Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019–2031

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   REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Competitive and Resilient Economic Base RPO 6.1: Support the national economic agencies, Local Enterprises Offices, Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Committees, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders, with their plans for job creation and enterprise development with an emphasis on: • an enterprise base with increased productivity and more diversification – including diversification of their markets - with high levels of innovation, skills adaptability, and relatively low costs of doing business. • maintaining full-employment with unemployment rates of each Strategic Planning Area not exceeding the State average by more than one percentage point • applying the Guiding Principles for strategic employment and investment prioritisation in placemaking for enterprise development presented in this RSES. 131Economy & Employment

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   6.4 The Region’s Economic Engines and their Sectoral Opportunities In alignment with the Growth Strategy for the Region in Chapter 3, and in conjunction with the Settlement Strategy expressed in Chapter 4, it is an aim of the RSES that there is a convergence between where people live and work and that settlements improve the quality of life of their people. For a country of Ireland’s scale, many sectoral strategies are developed at national level – such as Agri food, Marine/ Maritime, Bioeconomy - and regional actors play a key role in their effective implementation. Nevertheless, smart specialisation can only work if choices are based on real knowledge of local potential and if the right actors are involved, therefore a bottom-up approach is also necessary. For instance, when considering the development of sectoral opportunities, it is important to consider the past and current industrial composition in that particular location, as new sectors may require fundamentally different assets compared to those available in the location. Furthermore, there are place-specific needs from particular industries, such as proximity to high energy services infrastructure, water capacity, availability of a large pool of potential employees, proximity to public transport, access to international markets through airports and ports, and serviced lands. These issues should be considered by local authorities in their economic zoning objectives in development plans and objectives in LECPs to anticipate and respond to the needs of existing enterprise and realise sectoral opportunities, examples include retail, marine and energy production. The pervasiveness of digitisation across all sectors compounds the complexity of sector development, and it provides for constant and rapid evolution of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and virtual reality. Based on information from REPs, LECPs, localised enterprise strategies and other stakeholders with regards to the presence of strong sectors in their localities and considering sectoral growth trends, a list of sectoral opportunities has been identified for Dublin, Dublin-Belfast Economic corridor, Regional Growth Centres, towns and villages. These sectoral opportunities should be considered by all enterprise development stakeholders, including REPs and local authorities, giving due regard to the sectoral strategies envisaged at national level. This list is not exhaustive and should not be viewed as a limitation. Dublin Metropolitan Area As Ireland’s Capital with international visibility, Dublin plays a key role as a location of choice for mobile investment. Dublin competes with other cities based throughout Europe and internationally. It is a competitive, world class city of scale that provides access to a multilingual skills base, that facilitates mobility of people and international access. Dublin as national economic driver is the only city in Ireland with international scale. It hosts a variety of enterprises with large concentration of multi-nationals; a large number of universities, institutes and research centres with a young and well-educated population. All these features translates into: • Dublin Metropolitan area with a strong capacity to attract FDI, and • A large amount of new business formation - startups - and a high concentration of organisations dedicated to research and development, which suggests a critical mass of businesses in a healthy ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. We can be, and should be, ambitious for our Capital City as we deliver on Project Ireland 2040. A coordinated and strategic approach to deliver on a truly smart city would not only elevate Ireland’s visibility internationally, but also provide a seed-bed for start-ups and a test bed for the deployment of disruptive technologies. Sectoral Opportunities Dublin and Eastern SPAs Having regard to the strengths of its own enterprise base, Dublin should explore opportunities for further development on Fintech, CorpTech, personalised and regenerative medicine, internet of things, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, technology consulting, sharing economy, international education services, investment management and administration, and marine energy. The Dublin Regional Enterprise strategy (2017-2019) identifies key sectors and employment levels, together with the clustering of activity and supports across the Region, including: administration; professional services; tourism and leisure; education and training; manufacturing and industry; transport and logistics; construction; information and communication technology, and, retail and wholesale. Current REPs and LECPs identify manufacturing, distribution and logistics, technology, pharmaceutical, equine foods, and creative industries/film. 132 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Dublin – Belfast Economic Corridor The Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor is a key element in the development of the RSES (see Chapter 3 Growth Strategy). The Corridor is underpinned by a strong presence of transport infrastructure that connects the two main cities of scale on the Island. Its area of influence hosts a combined population- between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland- of more than 3.3 million people of which Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry are part. The Corridor has the capacity to provide the only potential paired city growth pole of scale on the Island- reaching a European benchmark 5 million population target to compete with similar city regions in the EU. The imperative to counteract BREXIT with a proactive spatial economic policy adds to the international significance of the Corridor. It also provides opportunities to further Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), for example with the Louth Pharma hub at the centre of the Corridor, and the e-payments cluster. By increasing its critical mass, population and jobs growth will take place in a sustainable growth pattern focused on clusters and smart specialisation, in line with the Region’s Economic and Settlement Strategy. The Corridor also offers extended strategic connections throughout the Island through links with the TEN-T network and the Dublin- Rosslare route. Sectoral Opportunities Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor (including Dundalk and Drogheda) Advanced manufacturing, smart manufacturing, biopharma, bioprocessing, applied nanotechnology, alcoholic beverages, marine energy, energy storage, wind energy, advance manufacturing, experiential tourism, and Fintech. Regional Growth Centres: Athlone, Drogheda and Dundalk The role of these Regional Growth Centres within the RSES is to serve as a focal point to gain critical mass and to deliver positive impacts to their surrounding areas and enhance overall regional and national growth (see Chapter 4 People and Place). A coordinated approach to infrastructure investment will be taken for the development of all urban centres and inter-connections in order to build greater levels of critical mass and to facilitate effective movement of goods and people internationally and nationally. The presence of Third level institutes in Athlone and Dundalk can play an increasingly strong role as key drivers of economic growth. These Technology and Innovation Poles envisage building facilities, developing the expertise and supportive capabilities of the Institutes of Technologies (IoTs) working with Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA. The IoTs can play a key role as drivers of enterprise activity across the Regions through inter-institutional connections and impactful collaboration. Sectoral Opportunities Midlands (including Athlone) Advanced manufacturing, smart manufacturing, medical devices, implanted devices, pharma/bio, food and engineered products, advanced composite materials, applied nanotechnology, technology consulting, Food and Beverage Industry including sustainable foods, meat products, agri-biologicals, bio-refining, bioconversion, biotechnology, smart construction, Tourism including experiential tourism, precision farming, global engineering services outsourcing, drug delivery services, renewable energy, Big Data and Data Analytics. Key Towns, Self- Sustaining Growth Towns and Self- Sustaining Towns The RSES Growth Strategy set out in Chapter 3 and settlement hierarchy in Chapter 4 identifies Key Towns, Self- Sustaining Growth Towns and Self- Sustaining Towns, the latter categories being defined at county development plan stage. Key Towns, strong market/sub county towns are locations that have an economic function that provides employment for their surrounding areas and have a wide catchment. In many cases these areas have varying economies and sectors and the Strategy will support their sustainable growth. Rural Places: Towns, Villages and the Countryside The Action Plan for Rural Development set for 2020 aims to protect and promote the sense of place and culture and the quality, character and distinctiveness of the Irish rural landscape that make Ireland’s rural areas authentic and attractive as places to live, work and visit. The current Action Plan places a major focus on strengthening Ireland’s rural fabric and supporting the communities who live there; Planning for the future growth and development of rural areas, including addressing decline, with a special focus on activating the potential for the renewal and development of smaller towns and villages; Putting in place planning and investment policies to support job creation in the rural economy; addressing connectivity gaps; better co-ordination of existing investment programmes dealing with social inclusion, rural development and town and village renewal. Sectoral Opportunities Key Towns, Self- Sustaining Growth Towns, Self- Sustaining Towns and Rural Places Precision farming, biotechnology, Tourism including experiential tourism, food and beverage products, functional food premium, renewable energy, solar energy microgeneration, wind energy, energy storage, and low carbon construction. 133Economy & Employment

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   The smaller towns and the rural economy are an important part of the social fabric in the Region. There is a need for promotion in rural places of new economic opportunities arising from digital connectivity and indigenous innovation and enterprise as well as more traditional natural and resource assets (e.g. food, energy, tourism), underpinned by the quality of life offering. New business formation and innovation in rural areas depend on drivers such as the presence of human capital, proximity and access to higher education institutions, ICT infrastructure including broadband, transport infrastructure and the presence of a wide sectoral mix. The Partnership Companies, Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), Local Enterprise Centres and LECPs in rural areas should prioritise regeneration of town and village cores, promotion of local industry and enable the ambition of all places and enhance quality of life. CASE STUDY: Irish Rural Link Programme Irish Rural Link (IRL), is a national network of organisations and individuals campaigning for sustainable rural development in Ireland and Europe. IRL, a non-profit organisation directly represents over 600 community groups and is a member of the Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partnership. The network provides a structure through which rural groups and individuals, representing disadvantaged rural communities, can articulate their common needs and priorities, share their experiences and present their case to policy-makers at local, national and European Level. Projects include the Farm Safety Programme, National Rural Network and Local Public Banking and a number of EU funded projects.25 Local authorities should enable the identification of regeneration and rural development projects within existing towns and villages by identifying and quantifying available land (serviced or with potential to be serviced) and vacant buildings. Cross-boundary and inter-regional partnerships should be prioritised and nurtured. For instance, the Upper Shannon Erne Future Economy Project brings together the counties of Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford to explore and develop opportunities in renewable energy, tourism, and digital strategies. 25 www.irishrurallink.ie Local authorities may leverage the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) network, Chambers of Commerce and business networks to expand and diversify their rural enterprise base (see Figures 6.5 and 6.6 Enterprise Development and Innovation Assets maps for Dublin and the Region). The Assembly, through its European functions, will assist in leveraging of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy to improve agricultural productivity, ensuring that farmers earn a reasonable living, help to address climate change, maintain rural areas and landscapes and keep the rural economy alive. It is an ambition of the RSES to stimulate a greater number of start-ups, more export focussed companies, and to enhance the business survival rates overall in the Region. Many companies will continue to trade on the domestic market and they play an important role in Ireland’s economy across a broad range of sectors and activities. In terms of employment-intensive sectors such as retail, tourism, construction, education and health, while these may not be the focus of an export-led technology-focussed economic strategy they are core employers in the Region and will continue to do so. These sectors also have significant implications for the RSO of placemaking and creating attractive environments in which to live and work. While the RSES seeks to anticipate and plan for jobs growth and economic development, new and unexpected opportunities for enterprise development are likely to arise for particular locational reasons, such as local resources, skills, assets, innovation or quality of life. CASE STUDY: Boyne Valley Food Hub The Boyne Valley region has been synonymous with food production and trade as far back as 10,000 years ago. The Boyne Valley Food Hub is a flagship project of Boyne Valley Food Innovation District in partnership with local authorities and LEOs, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, IDA, Teagasc and with leading universities and industry. The aim is to accelerate the growth of the agri-food sector through collaboration, innovation, and clustering to support scalable, sustainable and profitable food businesses in Meath, Louth, Kildare and Wicklow. Boyne Valley Food Hub packages a number of industry deliverables including food units for startup and scaling food business, a community kitchen, a Food Innovation and Research Lab and onsite food technologist and business development manager, to support food innovation programmes. 134 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Unexpected Opportunities for Enterprise Development RPO 6.2: Support local authorities to ensure their LECPs and city and county development plans are sufficiently agile to account for unexpected opportunities, to accommodate valid propositions for enterprise development that may emerge and for which there are strong locational drivers that do not apply to the same extent elsewhere. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVE: Dublin – Belfast Economic Corridor RPO 6.3: Support the effective planning and development of large centres of population and employment along the main economic corridor, in particular Drogheda and Dundalk. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Rural Economy RPO 6.4: Local authorities shall identify measures in LECPs for regeneration in small towns and villages cores. RPO 6.5: Local authorities shall explore projects in LECPs for the enhancement of the competitiveness of their rural areas by supporting innovation in rural economic development and enterprise through the diversification of the rural economy into new sectors and services, including ICT-based industries and those addressing climate change and sustainability. Cross-boundary and inter-regional partnerships are encouraged and they will be supported. RPO 6.6: Support local authorities to explore mechanisms for the emergence of a diversified sectoral mix in rural areas. This includes the identification of appropriate locations to drive regeneration of these rural towns and villages for example by the provision of serviced sites for housing and co-working/incubator space near Institutes of Technology to facilitate technological spillovers through greater connections and linkages. RPO 6.7: Support local authorities to develop sustainable and economically efficient rural economies through initiatives to enhance sectors such as agricultural and food, forestry, fishing and aquaculture, energy and extractive industries, the bioeconomy, tourism, and diversification into alternative on-farm and off-farm activities, while at the same time noting the importance of maintaining and protecting the natural landscape and built heritage. RPO 6.8: To support the sustainable development of tourism in the Region in line with the strategic objectives of both Ireland’s Ancient East and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands experience brand propositions. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Regional Enterprise Plans RPO 6.9: The Regional Assembly supports the Regional Enterprise Plans to focus on; • Support a high level of economic success throughout the region by building on local strengths and regional innovation capacity. • Position and support the growth of the Midlands as an advanced manufacturing centre of excellence. • Leverage opportunities in big data and data analytics from iLOFAR. • Ensure that the Midlands is well positioned to address the challenges posed by the transition to a low carbon economy and renewable energy. • Increase enterprise engagement in innovation, research and development to ensure Dublin’s continued competitiveness and productivity. • Build a pipeline of sustainable and scalable startups in Dublin and provide quality support. • Develop the Mid-East as a hub for the Screen Content Creation Sector. • Build an ecosystem framework to support the financial services, payments and agrifood sectors throughout the Region. • Develop a network of innovative co-working spaces in the region to mitigate long commuting times, promote remote working opportunities and life-style benefits. 135Economy & Employment

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   6.5 Specific Sectors: Retail, Tourism, Marine, Low Carbon Economy and Agriculture The following specific sectors- as labour intensive economic activities - are of particular importance to the Region, given their sensitivity for job creation, maintenance and sustainability. Retail The retail sector is a significant employer and economic contributor in the Region. It also plays a key role in placemaking and creating attractive liveable environments. As a significant attractor it enables the provision of strong mixed-use commercial cores throughout the network of city, towns and villages in the Region and can play a key role in the regeneration of areas. The Retail Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2012 are designed to ensure retail development is plan-led, to promote city centre vitality through the sequential approach to development, enable good quality development in appropriate locations, facilitate a modal shift; all to deliver quality urban design outcomes. The Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008 was prepared by the Dublin and the Mid-East Regional Authorities (now dissolved). The retail hierarchy as expressed in the GDA strategy is substantially reflected in current city and county development plans, and is presented here combined with the existing retail hierarchy in the remainder of the Region that was not included in the GDA. It is recognised that the floorspace thresholds detailed in the GDA strategy were prepared in a different economic climate and in many cases are still to be reached. In this regard, EMRA will support and drive the preparation of a new retail strategy for the Region under the requirements of the Retail Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2012, or any subsequent update, to update this hierarchy and apply floorspace requirements for the Region. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Retail Strategies and Retail Planning Guidelines RPO 6.10: EMRA will support the preparation of a Retail Strategy / Strategies for the Region in accordance with the Retail Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2012, or any subsequent update, to update the retail hierarchy and apply floorspace requirements for the Region. RPO 6.11: Future provisions of significant retail development within the Region shall be consistent with the Retail Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities 2012, or any subsequent update, and the retail hierarchy for the Region, expressed in the RSES, until such time as this hierarchy is updated. 136 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Table 6.1 Retail Hierarchy for the Region Level 1 Metropolitan Centre Dublin City Centre Level 2 Major Town Centres & County (Principal) Town Centres Dún Laoghaire: Dún Laoghaire, Dundrum Fingal: Swords, Blanchardstown Kildare: Naas /Newbridge, Maynooth Laois: Portlaoise Longford: Longford Louth: Drogheda, Dundalk Meath: Navan Offaly: Tullamore South Dublin: Tallaght, Liffey Valley Westmeath: Athlone, Mullingar Wicklow: Bray, Wicklow Level 3 Town And/Or District Centres & Sub-County Town Centres (Key Service Centres) Dublin City: Finglas, Northside Shopping Centre, Ballyfermot, Rathmines, Crumlin Shopping Centre, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Omni, Ballymun, Point Village and Poolbeg, Clongriffin / Belmayne, Phibsborough, Naas Road Fingal: Malahide, Balbriggan, Skerries, Charlestown South Dublin: Adamstown, Crumlin (Ashleaf), Clonburris, Clondalkin, Citywest, Kilnamanagh, Lucan, Rathfarnham Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown: Stillorgan, Blackrock, Cornelscourt, Nutgrove, Cherrywood Wicklow: Greystones, Arklow, Blessington (Baltinglass, Rathdrum, Newtownmountkennedy) Meath: Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin, Kells, Trim (Laytown/Bettystown) Kildare: Celbridge, Kilcock, Kilcullen, Athy, Kildare, Monasterevin, Clane, Leixlip Laois: Portarlington, Graiguecullen Louth: Ardee, Drogheda District Centre: Matthews’ Lane, Dundalk District Centres: Dublin Road & Ard Easmuinn Offaly: Birr, Edenderry Westmeath: Castlepollard Longford: Granard Level 4 Neighbourhood Centres, Local Centres-Small Towns And Villages Level 5 Corner Shops/Small Villages Framework for Town Centre Renewal The concepts of vitality and viability are central to maintaining and enhancing town centres. Keeping a town vibrant and responsive to the needs of the community is an ongoing challenge and a greater range of supports need to be put in place to enable successful town centre renewal. These supports could include administrative supports by local authorities, training supports for town centre coordinators or other town stakeholders and financial supports such as grants for office fit outs, shop front grants, or supports for starting businesses and the Town and Village Renewal scheme and urban and rural regeneration funding. The Framework for Town Centre Renewal (Retail Consultation Forum, 2017) sets out an action plan for Town Centre renewal which has the potential to support viable and sustainable towns and villages that meet the long-term needs of our society, economy and environment. Refer to Chapter 9 Quality of Life for additional policies in relation to placemaking. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Town Centre Renewal RPO 6.12: Local authorities shall include objectives in development plans and local area plans supporting emphasis on placemaking for town centres, for example through inclusion of a Placemaking Strategy for towns and implementation of Town Centre Renewal Plans. RPO 6.13: Local authorities shall support the preparation of Design Guidelines to provide for improvements in the appearance of streetscapes and for revitalising vacant spaces for example with cost effective, temporary uses that build on the longer-term vision for space. RPO 6.14: EMRA will support the use of targeted financial incentives to re-establish the dominant role of town centres provided for in planning policy to encourage a greater take up of town centre development opportunities for retail, residential, commercial, and leisure uses. 137Economy & Employment

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   Tourism A safe, clean environment, scenic landscapes and rich heritage contribute greatly to our cultural identity and quality of life, and are key attractions for overseas visitors to the island of Ireland. The Government’s Tourism Policy Statement People, Place and Policy Growing Tourism to 2025 sets the Government’s primary objectives for tourism i.e. to increase overseas visitors and revenue and the associated employment whilst protecting our natural, built and cultural assets. The ‘Action Plan for Rural Development Realising our Rural Potential’ highlights the potential of activity tourism to contribute to economic growth in rural areas. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Policy Document People, Place and Policy Growing Tourism To 2025 makes a number of policy proposals that are relevant to the planning of tourism, namely; • Protecting heritage assets through sustainable tourism • Targeting high growth potential areas • Incorporate Cultural and Sports-based Offerings • Respecting Brand Architecture and the Environment • Need to optimise Air and Sea Connections • Need to facilitate inter-modal transport transfers • Support for Cross-Border Tourism Natural and Cultural Tourism Assets The Region has a varied and rich tourism offering from the cultural draw/assets of the capital city, to the long sandy beaches and cliff walks along the east coast that extend north to the Cooley Peninsula and connect with the Mournes and Sliabh Gullion in Northern Ireland. The Midlands has a diverse and relatively unspoilt landscape presenting a broad range of tourism related opportunities in its inland waterways, lakes, canals, rivers, mountains, forests, parks, eskers, peatlands, architecture and historical demesnes. People have lived, farmed and visited the Region from prehistoric times shaping the landscape that we have today. From the Neolithic passage graves of the Boyne Valley, to the royal seat of the High Kings at Tara, to the monasteries of Glendalough, Clonmacnoise and Monasterboice and their round towers which offered protection from Viking invasions, to the Cistercian abbeys of Bective and Mellifont which brought agricultural reform, to historic Dublin Castle, to the Walled Towns of Trim, Castledermot and Drogheda, the planned estates of Abbeyleix and Castletown House. The Peatlands of the Bog of Allen and the plains of the Curragh are unique landscapes in the Region. The inland waterways of the Grand and Royal Canals; and the Rivers Barrow, Boyne, Liffey and Shannon, are the foundation of a blueway tourism product (see Chapter 7 Environment & Climate). There is the potential for a coast to coast network of national greenways, including the Royal and Grand Canals and the Barrow Way, with regional water-based trails along the Old Rail Trail Greenway, and the Boyne Valley greenway on the old Kingscourt line. A number of potential local leisure trails include the Dublin Bay Sutton to Sandycove route, the Dodder Greenway and Tolka River and Carlingford to Newry. Fáilte Ireland has identified that our landscape and heritage are the key driver for the promotion of Ireland’s tourism, followed by its people, its safe environment and its range of attractions. There is an inextricable link between the Region’s landscape, agriculture and tourism offer. The vast array of built, cultural and natural assets that are the cornerstone of our tourism product need adequate resources to sustain them. Our natural and cultural landscapes are a finite resource with varying degrees of carrying capacity. The quality of our natural scenery and physical environment, built heritage, and the range of activities for visitors, are areas in which national, regional and local government have a key role to play, through conservation and preservation of that which is irreplaceable and the sustainable development of that which enhances the visitor’s overall experience. 138 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Three of the four Fáilte Ireland’s regional tourism brands are based in the Region: Dublin- Surprising by Nature, Ireland’s Ancient East and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. Their research has identified niche areas such as food, heritage and cycling tourism which can be built into unique tourism product offerings for each of their regional tourism brands. Fáilte Ireland is creating a framework to develop and deliver visitor experience development plans (VEDPs) across the Country to underpin these brands, and to address the issues of regionality and seasonality in Ireland. Through collaboration and partnership, stakeholders and industry must join together to develop a joint plan and commit to delivery of its actions. A VEDP has already been prepared for Ireland’s Ancient East. This will enable clusters and geographies to amplify their local tourism offering in a compelling and motivating way for international tourists and encourage increased visits, dwell time and spend in the locality. CASE STUDY: Lough Boora Discovery Park Increasing areas of Bord na Móna peatlands are becoming cutaway and have potential for beneficial uses including renewable energy, biodiversity, amenity uses, water storage and other infrastructure. Lough Boora Discovery Park is an example of a cutaway area that has been developed as an amenity with high biodiversity value, with restored wetland and woodland habitats. Lough Boora, which once supplied over a million tonnes of peat every year, is now a sanctuary for wildlife, with a visitor centre and 24 land sculptures, inspired by the area’s industrial heritage. It is also a prime outdoor recreation attraction with an extensive network of off road walkways and cycle paths, including the Mesolithic Route, one of the most important historic sites in Ireland. Lough Boora now attracts over 100,000 visitors a year. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Natural and Cultural Tourism Assets RPO 6.15: Support the preparation and implementation of Visitor Experience Development Plans within the Region to underpin the overarching regional tourism brands and to deliver greater tourism benefits and to promote the natural and cultural assets of the Region. RPO 6.16: Support working with relevant landowners and recreational/ tourism agencies to increase access to the countryside and coastal areas to ensure maintenance of the existing network. RPO 6.17: Support the maintenance of, and enhanced access to state and semi-state lands such as National Parks, Forest Parks, Waterways, etc., together with Monuments and Historic Properties, for recreation and tourism purposes. Access should be planned and managed in a sustainable manner that protects environmental sensitivities, ecological corridors, and the ability of local infrastructure to support increased tourism. RPO 6.18: Support the preparation and implementation of local authority tourism strategies and diaspora strategies. All tourism strategies and plans should include clear monitoring protocols to monitor the ongoing effect of tourism on sensitive features with particular focus on natural and built heritage assets. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES: Tourism RPO 6.19: Support the local strategies that are already in place to link the River Shannon Blueway, The Royal and Grand Canal Greenways and the proposed Barrow Blueway right across the Midlands, incorporating the towns of Longford, Athlone, Mullingar, Tullamore and Portarlington. RPO 6.20: Support Offaly County Council, Bord na Móna and Coillte in the development of the ‘Midlands Cycling Destination- Offaly’. 139Economy & Employment

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    Investing in the Tourism Product There needs to be a recognition that investment is needed in the assets themselves in terms of ensuring their sustainability and ability to support a growing tourism industry. Adequate recognition of the value of investing in heritage conservation will reduce the potential conflict with loss of authenticity and appreciation of a place, tourism provision and more informed planning decisions. Investing in heritage in terms of placemaking will benefit not just tourism but the local citizen. There is a commitment from government in the ‘Investing in our Culture, Language & Heritage 2018 - 2027’ to invest in the sustainable tourism potential of our culture and heritage infrastructure. The ambition is for a world-class cultural and heritage infrastructure as well as providing a world-class visitor experience for people coming to our national parks and reserves. To come to an area, visitors need reassurance that there will be enough attractions to see and activities to do during the day, a sufficient range of accommodation options and a night-time economy to provide evening options. The most effective and efficient way to deliver this for visitors is through destination towns. Many of these towns already deliver well to fulfil the needs and desires of our visitors, particularly in established tourist destinations. Others, however, both within established destination areas and outside them, require varying degrees of improvement and investment across a wide range of touchpoints including transport links, accommodation supply, public realm attractions, restaurants, a night-time economy, visitor management etc. A Framework for Destination Towns across Ireland, prepared by Fáilte Ireland, will ensure that the standard for these towns is raised and they are transformed into destination towns that satisfy the needs and desires of our tourists. To do this, it assigns and sustains different roles to the two main types of destination towns based on their tourism functions: • Always-On Destination Towns are usually larger towns that offer a full range of year-round facilities at scale. They will usually be the main transport hub for the Region (often at the end of main national arterial road and rail routes); have a wide range of accommodation types and supply; have conference, hotel, restaurant and shopping facilities that are open all year; and considered to be the main hub for the Region. • Seasonal Destination Towns offer a full range of smallerscale seasonal facilities. They scale down – often significantly – during the off season, offering only local services while relying on the ‘always-on’ destination towns to provide support for those tourists who do visit in the off season. However, during the peak season they will offer transport services, medium/small-scale hotels, B&Bs, holiday homes, attractions, restaurants, cafés, pubs etc. They also function as activity hubs from where visitors can explore the wider rural area. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVE: Identification of Destination Towns RPO 6.21: EMRA will work with local authorities and Fáilte Ireland to identify destination towns within the Region for the prioritisation of investment and supports to drive tourism growth in the Region, to spread the benefit of tourism throughout the Region and to encourage the increase of tourism product development. 140 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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