Kildare County Development Plan 2023–2029 — Chapter 2: Core Strategy and Settlement Strategy

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   Aim: To provide for the delivery of an additional 9,144 housing units to accommodate an additional 25,146 people by the end of the Plan period, and to continue to create the environment to retain existing and attract new employers to locate in County Kildare through the delivery of sustainable, compact settlements supported by a commensurate level of physical, social and green infrastructure to mitigate against climate change and enhance the quality of life for residents. • Relevant information to show that the development plan and the housing strategy are consistent with the National Planning Framework, the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and with the Specific Planning Policy Requirements (SPPRs) specified in the Section 28 Guidelines. • Any policies of the Minister in relation to national and regional population targets. • Relevant information to show that, in setting out objectives regarding retail development contained in the development plan, the planning authority has had regard to any guidelines that relate to retail development issued by the Minister under section 28. • A settlement hierarchy including details of: o Settlement designations in accordance with the NPF/RSES. o Any policies or objectives in relation to national and regional population targets that apply to settlements in the hierarchy. o Projected population growth. o Aggregate projected population for:  villages and smaller towns with a population of under 1,500persons,  the open countryside. Chapter 2 Kildare Core Strategy and Settlement Strategy 2.1 Introduction The Core and Settlement Strategy set out an overarching growth strategy for the development of the county to 2029 and translate the strategic planning framework of the National Planning Framework (NPF), the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Eastern and Midlands Region (RSES) and the Specific Planning Policy Requirements specified in the Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning & Development Act 2000 (as amended), to county level. The Core Strategy is a critical component of the Plan with the purpose of articulating a medium-to-longer term quantitatively based strategy for the spatial development of the area of the planning authority. The primary purpose is to provide an evidence-based rationale for the quantum of land proposed to be zoned specifically for housing, population and employment or mixed-use to accommodate and align with projected demand. 2.2 Statutory Requirements The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 introduced a mandatory requirement for an evidence based “Core Strategy” to form part of all Development Plans. A Core Strategy shall provide for the following:16

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   Table 2.1 - Core Strategy Requirements 2.3 The Core Strategy and National and Regional Policy The Core Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy of the County Development Plan are defined by the national and regional planning policy frameworks comprising: Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework; the Eastern and Midlands Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019-2031 and Section 28 Ministerial Guidelines. 2.3.1 National Planning Framework The National Planning Framework (NPF) supported by the National Development Plan (NDP) is the Government’s high-level strategic plan for shaping the future growth and development of our country to the year 2040. It is a framework to guide public and private investment, to create and promote opportunities for people and to protect and enhance the environment at all levels. The NPF is centred around ten National Strategic Outcomes (NSOs) which are supported by ten Strategic Investment Priorities (See Figure 2.1). Development Plans must align with these NSOs, which are underpinned by National Policy Objectives (NPOs). The Strategic outcomes of the NPF should underpin the formation of the Core Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy of the Development Plan. The first NSO relates to compact growth and the Development Plan will endeavour to ensure that the settlement and growth strategy for the County will be directed where possible to the existing built-up areas of settlements as set out in the Settlement Hierarchy in Table 2.7. The third NSO is also of particular relevance to County Kildare and relates to strengthening rural economies and communities, and the Development Plan will also endeavour to ensure that not only will our existing rural communities remain viable places to live, but that they are strengthened over the lifetime of the plan. • Relevant roads that have been classified as national primary or secondary roads under Section 10 of the Roads Act, 1993 and relevant regional and local roads within the meaning of Section 2 of that Act. • Relevant inter-urban and commuter rail routes. • Rural areas in respect of planning guidelines relating to sustainable rural housing issued under Section 28 Guidelines.17

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   Figure 2.1 - National Strategic Outcomes and Strategic Investment Priorities18

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   In terms of housing, the NPF outlines that at least 30% of all new homes that are targeted in the settlements (outside of the cities) are within their existing built-up footprints. Urban regeneration and infill sites can contribute to sustainable compact growth and the revitalisation of existing settlements at all scales. On this basis, the parameters set for the Core Strategy will focus future population and employment in a manner that complies with the National Policy Objectives of the NPF. The NPF also sets out a requirement for zoned land to be tiered (NPO 72a) which is informed by an infrastructural assessment of land. Planning authorities are required to apply a standardised, tiered approach to differentiate between i) zoned land that is serviced and ii) zoned land that is serviceable within the life of the Development Plan. When considering zoning lands for development purposes that require investment in service infrastructure, Planning Authorities will make a reasonable estimate of the full cost of delivery of the specified services and prepare a report, detailing the estimated cost at draft and final plan stages (NPO 72b). Where zoned land cannot be serviced within the life of the relevant plan, the NPF states that such lands should not be zoned for development (NPO 72c). NPO 68 allows for a further allowance by way of up to 20% of targeted growth in the city being transferred to other settlements in the MASP, such as Maynooth. This has been agreed with the MASP Implementation Group and Maynooth is to receive an additional population of 10,000 on top of its Core Strategy allocation. NPO 20 references the need to project for single housing in the countryside informed by the local authority’s Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) tool and CDP core strategy process. NPO 30 requires that specific projections, supported by clear proposals in respect of ageing communities are part of core strategies. 2.3.2 The NPF Implementation Roadmap The Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework (July 2018) provided the population projections for Kildare for the period 2026 and 2031. These projections have also been transposed in the RSES. They provide the broad population parameters for the county for this County Development Plan and beyond. 2.3.3 Ministerial Guidelines Ministerial Guidelines (Section 28 Guidelines) set out the policies and objectives as provided by the Minister, to inform and guide local authorities in carrying out their planning functions. The requirement for the Development Plan to be consistent with, inter alia the Ministerial Guidelines is woven throughout the planning legislation that pertains to the review of an existing and the making of a new County Development Plan. There are a number of these guidelines which directly inform the preparation of the Core Strategy which are set out in Appendix 8. Of particular note however are the following. • Development Plans: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (June 2022) • Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning, Guidelines for Planning Authorities (Dec 2020)19

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   • Guidance Notes on Core Strategy (2010) • Design Standards for New Apartments (Dec 2020) • Urban Development and Building Height Guidelines for Planning Authorities (Dec 2020) • Retail Planning Guidelines (April 2012) • Sustainable Residential Developments in Urban Areas: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (May 2009). 2.3.4 Eastern Midlands Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019 - 2031 The Eastern and Midlands Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019 – 2031 (RSES) is a regional strategic plan which sets out a settlement and economic growth strategy to ensure the needs of the Region’s citizens in order to ensure that access to employment opportunities and services, ease of travel and overall well-being are met. The Regional Growth Strategy identifies key locations for population and employment growth, coupled with investment in infrastructure and services to meet those growth needs. The Strategy was devised through the analysis of an asset-based assessment of settlements and a recognised Functional Urban Area produced by a city/town or village, devising a settlement strategy for the Region. The RSES growth strategy was developed having regard to the availability of suitably serviced land, resources, environment and infrastructure capacity. The settlements comprise seven levels with Dublin City and Suburbs forming the top-level settlement for the region. For County Kildare, Naas and Maynooth are the only regionally identified settlements within the county. The Regional Settlement Hierarchy provides for three distinct areas across the Eastern and Midland Region comprising of the Dublin Metropolitan Area, the Core Region and the Gateway Region. Located within the region are the Regional Growth Centres of Athlone, Drogheda and Dundalk which were identified by the NPF and the Key Towns, Naas and Maynooth, as recognised in the RSES. County Kildare is predominantly located within the Core Region, with the exception of the northeast of the county which is located in the Dublin Metropolitan Area and a portion in the southwest of the county which forms part of the Gateway Region. A Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (MASP) forms part of the Strategy, which identifies several large scale strategic residential and economic development areas, that will deliver significant development in an integrated and sustainable manner in the metropolitan area, of which the area of Maynooth, Leixlip, Celbridge and Kilcock forms part (northeast of the county). Strategic Development Areas have been identified at key nodes along high-quality public transport corridors in tandem with the delivery of infrastructure and enabling services. In Maynooth, lands to the southeast at Railpark and to the north and west near the University have been identified for strategic employment in the form of research and technology. In Leixlip, the former Hewlett Packard site and Collinstown site have been identified as strategic employment areas. The greenfield lands at Confey have also been identified as a strategic rail-based neighbourhood, including residential and education development and mixed uses close to Confey Railway Station. The Core Region includes the peri-urban ‘hinterlands’ in the commuter catchment around Dublin. It contains a strong network of county and market towns that have a20

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   good level of local employment, services, and amenities, which serve their resident populations and a wider catchment area. It is noted in the RSES that some areas have emerged mainly as commuting towns, experiencing high rates of population growth but with a weak level of services and functions for resident populations. These towns will require ‘catch up’ investment in local employment and services in order to become more self-sustaining and to improve sustainable mobility, particularly in those places where there are high levels of car dependency. It is recognised that, as Kildare traverses the three designated areas, namely the Metropolitan Area, the Core Region, and the Gateway Region, it will be influenced by and have influence over future economic, social, and environmental trends in the region. The RSES provides a broad planning framework giving an overall strategic context to the development plans of each local authority in the Eastern and Midland Region. The Growth Strategy for the Region: • Supports the continued growth of Dublin as the national economic engine. • Delivers sustainable growth of the Metropolitan Area through the Dublin Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (MASP). This includes Maynooth, Leixlip, Celbridge, and Kilcock and their immediate surrounds. • Supports rural areas with a network of towns and villages. • Embeds a network of Key Towns - Naas and Maynooth in County Kildare - through the region to deliver sustainable regional development. • Supports the transition to low carbon, climate resilient communities and a healthy environment with high quality air and water. The RSES requires the preparation of core strategies to have due regard to the settlement typology of towns in the Region and that towns should grow at a sustainable level appropriate to their position in the hierarchy. Higher densities should be applied to higher order settlements such as Key Towns, with a graded reduction in line with the hierarchy. As per the NPF, RPO 3.2 requires local authorities in preparing their core strategies to set out measures to achieve compact urban development targets of at least 30% of all new homes within or contiguous to the built-up urban areas. Core strategies are also required to identify regeneration areas (RPO 3.3, refers) within existing urban settlements and set out objectives relating to the delivery of development on urban infill and brownfield regeneration sites. The designation of these regeneration sites will be through the Local Area Plans where Urban Regeneration Frameworks will be prepares and informed the bespoke development strategy for each settlement. 2.4 Devising the Core Strategy The following sets out a comprehensive and detailed evidence-based analysis which examines a range of inter-related factors that are relevant in devising the Core Strategy for the County Development Plan. An overview of the main considerations and evidence-based analysis which has informed the Core Strategy, are as follows: • Trends in Population Growth • Population Projections for Kildare21

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   • Evaluation of Housing Demand • Housing Targets 2.4.1 Kildare’s Population Growth Trends As a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Census was postponed and conducted by the CSO in April 2022. Preliminary census data was published in June 2022 which indicated that County Kildare has a population of 246,977 persons, representing an 11% increase from Census 2016 (up by 24,473 persons from 222,504 in 2016) and is now the county with the fourth highest population, after counties Dublin, Cork, and Galway. Detailed CSO data and population analysis for the County will not be published until 2023 and therefore the most up to date population analysis is Census 2016. Over a 20-year period (1996 to 2016), Kildare experienced a 64.8% (+87,512) increase in its population base, the second highest rate in the State. The growth rate from 2006 to 2022 was 32.5%. Of note is that County Kildare is now one of the largest counties in the state, however commensurate funding is not provided by government per head of population over the last 3 intercensal periods. Kildare has a geographically varied population density. In 2016, it had a density figure of 131.3 persons per square km. However, approximately 72% of the county’s population live on 5% of the county’s total land area, with the northeast of the county having by far the highest population densities. For instance, the Leixlip/Celbridge Municipal District (MD) has a density figure of 702.9 persons per square kilometre, more than four times as densely populated than all other MDs. 2.4.2 Population Projections for Kildare The Transitional Regional and County Population Projections to 2031 for Kildare as provided in the NPF Roadmap and the RSES, are as follows: County 2016 2022 2026 2031 Kildare 222,500 246,977 249,000 - 254,000 259,000 - 266,500 Table 2.2 - Transitional Population Projections Source: NPF Roadmap (July 2018) and RSES (June 2019) The above figures for Kildare provide for a population range for the period to 2026 and onwards to 2031. Taking the higher range for each growth band, the county population is projected to increase by 31,500 persons to 2026 with an additional 12,500 to the year 2031. The MASP Transitional Population Projections, adjusted to comply with NPO 68, allocate an additional population of up to 10,000 persons to the Key Town of Maynooth within County Kildare up to the year 2031. The transitional population targets apply to compact growth in tandem with existing or planned delivery of highcapacity public transport corridors in the Key Towns. The precise population allocation that will be attributed to Maynooth will be determined through the preparation of the Joint Local Area Plan 2024-2030 for Maynooth on foot of detailed assessments and audits of available social and physical infrastructure.22

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   2.4.3 Evaluation of Housing Demand Kildare is a significant residential base within the State with the eighth largest housing stock nationally. According to the 2016 Census, the total number of occupied households within Kildare was 73,348 and 4,650 vacant properties (excluding holiday homes) were recorded in Kildare. The Census 2016 vacancy rate stood at 5.7% which was considerably below the State (9.1%) average at the time. Construction of new houses in Kildare exceeded the State average. In the period since the 2011 Census, 1,739 residential units or 2.4% of all housing in Kildare was constructed. This was marginally higher than the State (2%) average and represents the 7th highest rate of all local authorities. National Policy Objective 37 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. It is important for the success of the Plan that new homes are located where housing demand is greatest and where there is good accessibility to employment, education, public transport, and other services and amenities. The HNDA (See Appendix 1) informs housing policies, housing strategies and associated land use zoning policies as well as assisting in determining where new policy areas or investment programmes should be developed. 2.4.4 Housing Targets The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage issued the ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning’ (December 2020). Appendix 1 of the aforementioned document identified a total housing demand of 18,425 for County Kildare over the period 2020-2031 (see Table 2.3 below). Kildare County Council Annual Average Total Households A. ESRI NPF scenario projected new household demand 2017-2031 1,483 22,238 B. Actual new housing supply 2017-19 1,368 4,104 C. Homeless households and estimated unmet demand as at Census 2016 N/A 291 Housing Demand 2020-31 = Total (columns A-B+C)/12 1,535 18,425 Table 2.3 - Housing Target for County Kildare The Core Strategy which is set out in Table 2.8 below identifies the projected housing units and population to the end of the Plan period in 2029. For calculation purposes the projected figures span 6 full calendar years between Q1 2023 (when this Plan is expected to come into effect) and Q4 2028, when this Plan is due to expire. The population targets have been calculated by using the national23

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    average household figure of 2.751 and applying these to the housing figures, the method for which is set out in Table 2.4 below. Step Source Calculation 1. Housing demand 2020-20312 18,425 2. CSO – dwelling completions for 2020 - 1,6613 = 16,764/114 3. Annual housing completion target for Kildare 2021- 20315 = 1,524 x 86 = 12,192 4. Housing completion estimates for 2021 and 2022 - 3,0487 5. CDP housing target to end of Plan period = 9,144 Table 2.4 - Methodology used to determine housing targets to the end of the Plan period. Having regard to the housing demand figures for County Kildare arising from the ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning’ for the period of this Plan, the housing target for County Kildare to the end of the Plan period is therefore 9,144 housing units which translates to an additional 25,146 persons. 2.5 Compact Growth and Climate Action The impacts of climate change, and the vulnerability of certain communities to climate change, vary greatly, but generally, climate change degrades existing vulnerabilities. One of the areas where both environmental pollution and climate policy has significant impacts on vulnerable communities is in relation to transportation. For this reason, the promotion of a compact urban form of development, including sustainable rural development, is a central part of reducing the need to travel and mitigating climate change and to enhance public transport options for these areas to encourage the use of same. The policies and objectives of this Core Strategy seek to provide for a consolidated urban form within existing settlements. In applying this approach, alongside the various other components in the Development Plan, the aim is to strive towards the delivery of connected neighbourhoods and the 10-minute settlement concept within the urban settlements. The central idea of 10-minute settlements is to create integrated communities that provide high quality and safe links to public transport, local shops and services, amenity areas, places of employment and to other neighbourhoods. Essentially, the 1 The 2.75 occupancy is based on the national average as per the CSO 2016 Census. 2 Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning (Dec 2020) 3 CSO NDQ 06 Official Statistics 4 2021-2031 5 11 full calendar years 6 8 full calendar years from Q1 2021 – Q4 2028 just before this Plan expires in Q1 2029 7 12,192 / 8 (8 full years) x 2 (2021 and 2022 completion estimates)24

Source Kildare County Council: Kildare County Development Plan 2023–2029 — Chapter 2: Core Strategy and Settlement Strategy (2023–2029) · 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.