National Planning Framework
Project Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework
The original framework, replaced by the 2025 revision. Development plans adopted before 2025 were made under it.
Government of Ireland · February 2018 · 182 pages
Superseded Replaced by National Planning Framework: First Revision. It is kept because plans made while it was in force refer to it.
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- National Policy Objective 64 Improve air quality and help prevent people being exposed to unacceptable levels of pollution in our urban and rural areas through integrated land use and spatial planning that supports public transport, walking and cycling as more favourable modes of transport to the private car, the promotion of energy efficient buildings and homes, heating systems with zero local emissions, green infrastructure planning and innovative design solutions. Noise Quality Noise is unwanted sound but is an inevitable consequence of everyday life, arising from environmental noise (created by human activity outdoors such as transport, construction and industry), with different tolerance levels varying from person to person. It becomes a problem when it occurs in the incorrect place or at the incorrect time or on a frequent or recurring basis. As we seek to promote more compact and efficient forms of development within our settlements, it is important to more proactively manage noise. In addressing these issues the NPF will support: ○ Noise Management and Action Planning Measures to avoid, mitigate, and minimise or promote the pro-active management of noise, where it is likely to have significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life, through strategic noise mapping, noise action plans and suitable planning conditions. ○ Noise, Amenity and Privacy This includes but is not limited to, good acoustic design in new developments, in particular residential development, through a variety of measures such as setbacks and separation between noise sources and receptors, good acoustic design of buildings, building orientation, layout, building materials and noise barriers and buffer zones between various uses and thoroughfares. ○ Quiet Areas The further enjoyment of natural resources, such as our green spaces and sea frontage, through the preservation of low sound levels or a reduction in undesirably high sound levels, is particularly important for providing respite from high levels of urban noise. As part of noise action plans, an extra value placed on these areas, in terms of environmental quality and the consequential positive impact on quality of life and health, due to low sound levels and the absence of noise, can assist in achieving this. National Policy Objective 65 Promote the pro-active management of noise where it is likely to have significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life and support the aims of the Environmental Noise Regulations through national planning guidance and Noise Action Plans. 129Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework CASE STUDY Quiet Areas Dublin City Council As part of the initiative to manage sound levels around Dublin, the City Council have designated eight Quiet Areas which are to be protected from future increases in environmental noise. These sites were chosen partly because of the sound levels in the areas and partly because they provide some value to the citizens of Dublin. A city centre green space that has lower sound levels than nearby streets can provide a place that offers some tranquility, away from the busy city.
- Implementing the National Planning Framework FRAM E W O R K G O V E R N A N C E OBJE C TI V E S I N V E S T M E N T NATIONAL STRATEGIC OUTCOMES The success of the National Planning Framework depends on its policy reflection and programme delivery at national, regional and local level. Implementation of the Framework will therefore be combined with streamlined governance arrangements and focused public capital investment priorities.Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework 130
- The National Planning Framework will be delivered in line with the policies, programmes and day to day activities of government departments and agencies, state bodies, the regional assemblies, local authorities, and infrastructure providers, working in conjunction with communities, civic society, the private sector and neighbouring administrations. 10.1 Governance and Oversight Publication of the National Planning Framework in tandem with and supported by the 10-year National Development Plan as the framework for capital investment to 2027, with both documents having a shared set of National Strategic Outcomes or NSOs, provides a very solid foundation to deliver transformational change over the coming years. However, investment alone is not sufficient to implement this Framework. It will also require more effective planning and co-ordination processes, to ensure that the NPF shapes the policies and deliverable actions of Government Departments and Agencies, State bodies, local government and infrastructure providers, working in conjunction with communities, civic society, the private sector and neighbouring administrations. Statutory Provision The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 provides a legislative basis for the National Planning Framework, a monitoring process in relation to its implementation and a statutory requirement for regular reviews and updates into the future, together with the establishment of an independent Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR). This new Office will have an independent monitoring role, advising the Minister, Government and the Oireachtas on implementation of the Framework under the statutory planning process, through new Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, local authority statutory planning processes and the decisions of An Bord Pleanála, and using a new set of indicators to be developed to assist effective monitoring. 131Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework
- Phasing The National Planning Framework is necessarily a long-term strategy and sets out broad national, regional and city-specific population targets, informed by ESRI research, to secure more effective regional development. Achieving these targets will take time and their implementation will need to be adaptive to the inevitable changes in circumstances and unforeseen events inherent in a long-run Framework approach. Therefore, in order to facilitate monitoring and review, phased regional population targets to 2026 and 2031 are set out in Table 10.1. By 2027, these may be reviewed, taking account of implementation of this Framework to 2026, based on updated Census data, to inform the next full ten-year cycle of the National Development Plan. Based on projections, a significant proportion of additional population growth to 2040 is targeted in the periods to 2026 and 2031, which affords considerable ambition and flexibility to be built into Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, and which in turn will guide and influence city and county development plans and local area plans. The targeted pattern of half of population growth in the five cities (NPO 2a) will continue to apply, but phasing is not specified for the five cities. This will be addressed as part of the Metropolitan Strategic Area Plan (MASP) that will be prepared for each city in the context of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. This is to allow for a transition period, during which time investment to support compact growth and the National Regeneration and Development Agency will assist in opening up greater urban infill capacity. Table 10.1 | National Planning Framework Phased Population Growth Region 2026 NPF Targeted Population Growth 2031 NPF Targeted Population Growth 2040 NPF Targeted Population Growth Eastern and Midland 240,000 - 265,000 335,000 - 375,000 490,000 - 540,000 Northern and Western 65,000 - 75,000 100,000 - 110,000 160,000 - 180,000 Southern 155,000 - 170,000 220,000 - 245,000 340,000 - 380,000 State Total Growth 460,000 - 510,000 655,000 - 730,000 990,000 - 1,100,000 State Total Population 5,220,000 - 5,275,000 5,415,000 - 5,490,000 5,750,000 - 5,860,000Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework 132
- A State-Led Strategic Land Development Agency Effective land management, particularly in relation to publicly owned lands, will be a key piece of the implementation of this Framework. Government recognises that the State must take a stronger role in strategically managing and enhancing the development potential of its own lands, to deliver on wider public policy and to ensure that overall development needs are met. This includes, but is not exclusive to the provision of housing by the State and other housing providers, for people on a range of incomes. This means that we need to become more agile and more strategic in managing and developing publicly owned lands, so that development requirements can be met within a smaller physical footprint and provide an economic alternative to long-distance commuting. There have been successes in the past such as the redevelopment of the former mental health facility in Grangegorman as a new university campus, rejuvenation of run-down areas, such as backlands behind the main streets in many regional towns and the revitalisation of Dublin’s Dockland areas. Experience of previous regeneration projects in cities, towns and rural areas highlights the role that strategic management and co-ordination of public lands has played and will continue to play in strengthening the State’s capacity to drive the renewal process. It is also critical to build capacity for development and rejuvenation on an on-going, rather than stop-start, basis and within both urban and rural contexts. Learning from past experiences, the Government will establish a new public body to work closely with the local government sector, central Government, a range of existing agencies and public bodies and the semi-State sector. As an initial task, this will place a spotlight on how specific landholdings in public ownership can be used to deliver the objectives of the NPF and NDP and to identify a clear and practical sequence of steps needed to take action. The new body, the National Regeneration and Development Agency, will be established with a clear Government mandate to work with local authorities, relevant Departments and agencies, and the Office of Public Works in identifying an initial tranche of publicly owned or controlled lands in key locations and with both a city and wider regional and rural focus with potential for master-planning and re-purposing for strategic development purposes aligned to the NPF (please also see NPO 12, in Chapter 4). A key advantage of the National Regeneration and Development Agency will be the creation of a national centre of expertise in strategic masterplanning, development and renewal, adding to and complementing existing public sector expertise and with a roving remit to advise the Government and key stakeholders on how to get the best strategic return on the development of the State’s land portfolio. The Government intends that such a body will assist and enable the roles of Government Departments and agencies, local authorities and commercial semi- State companies through new co-ordination and delivery arrangements, which will also link to wider infrastructure funding arrangements through the NDP and strategic investment vehicles like the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). There will be a close link between the functions of the Regeneration and Development Agency and strategic planning at metropolitan and other levels and the operation of the Rural and Urban Regeneration and Development Funds. National Policy Objective 66 A more effective strategic and centrally managed approach will be taken to realise the development potential of the overall portfolio of state owned and/or influenced lands in the five main cities other major urban areas and in rural towns and villages as a priority, particularly through the establishment of a National Regeneration and Development Agency. 133Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework
- 10.2 The Planning System Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies Planning and development issues transcend local authority boundaries. To ensure better co-ordination in planning and development policy matters across boundaries, the local authorities are grouped into three regional assembly areas - Eastern and Midland, Northern and Western, and Southern. These regional groupings of local authorities will prepare Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (also known as ‘RSESs’), provided for under the Local Government Reform Act 2014, to take the high-level framework and principles of the NPF and work out more detail at regional and local authority levels. Preparation of the strategies involves the relevant local authorities, working together with relevant stakeholders, including the Minister and Department for Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and other interests, to put in place a regional co-ordination framework for the relevant statutory development plans at local authority level. The co-ordination required will include developing and agreeing a distribution of future population growth at a more detailed and regional level than the NPF, but working broadly within its parameters. Metropolitan Area Strategic Planning All five cities in Ireland incorporate more than one local authority area, with the metropolitan area of Dublin covering all or part of the area of seven local authorities. The multiplicity of plans addressing the individual and specific requirements of local authorities makes co-ordination of strategic development challenging. While the three Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies will be developed to co-ordinate local authority plans at a strategic and regional assembly level, the area of the Assemblies is too broad to be able to sufficiently focus on city and metropolitan issues. Accordingly, in tandem with and as part of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy process, arrangements will be put in place to enable the preparation of five coordinated metropolitan area strategic plans (MASPs) for the Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford Metropolitan areas. In line with the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, the MASPs will be provided with statutory underpinning to act as 12-year strategic planning and investment frameworks for the city metropolitan areas, addressing high-level and longterm strategic development issues. Metropolitan area boundaries are not specified for the five cities in this Framework. This issue will be addressed in the context of ongoing Government consideration to establishing an appropriate level of political and administrative leadership for the governance of Ireland’s cities. However, until such time as central Government determines otherwise, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies and Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans will be based on: In the Dublin area, the metropolitan area identified in the National Transport Authority (NTA) Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area; In the Cork area, the metropolitan area, i.e. Metropolitan Cork as identified in the Cork Area Strategic Plan (CASP); In the Limerick area, a metropolitan area based on similar labour market catchment considerations to the areas already identified for Dublin and Cork, to be determined by the Regional Assembly, in consultation with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the relevant local authorities, that shall include Shannon Airport and Town; In the Galway and Waterford areas, metropolitan areas based on similar labour market catchment considerations to the areas already identified for Dublin and Cork, to be determined by the Regional Assemblies, in consultation with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the relevant local authorities. Determination of Metropolitan Area boundaries will take account of: The functional urban area of the city, i.e. where the existing dense concentration of employment, population, service provision, including transport, education and healthcare, is located; Commuting patterns, based on the proportion of resident workers employed in the principal city area and other principal employment locations; Geographical features that contribute to delineating/defining the boundary and/or require protection for environmental, amenity or recreational purposes. In seeking to reinforce the functionality of the metropolitan area, this includes examining where natural green belts exist or could be identified to augment the delineation between the metropolitan area and its hinterland; and Any existing boundary determined in the preparation of coordinated transport strategies by the National Transport Authority.Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework 134
- Waterford City Limerick City Dublin City Galway City Cork City Each Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan will set out a clear and concise strategy to: Identify the key change parameters for the city in question, i.e. population, employment, housing, retail, travel patterns and key renewal, development and amenity areas; Work out a sequence of infrastructure prioritisation, delivery and co-ordination; and Deliver compact regeneration and growth. Subsequent to the publication of this Framework, further guidance will be developed and issued in conjunction with local authorities and their regional assemblies on the MASP element of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. National Policy Objective 67 Provision will be made for Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans to be prepared for the Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford Metropolitan areas and in the case of Dublin and Cork, to also address the wider city region, by the appropriate authorities in tandem with and as part of the relevant Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. Given the ambitious levels of growth targeted for the five cities in this Framework, the wider metropolitan area around each will play an important role. In all cases, they are closely linked to or integrated with the nearby city, in terms of transport, employment, housing, amenities and services. It would be reasonable in the context of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan and phasing-in the transition to achieving urban consolidation and brownfield targets, that a proportion of up to 20% of the phased population growth targeted in the principal city and suburban area, could potentially be accommodated in the wider metropolitan area i.e. outside the city and suburbs or contiguous zoned area. This would be in addition to growth identified for the Metropolitan area. This would be subject to any growth relocated from the city and suburbs comprising compact development, such as infill or a sustainable urban extension, served by high capacity public transport and/or significant employment and amenity provision. The future development of Swords in Fingal, Dublin, in the context of a new Metro line and proximity to Dublin Airport, is an example where this will be applicable. 135Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework
- This provision will also enable a transition from the current pattern of development. It is expected to be phased and although sequential, will not apply beyond the Metropolitan Area. National Policy Objective 9 will also be applicable. National Policy Objective 68 A Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan may enable up to 20% of the phased population growth targeted in the principal city and suburban area, to be accommodated in the wider metropolitan area i.e. outside the city and suburbs or contiguous zoned area, in addition to growth identified for the Metropolitan area. This will be subject to: any relocated growth being in the form of compact development, such as infill or a sustainable urban extension; any relocated growth being served by high capacity public transport and/or related to significant employment provision; and National Policy Objective 9, as set out in Chapter 4. Integrating Spatial and Transport Planning Planning and transport policies are highly interdependent. Establishment of the National Transport Authority (NTA) in 2009 was intended to deliver a more focused and integrated approach to the planning and delivery of integrated transport infrastructure and services both on a national basis generally and especially in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) where the NTA has a more detailed remit. The NTA has responsibility for preparing a Transport Strategy for the GDA, alongside the responsibility for preparing the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy by the Regional Assembly and both must be consistent with each other. The present Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035 provides a framework for transport infrastructure delivery in the GDA over the next two decades. The NTA Transport Strategy also provides a clear statement of transport planning policy for the GDA, around which other agencies involved in spatial planning, environmental protection, and delivery of other infrastructure such as housing, water and power, can align their own investment priorities. It is an essential component, along with investment programmes in other sectors, for the orderly development of the Greater Dublin Area over the next 20 years. The statutory requirement for mutual consistency between the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and the Transport Strategy is unique to the GDA and is not a statutory requirement in any other part of the country. However, the NTA has worked successfully on an administrative, nonstatutory basis to assist several local authorities across Ireland’s cities in preparing transport related strategies or implementing transport related projects. Extending the statutory arrangements that are already in place for transport planning in the Greater Dublin Area to all of Ireland’s cities will be undertaken to strengthen the levels of integration between spatial planning and transport planning across the country, to the benefit of the economy and society. National Policy Objective 69 Statutory arrangements between spatial and transport planning in the Greater Dublin Area will be extended to other cities. Better Strategic Planning for Urban Areas Measures will be advanced for a greater urban focus in the Municipal District system within local authorities, enabling a more town-focused configuration to be achieved. This will be done by creating distinct electoral areas, based closely on a number of larger urban centres and assigning an enhanced range of local authority functions to those areas. This will include a requirement to make an urban area plan, based on current local area plan provisions. In tandem with creating stronger cities, this will help to build stronger regions and provide a key focus area for Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. In order to enhance co-ordination of development more generally in town locations that straddle administrative boundaries, Government will work with the relevant local authorities in developing preparation of joint urban/local area plans, utilising current Local Area Plan (LAP) legislation. National Policy Objective 70 Provision will be made for urban area plans, based on current local area plan provisions, and joint urban area plans and local area plans will be prepared where a town and environs lie within the combined functional area of more than one local authority.Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework 136
- Strengthening Local Authority Planning: Plan Making and Core Strategies Reforms of planning legislation in 2010 introduced a new approach to justifying land use zoning objectives in local authority plans so that enough land is provided for future development but not so much that development becomes difficult to coordinate or undermines regeneration of existing, but under-occupied and run-down urban areas. These core strategy reforms have realised major benefits in a more evidence-based and strategic approach to planning. Further enhancements of the core strategy approach will be put in place to support the implementation of the National Planning Framework and the three Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, to factor in dwelling vacancy and the balance between development in both urban and rural areas. National Policy Objective 71 City/county development plan core strategies will be further developed and standardised methodologies introduced to ensure a coordinated and balanced approach to future population and housing requirements across urban and rural areas. Coordinating Land Use Zoning, Infrastructure and Services This Framework targets significant infill/brownfield growth, especially in cities and large towns. This means that city and county development plans will need to relate these targets to the levels and location of future land-use zoning. Effective implementation will require substantially better linkage between zoning of land and the availability of infrastructure. A new, standardised methodology will be put in place for core strategies and will also address issues such as the differentiation between zoned land that is available for development and zoned land that requires significant further investment in services for infrastructure for development to be realised. This is set out in Appendix 3. National Policy Objective 72a Planning authorities will be 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 plan. National Policy Objective 72b 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. National Policy Objective 72c When considering zoning land for development purposes that cannot be serviced within the life of the relevant plan, such lands should not be zoned for development. Prioritising Development Lands There are many other planning considerations relevant to land zoning beyond the provision of basic enabling infrastructure including overall planned levels of growth, location, suitability for the type of development envisaged, availability of and proximity to amenities, schools, shops or employment, accessibility to transport services etc. Weighing up all of these factors, together with the availability of infrastructure, will assist planning authorities in determining an order of priority to deliver planned growth and development. This will be supported by updated Statutory Guidelines that will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). National Policy Objective 73a Guidance will be developed to enable planning authorities to apply an order of priority for development of land, taking account of proper planning and sustainable development, particularly in the case of adjoining interdependent landholdings. National Policy Objective 73b Planning authorities will use compulsory purchase powers to facilitate the delivery of enabling infrastructure to prioritised zoned lands, to accommodate planned growth. National Policy Objective 73c Planning authorities and infrastructure delivery agencies will focus on the timely delivery of enabling infrastructure to priority zoned lands in order to deliver planned growth and development. 137Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework
- Sligo County Council, working with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, secured funding of €2 million for enhancements to O’Connell Street and a community centre at Cranmore through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This project encompasses sustainable urban development under the Designated Urban Centres Grants Scheme 2014 – 2020. The €2 million for Sligo relates to onstreet enhancements to O'Connell Street leading to limited vehicular access with pedestrian priority, new widened pavements, new street furniture and landscaping, reduced traffic flow, and shared space for cyclists. The funding is also for the provision of a new community centre for Cranmore, creating a positive approach to place-making through social and environmental improvements. ERDF for Sligo 10.3 Public Capital Investment – The National Development Plan and National Strategic Outcomes There is broad consensus that public infrastructure investment is an important aspect of a competitive location policy, impacting on the cost structure and competitiveness of an economy or region. Research also highlights the scope for public capital investment to influence the regional dispersion of economic activity and influence the rate at which regions accumulate various productive factors, particularly infrastructure. Analysis undertaken for both the National Planning Framework and the accompanying National Development Plan highlights the risks from not securing an appropriate and effective regional balance in terms of Ireland’s future economic development. Unbalanced growth, largely focused in Dublin and the surrounding region creates a significant risk, whereby not achieving the economy’s full potential will give rise to a shortfall in Ireland’s economic performance with serious and longlasting consequences for future living standards and the quality of life overall, across all regions of the country. The ten-year National Development Plan 2018- 2027 published in tandem with this Framework is tangible evidence of Government commitment to supporting the NPF with appropriate investment. This will better influence patterns of development and contribute to wider national objectives in areas such as transport, climate action, water resource management, waste management, communications and energy network roll-out and social infrastructure development in areas such as health, education and community facilities. National Policy Objective 74 Secure the alignment of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan through delivery of the National Strategic Outcomes. CASE STUDYProject Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework 138
Source Government of Ireland: Project Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework (February 2018) · 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.