County Donegal Development Plan 2024–2030 (As Varied)

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 18 Chapter 3 Core Strategy Chapter 3 – Core Strategy 3.1 Background and Legislative Context The Core Strategy gives spatial expression to the housing, population and employment parameters of the Development Plan and identifies a settlement hierarchy for the purposes of distributing the quantum of the land requirements for these uses across the County. Consistency between the core strategy and regional and national policy is mandatory and in this regard Section 10(1A) of the Planning Act 2000 (as amended) [‘the Act’] requires that the Development Plan includes a core strategy which: “shows that the development objectives in the development plan are consistent, as far as practicable, with national and regional development objectives set out in the National Planning Framework and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and with specific planning policy requirements specified in guidelines under subsection (1) of section 28”. The required elements of a Development Plan core strategy are specified in Section 10(2A) of the Act, thus a core strategy must:- a) Demonstrate the consistency of the housing strategy and the development plan with national and regional spatial strategy and policy; b) Take account of national and regional housing and population targets; c) Provide details of areas already zoned for residential use or mixed-use that includes residential development, in hectares and housing unit numbers; d) Provide details of areas proposed to be zoned for residential use or mixed-use that includes residential development, in hectares, together with details of how such proposals accord with national policy for phased development; e) Demonstrate that in setting out retail objectives, the planning authority has had regard to any statutory guidelines under section 28 that relate to retail development; and f) Set out a settlement hierarchy that includes details of projected population growth of all urban and rural settlements and rural areas together with details of road and rail infrastructure. In addition to the foregoing, Section 10(2B) of the Act requires that certain roads infrastructure and rural areas in respect of which planning guidelines relating to sustainable rural housing issued by the Minister under section 28 apply, be represented in the core strategy by a diagrammatic map (see map 3.3 below). 3.2 Policy Context 3.2.1 Project Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework (NPF) Letterkenny is placed at the top of the settlement hierarchy having regard to: - the identification in the NPF of Letterkenny as a Regional Centre in the northwest and its function as a key element of the ‘North-West City Region’ in conjunction with Derry City and Strabane; - its critical mass relative to other settlements in the County.

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 19 Chapter 3 Core Strategy 3.2.2 Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) 2020-2032 In line with the NPF, the RSES places considerable emphasis on the collaborative structures that have been put in place through the ‘North-West Strategic Growth Partnership’ arrangements between Donegal and Derry City and Strabane District Councils and advocates for the development of the North-West Metropolitan City Region (Letterkenny/Derry/Strabane) as a key enabler of regional growth and prosperity. As part of the development of the City Region, the RSES contains a Regional Growth Centre Strategic Plan (RGCSP) for Letterkenny but also notes that other significant settlements within Donegal are located within the metropolitan area (see map 3.2 below which shows details of settlements within the metropolitan city region). In addition to the larger or more strategically located settlements, the RSES also makes it clear (RPO 3.131) that the role of smaller and medium-sized towns must be supported, given their important role in employment and service provision. Map 3. 1: North West Metropolitan City Region (Source: RSES 2020-2032) Having regard to the provisions of both the NPF and RSES, the Core Strategy of this Plan strives to deliver appropriate levels of growth throughout the settlement structure of County Donegal, on a proportionate basis and having regard to the particular characteristics and functions of settlements. The growth targets across the County, informed by (inter alia) the transitional population projections for Donegal as set out in the NPF and the ESRI NPF scenario projected new household demand, are set out hereunder in Table 3.5 – Core Strategy Table. As an accompaniment to the numerical targets for zoning and population growth set out in the Core Strategy table, the settlement hierarchy set out in Fig 3.1 (and described further in Section 3.3 1 RPO 3.13 – “To support the role of smaller and medium-sized towns, which demonstrate an important role in terms of service provision and employment for their catchments within the economic function of the county. Such settlements will be identified through the Development Plan process as part of the Settlement Hierarchy and the Core Strategy.”

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 20 Chapter 3 Core Strategy below) effectively sets out the strategy for growth in Donegal, providing placed-based information and reasoning to inform the Core Strategy projections. Map 3.2: Core Strategy Diagrammatic Map 3.3 Settlement Hierarchy Section 4.3 of the NPF acknowledges the unique and complex nature of Ireland’s urban structure and states that in order to achieve more balanced and sustainable development, some settlements will need to attract increased population (such as towns that are strong employment and service centres), whereas others will need more jobs, amenities or better transport links (in effect, a need to reverse the stagnation or decline of many smaller urban centres). The settlement hierarchy below approaches the development of Donegal’s urban structure in this manner; recognising that there are clearly defined economic drivers and service centres in the County, but there are also smaller settlements with clearly identifiable strengths and functions that should be built upon over the lifetime of this Plan (e.g. Gaeltacht settlements, settlements with particular opportunities arising on foot of their location proximate to the border with Northern Ireland, settlements located along the Wild Atlantic Way tourist route and settlements that are ‘satellites’ of larger towns). Furthermore, there is a considerable number of smaller settlements where the focus must be on regeneration rather than seeking to significantly increase population levels. The settlement strategy therefore seeks to approach the urban structure in a balanced and proportionate manner, and the Core Strategy table reflects this.

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 21 Chapter 3 Core Strategy Figure 3.1: Settlement Hierarchy Figure 3.2: Distribution of Projected Population Growth 3.3.1 Letterkenny Regional Growth Centre Letterkenny is the economic engine of County Donegal and is designated in the National Planning Framework (NPF) as a Regional Centre. Furthermore, Letterkenny is a key component of the ‘North West City Region’ (along with Derry City and Strabane in Northern Ireland), the fourth largest urban agglomeration on the island of Ireland and is thus critical in terms of achieving balanced regional development as envisaged in the NPF. This Core Strategy recognises this opportunity and places Letterkenny at the top of the settlement hierarchy, thereby seeking to consolidate the Regional Centre and to continue building the critical mass needed to support additional employment, housing Regional Growth Driver Letterkenny 30% County Growth Drivers 26.14% Service Towns 11.71% Rural Settlements ( 7.15%) Open Countryside (25%)Satellite Settlements Wild Atlantic Way Settlements Border Settlements Rural Regeneration Settlements Gaeltacht Settlements

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 22 Chapter 3 Core Strategy and service opportunities. The allocation of 30% of targeted growth to the Regional Centre also has regard to the existing level of population within the town, to employment opportunities therein, and to the extent of available social and community infrastructure, inclusive of schools/third level institutions and the University Hospital. 3.3.2 County Growth Drivers Donegal is a geographically extensive and predominantly rural County. Whilst Letterkenny is acknowledged as the main centre of employment, the smaller settlements throughout the County play a crucial and oftentimes specialised role. This Core Strategy recognises those important roles and identifies five towns that are key to driving growth in their respective localities and indeed beyond, and having regard also to their servicing capacities. The Strategy allocates over one quarter of the total projected growth to these settlements. The rationale for doing so is set out below. Table 3.1: County Growth Drivers Housing Allocation and Rationale Name of Settlement and Proposed Housing Allocation Rationale underpinning proposed Housing Allocation Buncrana (681units) • Second largest settlement in County • Proximity to Derry and Strategic Position as part of North West City Region Ballybofey-Stranorlar (681 units) • Third largest settlement • Set to benefit from enhanced connectivity (TEN- T) and environmental improvements (SEED project) • Potential for development locally and for town to act as a base for those working in other nearby settlements Donegal Town (566 units) • Significant development and investment in recent times – need to build upon this success. • Key service and tourism destination Killybegs (151 units) • Primary fishing port in the State • Key role to play in the offshore renewable energy sector and marine resource innovation generally. • Considerable potential as a base for tourism An Clochán Liath (151 units) • Significant service town, serving wide hinterland. • Gaeltacht service town • Potential to build on existing investment in the town and further develop the employment base 3.3.3 Service Towns The service towns of Lifford, Carndonagh, Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Raphoe, Bunbeg- Derrybeg, and Milford all provide important local retail and employment functions. This Core Strategy recognises these important roles and, having regard also to their servicing capacities, allocates 11% of the total projected growth to these settlements. The rationale for doing so is set out below.

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 23 Chapter 3 Core Strategy Table 3.2: Service Town Housing Allocation and Rationale Name of Settlement and Proposed Housing Allocation Rationale underpinning proposed Housing Allocation Lifford (121 units) • All these settlements provide important local retail, service and employment functions • Specialised roles exist within a number of settlements; e.g. - Tourism in Bundoran, Carndonagh - Potential to examine cross-border opportunities in Lifford - Focus on business development in Bunbeg-Derrybeg - Heritage and tourism potential of Ballyshannon and Raphoe - Local service function of Milford; Council offices, retail etc. Carndonagh (172 units) Ballyshannon (172 units) Bundoran (172 units) Raphoe (120 units) Bunbeg-Derrybeg (120 units) Milford (121 units) 3.3.4 Rural Settlements and Open Countryside Donegal is a predominantly rural county and this Plan recognises that there will be a need to accommodate genuine rural housing need whilst having regard to environmental, landscape and technical constraints and also to the viability of our smaller towns and villages. The Core Strategy/Settlement Strategy therefore allocates an appropriate housing target to the smaller rural settlements and open countryside to ensure that rural communities are supported and maintained. 3.4 Housing Need Demand Assessment and the Housing Strategy National Policy Objective 37 of the NPF requires that a Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) be undertaken for each Local Authority Area, in order to correlate and accurately align future housing requirements. The HNDA is aimed primarily at informing housing policies, housing strategies and associated land use zoning policies, as well as assisting in determining where new policy areas or investment programmes are to be developed. Government guidance issued in respect of Core Strategies2 notes that the Council’s Housing Strategy will remain the vehicle to address overall housing needs within the County; however, the Housing Strategy must be informed by the Core Strategy in terms of overall population and housing land requirements. The Core Strategy presented herein therefore outlines housing delivery targets needed to meet demand over the lifetime of the Development Plan, whilst the detail of the Housing Strategy and HNDA are presented in Chapter 6.1. 2 ‘Guidance Note on Core Strategies’, Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2010)

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 24 Chapter 3 Core Strategy 3.5 Population Trends Census 2016 recorded a population of 159,192 in County Donegal. The preliminary results of the 2022 census indicate that the population of the County has increased by 4.5% (7,129 persons), giving a total population of 166,321. This sees a welcome reversal from the population decline recorded in 2016 (see table 3.1 below) and puts the County back on a growth trajectory, albeit at a rate approximately half that seen between 2006 and 2011. Table 3.3: Population Change in County Donegal between 2006 and 2022 Year 2006 2011 2016 20223 Population 147,264 161,137 159,192 166,321 Actual Change - 13,873 -1,945 7,129 % Change - 9.4% -1.2% 4.5% 3.6 Population Projections and Housing Supply Target Methodology Guidelines for Planning Authorities Population projections are a key input into the Development Plan process and provide the strategic context for plan preparation. The National Planning Framework (NPF) and associated ‘Implementation Roadmap’4 (refer Table 3.4 below) provide projected population targets for County Donegal and in turn these figures inform the population projections in the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy. Whilst these projections are useful for medium to longer term planning purposes, they are not deemed particularly appropriate for shorter-term Development Plan cycles of 6 years. To address these shorter-term requirements, statutory guidelines for incorporating housing supply targets into Development Plans (entitled the ‘ Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning’ Guidelines for Planning Authorities) were issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government 3 Based on preliminary census data for 2022 4 Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework, DHLGH, July 2018

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 25 Chapter 3 Core Strategy and Heritage in 2020 and these guidelines have been used to inform the housing supply targets for the County over the lifetime of this Development Plan, which are set out in Table 3.3 below. Table 3.4: Transitional County Population Projections to 2031 (Source: Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework) Table 3.5: Housing Supply Targets for CDP 2024-2030 Donegal County Council Annual Average Households Total Households A ESRI NPF scenario projected new household demand 2017 to Q4 2030 841 10,929 B Actual new housing supply 2017 to Q4 2023 (estimated future delivery for Q3 and Q4,2022 and for all of 2023 based on historical trends) 472 (3302/7, to cover the seven-year period from 2017 to the end of 2023) 3,302 C Homeless households (latest data), and unmet demand as at most recent Census N/A 51 D Plan Housing Target = Total (A-B+C) (Projected ESRI NPF demand – new completions) + Unmet demand 1280 (7678/6, to cover plan period commencing Jan 2024 to end 2029) 7678* *Note: The above figure of 7678 units over the lifetime of the plan reflects the calculated Housing Supply Target needed to meet the Housing Supply Targets Methodology for Development Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities. However, the final Housing Supply Targets in the adopted CDP 2024-2030 (June 2024) are set out in Table 3.7 Core Strategy Table, total 8530 units, and exceed the annual housing growth requirements set out in Appendix 1 of the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines. The housing supply target set out in Table 3.3 above indicates that there is a need to deliver a minimum of 1280 new units per annum in County Donegal to meet demand. This will require a significant increase in housing output over and above that delivered in recent years (see Table 3.4 below) and this Development Plan has therefore been drafted to ensure that optimal conditions exist for sustainable housing delivery in the County going forward.

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   County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 26 Chapter 3 Core Strategy Table 3.6: New Dwelling Completions 2016-2021 (source: CSO) New Dwelling Completions in Donegal, 2016-2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 289 363 433 432 580 479

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    County Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030 (As Varied) 27 Chapter 3 Core Strategy Table 3.7: Core Strategy Table Existing Population Housing and Population Targets Land Zoning Required to Meet Housing Targets Land Zoned in Plans Settlement Type / Layer in Settlement Structure Settlement Name Census 2022 Population Census 2022 (%) Housing Target 2030 (Units) Population Target 20301 Housing Target 2030(Units) % of Total Target Residential Density (units per Ha) Gross Zoned land Required (Ha)2 Potential Brownfield Yield (units) Greenfield Net Zoned Land Required(Ha)3 Greenfield Land Zoned for Residential Dev (Ha) Shortfall/ Excess of Zoned Greenfield Land(Ha)4 Regional Growth Driver (30%) ~2559 units Letterkenny 22549 13.50 2559 29357 30 35 73.12 300 64.55 169.42 104.87 County Growth Drivers/Self Sustaining Growth Towns (~26.14%) ~2230 unit Buncrana 6971 4.17 681 8783 7.98 35 19.46 176 14.42 45.53 31.11 Ballybofey- Stranorlar 5406 3.24 681 7218 7.98 35 19.46 85 17.02 34.37 17.35 Donegal Town 2749 1.65 566 4255 6.63 35 16.17 91 13.57 41.58 28.01 Killybegs 1258 0.75 151 1660 1.77 25 6.04 18 5.48 9.89 4.57 An Clochan Liath (Dungloe) 1247 0.75 151 1649 1.77 20 7.55 18 6.65 13.79 7.14 Totals for County Growth Drivers 17631 2230 23564 26.14 114.2 56.27 Service Towns: (~11.71%) ~999 units Bundoran 2599 1.56 172 3057 2.02 25 6.89 31 5.64 23.62 17.39 Carndonagh 2768 1.66 172 3226 2.02 25 6.89 31 5.64 16.59 10.95 Ballyshannon 2246 1.34 172 2704 2.02 25 6.89 30 5.68 17.55 11.87 Lifford 1613 0.97 121 1935 1.42 25 4.84 Not Applicable 4.84 In general, no specific residential zonings within Settlement Framework areas. Raphoe 1161 0.69 120 1480 1.41 25 4.80 4.80 Bunbeg- Derrybeg 1543 0.92 120 1862 1.41 25 4.80 4.80 Milford 1076 0.64 121 1398 1.42 25 4.84 4.84 Totals for Service Towns 13006 999 15662 11.71 24.5 38.70 Rural Areas (Settlements): (~7.15%) ~610 units 27,875 16.68 610 29498 7.15 N/A Open Countryside: (25%) 2133~ units 86,023 51.48 21334 91696 25 N/A Total 8530

Source Donegal County Council: County Donegal Development Plan 2024–2030 (As Varied) (2024–2030) · 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.