Project Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework

Superseded Replaced by National Planning Framework: First Revision. It is kept because plans made while it was in force refer to it.

1. Page 51

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   Key future growth enablers for Cork include: Delivering ambitious large-scale regeneration projects for the provision of new employment, housing and supporting infrastructure in Cork Docklands (City Docks and Tivoli) as integrated, sustainable developments, including relocation of two ‘Seveso’ sites from the City Docks; Progressing the sustainable development of new greenfield areas for housing, especially those on public transport corridors, such as Monard; Identifying infill and regeneration opportunities to intensify housing development in inner city and inner suburban areas, supported by public realm and urban amenity projects; Enabling enhanced opportunities for existing communities as development and diversification occurs, particularly through employment, learning and education support; Development of a new science and innovation park to the west of the City, accessible by public transport; The continued expansion of and integration with the City’s third level institutions; The development of a much enhanced Citywide public transport system to incorporate subject to further analysis, proposals for an east-west corridor from Mahon, through the City Centre to Ballincollig and a north-south corridor with a link to the Airport; M8/N25/N40 Dunkettle Junction upgrade (approved) and improved Ringaskiddy Port access; Enhanced regional connectivity through improved average journey times by road; Improved traffic flow around the City, which subject to assessment could include upgrade of the N40, and/or alternatives which may include enhanced public transport; Improved rail journey times to Dublin and consideration of improved onward direct network connections; Ensuring that water supply and wastewater needs are met by new national projects to enhance Corks water supply and increase waste water treatment capacity; Improving sustainability in terms of energy, waste management and resource efficiency and water, to include district heating and water conservation. 49Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

2. Page 52

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   Limerick City and Metropolitan Area Limerick is the largest urban centre in Ireland’s Mid- West, which is focused on the lower River Shannon catchment. The region includes Shannon Airport and the port and energy-related facilities of the Shannon estuary, as well as adjoining parts of County Clare and County Tipperary. As a well-located regional centre situated mid-way between Cork and Galway on Ireland’s Atlantic Economic Corridor and with good connectivity to Dublin, Limerick has the potential to generate and be the focus of significant employment and housing growth. It is necessary for Limerick to further strengthen its position as the principal focus within the Region and to continue to address the legacy of regional growth having occurred outside the City area. A series of innovative, practical and institutional measures have been put in place to achieve this in recent years and there is evidence of a positive turnaround in terms of both population and employment growth. Limerick Regeneration, the amalgamation of Limerick City and County and most recently, the Limerick 2030 initiative, have all contributed to enhancing Limerick’s growth potential. Working together with the City’s third level institutions, Shannon Airport and bodies such as Shannon Development and the Shannon-Foynes Port Company, there is capacity to build on recent successes and add to the ambitious vision for Limerick. This requires growing and diversifying the City’s employment base and attracting more people to live in the City, both within the City Centre and in new, accessible green-field development areas. This means improving housing choice, supported by facilities and infrastructure. Regional connectivity, especially to Cork and Waterford must also be addressed and average journey times per km need to be improved. 50Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

3. Page 53

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   Key future growth enablers for Limerick include: Implementation of the Limerick 2030 economic strategy to create modern, city centre office accommodation and a series of transformational city centre public realm projects; Complementary further development of the Limerick 2030 plan to include measures to encourage significant inner urban residential regeneration and development, to include the City’s Georgian Quarter; Extending the ambition of the Limerick 2030 plan to include extension of the City Centre towards Limerick Docks; Identifying infill and regeneration opportunities to intensify housing and employment development throughout inner suburban areas; Enabling enhanced opportunities for existing communities as development and diversification occurs, particularly through employment, learning and education support; Progressing the sustainable development of new greenfield areas for housing and the development of supporting public transport and infrastructure, such as at Mungret; The continued expansion of the City’s third level institutions and integration with the wider City and region; Provision of a Citywide public transport network, with enhanced accessibility from the City Centre to the National Technological Park, UL and Shannon Airport; Development of a strategic cycleway network with a number of high capacity flagship routes; Enhanced road connectivity to Shannon- Foynes Port, including local by-passes; Enhanced regional connectivity through improved average journey times by road to Cork and Waterford; Ensuring that water supply and waste-water needs are met by new national projects to enhance Limerick’s water supply and increase waste water treatment capacity; Improving sustainability in terms of energy, waste management and resource efficiency and water, to include district heating and water conservation. 51Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

4. Page 54

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   Waterford City and Metropolitan Area Waterford is the principal urban centre in Ireland’s south-east and is unique in having a network of large and strong regional urban centres in close proximity within each of the surrounding counties that both complement the role of Waterford and perform strong regional and local economic and developmental roles for their own areas. Given the unique urban composition of the south east and the objective to enable Waterford City to become a regional city of scale, an agreed development strategy is required to build Waterford’s population and employment base substantially while enabling surrounding urban centres to perform complementary roles. From a national perspective, a stronger Waterford City would lead the development of the wider south-east, which has experienced slower economic recovery than the national average in recent years, together with high unemployment rates, lower value job opportunities and less job creation. The City is well-served by motorway and rail links to Dublin, but requires improved road links to other major urban areas, particularly Cork and Limerick, and also within the region to towns that are not served by motorway. Waterford and the wider south-east region is also served by a regional airport and the Port of Waterford at Belview and Rosslare-Europort, which are geographically close to EU trading partners and will be important in Ireland’s response to Brexit, and an Institute of Technology, to form part of a Technological University. 52Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

5. Page 55

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   The key challenge for Waterford is to build scale and enhance urban quality through employmentled growth. The City’s existing employment base includes pharma, med-tech and engineering/ advanced manufacturing sectors, as well as emerging indigenous enterprises. There is capacity to build on all of these strengths while enhancing Waterford’s small-city attractiveness and quality of life. This includes capitalising on good and improved connectivity to Dublin and Cork in particular. Waterford also offers opportunities as a location for support functions in areas such as financial or professional services that may wish to avoid larger urban areas. It is also an emerging tourist centre, located on the route from Rosslare to Cork and the South-West and as a destination for cruise traffic. Key future growth enablers for Waterford include: Delivering the North Quays SDZ regeneration project for integrated, sustainable development together with supporting infrastructure, including a new pedestrian bridge or a pedestrian/public transport bridge over the River Suir; Identifying infill and regeneration opportunities to intensify housing and employment development throughout city centre and inner suburban areas; Enabling enhanced opportunities for existing communities as development and diversification occurs, particularly through employment, learning and education support; Progressing the sustainable development of new greenfield areas for housing and the development of supporting public transport and infrastructure; Public realm and urban amenity projects, focused on streets and public spaces, particularly in the city centre and inner urban area in support of urban intensification; The development and expansion of the City’s third level institution and integration with the City and region; Provision of Citywide public transport and strategic cycleway networks; Extension of the Deise greenway to link WIT to the City Centre; Enhanced regional connectivity through improved average journey times by road to Cork, Limerick and ports within the region; Ensuring that water supply and waste-water needs are met by new national projects to enhance Waterford’s water supply and increase waste water treatment capacity; Improving sustainability in terms of energy, waste management and resource efficiency and water, to include district heating and water conservation. 53Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

6. Page 56

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   4.1 Why Urban Places Matter Through many centuries of growth and change, Ireland’s urban areas comprise a rich variety of unique and widely distributed places. At all scales, our cities, towns and villages offer a range of opportunities for community and social interaction, potential for innovation and prosperity and support and enable their surrounding rural areas. The National Strategic Outcomes in Chapter 1 and the National Policy Objectives in Chapter 2, set a Framework to make our cities, towns and villages the places where many more people choose to live, as well as to work and visit, by 2040. Accordingly, this Framework aims to enhance people’s experience of living and working in and visiting urban places in Ireland. Through the actions and policies set out below, our cities, towns and villages must become more attractive and ‘liveable’, and offer a quality of life that more people are willing to choose in the years ahead. Making Stronger Urban Places 54Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

7. Page 57

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   Community Urban settlements are important places for trading goods, services and ideas, for information, learning and innovation, as well as for administration, entertainment, healthcare and worship. They offer choice and opportunity as well as connectivity and community. Notwithstanding all of this, some parts of our cities and some towns are now perceived as unattractive places in which to live, seen as suitable only for certain sectors of society or for certain types of development. In other cases, the edges of cities and smaller towns within commuting distance of larger centres have been overdeveloped at a pace that has overwhelmed existing communities. In combination, this pattern has undermined many of our urban places. The value and potential of our cities, towns and villages means that there are opportunities to change direction, especially in the context of an ageing population with smaller household size and new patterns of work and lifestyles. In this context, community interaction and support and access to a range of services will be increasingly important. It is therefore an objective of Ireland 2040 to: National Policy Objective 4 Ensure the creation of attractive, liveable, well designed, high quality urban places that are home to diverse and integrated communities that enjoy a high quality of life and well-being. 55Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

8. Page 58

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   Economy/Prosperity The type of place-making set out above is also critical to economic prosperity as globalisation continues to have a concentrating effect. Employment trends indicate that increasingly, city regions are the focal point for internationally mobile investment. Highvalue added services are attracted primarily to urban areas, and cities are competing with other cities internationally. This means that many sectors, but in particular those related to the information economy and knowledge development, tend to be very place specific. High skilled individuals are attracted together, as firms ‘agglomerate’ in the larger, denser, skilled labour markets found in urban areas. In addition to scale and density, this is dependent on the attractiveness of places to highly skilled potential employees as well as having a steady stream of local talent and innovation associated with third level research institutions. International connectivity is also important, where short travel times to an airport with a good choice of destinations is a critical factor. Domestically trading companies tend to be more distributed and locate where there is a local/regional demand for their services, but changing global circumstances mean that they too need to be agile to adapt through early innovation. This highlights the need to focus on upskilling and life-long learning throughout the regions, as well as supporting sectoral specialisation that has emerged at different locations. In an era when the nature of urban places is a critical factor in determining economic growth and regional development, we must ensure that there are a range of quality urban places in which people will choose to live, work and invest. National Policy Objective 5 Develop cities and towns of sufficient scale and quality to compete internationally and to be drivers of national and regional growth, investment and prosperity. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority was created by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 to lead a major project of physical, social and economic regeneration in the heart of Dublin. The Project extended over 520 hectares, at the core of which were former dockland areas comprising 100 hectares of substantially derelict or low value industrial land. The various communities in the area outside of this core comprised 17,500 people. Although there was a very strong and active sense of community, the area had severe economic and social problems. Dublin Docklands The Docklands Project radically changed the whole area, not only through major phases of mixed use property development but also by involving the local community and by fostering and investing in educational and other social interventions. Dublin Docklands is now a world-class city quarter and paragon of sustainable inner city regeneration that continues to make a major contribution to the social and economic prosperity of Dublin and Ireland as a whole. CASE STUDY 56Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

9. Page 59

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   The Environment One of the principal benefits of more compact urban development is that it will reduce harmful impacts on the environment by: Reducing land take, preserving agricultural land and habitats; Utilising existing infrastructure, buildings and sites and reducing the need to travel long distances, which will reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions; Improving the viability of public transport services; and Enhancing public health by encouraging and facilitating more active lifestyles by creating a more walkable and cycling friendly urban environment. All scales and types of urban place have an impact on their surrounding area and are integrated with their hinterland to some extent. They are in turn influenced by activity in the wider area, particularly in the case of smaller settlements. Where close to cities or larger towns, many have become commuter-focused, but elsewhere there are enterprise opportunities in lieu of more traditional service functions, based on local assets, innovation and quality of life, e.g. servicing an emerging resource sector or a new tourist amenity such as a greenway, supported by improving connectivity. Sustainable models of urban development can deliver quality and maximise the advantages and opportunities of more compact growth, based on increased population and employment density. Quality of design is critical for making places attractive and distinctive. Architectural quality and well-designed spaces can help to enhance our urban areas and create desirable places in which people want to live, work or visit and contribute to ongoing quality of life and well-being. National Policy Objective 6 Regenerate and rejuvenate cities, towns and villages of all types and scale as environmental assets, that can accommodate changing roles and functions, increased residential population and employment activity and enhanced levels of amenity and design quality, in order to sustainably influence and support their surrounding area. 57Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

10. Page 60

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    4.2 Ireland’s Urban Structure Population The Census of Population 2016 provides a good indication of Ireland’s urban structure21: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) defines a settlement of more than 1,500 people as ‘urban’. In 2016, there were 200 urban settlements, which together accommodated 3 million people, or 63% of Ireland’s population. The agreed EU/OECD definition of a ‘city’ is a settlement around a core centre with a population of more than 50,000 people. The five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and their immediate suburbs together comprised approximately 1.6 million people, or just over one-third (34%) of Ireland’s population. Nearly three-quarters of Ireland’s city dwellers are the 1.2 million people, or one-quarter (25%) of the population, who live in Dublin. Beyond the five cities, a further 1.4 million people, or 29% of Ireland’s population, live in towns and villages with at least 1,500 or more people. There were 41 Towns with a population of at least 10,000 or more people, home to 16% of Ireland’s population. Ireland’s urban population is larger than ever before and for the first time, just over half of the population, or nearly 2.4 million people, now live in cities or large towns of at least 10,000 people. The overall urban structure remains relatively weak and focused on Dublin and the south and east of Ireland. In particular, Dublin’s population equates to that of the next 40 cities and towns combined. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) defines a settlement of fewer than 1,500 people as ‘rural’. In 2016, 37% of Ireland’s population lived in settlements of fewer than 1,500 people or in individual houses in rural areas. 58Project Ireland 2040 | Building Ireland’s Future | National Planning Framework

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.