16 RIC 17 RIC 18 RIC 19 RIC 20 RIC 21 Actively participate and achieve the targets as set out by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Public Sector Energy Efficiency Strategy. Support the introduction of speed reduction zones, incorporating shared surfaces and pedestrian only streets in towns throughout the County. Establish a program to prepare and publish a full Building Energy Rating (BER) inventory for all publicly owned social housing within its functional area, GDPR permitting. Ensure all relevant developments take account of the Seveso-III Directive (e.g. storage of hazardous chemicals) and reduce excessive energy consumption / CO2 production. Collaborate with CARO and adjoining local authorities regarding the provision of strategic locations for renewable locations within the region. Maintain existing green infrastructure and encourage and facilitate, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, the development of green infrastructure that recognises the synergies that can be achieved through the following: l Provision of open space amenities; l Sustainable management of water; l Protection and management of biodiversity; l Protection of cultural heritage; l Protection of protected landscape sensitivities; l Planting drought resistant plants. Undertake a feasibility study identifying ‘pocket park’ opportunities for all towns within its functional area. Seek to implement the principals of the ‘Green Street’ concept for all future, urban regeneration of streets, prioritising the integration of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) (Refer to Strategic Flood Risk Assessment). Work with the National Trails Office, Coillte, the Department of Planning, Housing and Local Government, the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport, and other relevant stakeholders, to improve on the existing level of infrastructure and facilities for walking and cycling. Require the incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Schemes (SuDS) (Refer to Strategic Flood Risk Assessment) for all future developments with an identified need.Transportation and Infrastructure 321
- Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028322
Source Cavan County Council: Cavan County Development Plan 2022–2028 — Chapter 7 (2022–2028) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.