Regional strategy (RSES) · Northern and Western Region
Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020–2032
The regional strategy for the Northern and Western Region, including the Galway Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan.
Northern and Western Regional Assembly · January 2020 · 320 pages
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- 2.2 Growth Ambitions All our risks and challenges need to be addressed through a new way of doing things. Placemaking is a ‘new’ approach that is a priority for this strategy. Placemaking includes tapping into the economic potential that remains unused to outside agencies, so that all parts of cities and regions can contribute to the quality of life. The overarching principles of placemaking are ‘connectivity, concentration to build centres of scale and promoting difference’. Elements that are understood to inform business location choices include the following; 1. Urban centres with critical mass 2. Connectivity and access 3. World-class economic infrastructure that is fit for purpose 4. Third-level offering (Talent) 5. Availability of property solutions - turn-key; sites; co-working spaces etc. 6. Smart and integrated transport systems 7. Dynamic clustering Extensive examples of world-class place-making exist across our region. The RSES will adopt policies to further enable it. A concerted response is required to build centres of scale that have fit for purpose infrastructure, quality education, advanced producer services and high-quality of life attributes that are necessary to support informational-type economic activities and businesses in the future. In the absence of centres of scale that can provide these items, certain economic activities will not operate in the region and specific groups of workers will migrate out of the region. If these resources are lost, the region risks entering a vicious circle of regional economic decline. Thus, the NWRA is concerned with initiatives that focus on achieving higher economic growth from both the existing (or mature) sectors of our economy as well as those that are new or emerging. Our RSES introduces the concept of a Growth Framework because regional growth cannot be achieved through linear steps. Integrated strategic planning connects the planning function across the region to improve operational alignment (County/ City Development Plans and RSES) and financial investment through Strategic Investment Priorities. The intention is for it to accurately represent a complete model where the region links strategic and operational challenges with prioritised capital interventions. The Growth Framework aligns existing regional initiatives, identifies future priorities and actions, and considers the resources and partnerships required (Implementation). It is a space that enables positive regional discrimination. Isolated interventions will not achieve the ambitions of this region, nor will investment in infrastructure alone. There is a complementarity to regional initiatives that we cannot ignore. We cannot aspire to be a ‘Great Place to Live’ if we don’t manage our natural environment. Equally the region will be hampered in its growth if it does not pursue policies that encourage compact growth and scale. Thus, an integrated framework to synergise investments and plan for strategic interventions is proposed; in order to maximise returns for our ‘People and Place’.Northern & Western Regional Assembly 31 2 Strategic Vision
- Our ‘Five Growth Ambitions’ define each priority and how they are mutually complementary. Our ambition is for a region that is Vibrant, Connected, Natural, Smart and a Great Place to Live, consolidated by a strong settlement strategy focusing on ‘People’ and ‘Places’. The intention is that it becomes a living framework, which will be supported as required by detailed action plans, investment proposals and delivery partnerships. Figure 16: Five Growth Ambitions Compact growth will be pursued to ensure sustainable growth of more compact urban and rural settlements, supported by jobs, houses, services and amenities, rather than continued sprawl and unplanned, uneconomic growth. The NWRA believes that strong economic growth, which creates permanent, sustainable jobs, is best achieved by building a competitive and productive economy. Focusing policies on scale, investing in connectivity and our people whilst aggressively pursuing a low carbon approach to enhance our differentiation. It has been identified that more strategic actions are required to prepare the region for what is to come and highlights the need to create a combined long term vision for the future of both energy supply and our ability to use renewable energy. To address our energy requirements our RSES emphasises the need for coordination, new thinking, investment and skills to implement change. All considerations need to be cognisant of our natural resources, landscape and heritage (natural, social and cultural). Accessibility and mobility within the region have a direct effect on the region’s economic competitiveness. It also has an effect on the attractiveness of the region as a favourable living and visiting environment. The RSES will support further investment in sustainable transport measures. In addition, to achieve our Vision for the region we need to strengthen our digital network and enable new technologies to work by ensuring that policies and systems are in place that can help people transition to a world much more digitally connected. One of the strongest foundations and emerging propositions this region has to build on is its ‘livability’. The region aspires to be one of the most livable places in Europe with a commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth. Provision and maintenance of economic infrastructure, such as energy, water, and wastewater, are key to delivering compact growth and a connected, vibrant, inclusive, resilient and smart region. PEOPLE AND PLACES SPATIAL AND ECONOMIC STRATEGY KEY INGREDIENTS AND METRICS VIBRANT AMBITION NATURAL AMBITION CONNECTED AMBITION INNOVATIVE PEOPLE INCLUSIVE AMBITION INFRASTRUCTURE AMBITION SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE GREAT PLACE TO LIVE LOW CARBON FUTURE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH COMPACT GROWTH VIBRANT AMBITION CONNECTED AMBITION NATURAL AMBITION INCLUSIVE AMBITION INFRASTRUCTURE AMBITION PEOPLE AND PLACES (PRINCIPLES)Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 32 2 Strategic Vision
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- People and Places 3.1 Our Region Our region has a world-class quality of life, a physical environment of outstanding beauty, a highly-skilled population, healthy communities, and a reputation for creativity and quality events. These are the strong foundations on which this RSES can act deliberately and decisively to build its future, recognise opportunities, and respond proactively to current and future challenges. The region needs to respond to some big challenges, trends and threats. Like other places it is still recovering from the economic downturn; an ageing population, the need to respond to climate change; increasing resource scarcity; the pace of technological change, and competition to attract skilled and talented people to live and work in our local economies. Furthermore, and specific to this region is the challenge associated with growth and prosperity and its increasingly concentrated focus on large urban and city-regions. But the potential exists enabled by Objectives contained in the National Planning Framework to unlock the full potential of our ‘people’ and ‘place’. Place matters in strategic regional planning. As do People. A strong economy will support the Northern and Western Region to meet many of these challenges. Our strategy acknowledges and builds on our achievements and previous successful transformations.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 34 3
- 3.2 The Region in Focus The population of the Northern and Western Region is dispersed unevenly and has historically had a lower level of urbanisation compared to other regions. This weak urban structure is characterised by its location above all five existing cities in Ireland, which are south of a line from Dublin to Galway, and west of the two cities of Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland. However, this masks that Galway is the fastest growing city in Ireland over the past 50 years; that Letterkenny and Derry in reality function as a crossborder city region; and that Letterkenny, Sligo and Athlone perform functions not dissimilar to bigger cities, albeit at a different scale. In 2016 the total population residing within our region was 847,442. This figure represents approximately 17.8% of the entire population of Ireland (Rep.), which stands at 4,761,865 as of 2016. Figure 17: Population of Ireland, 2016 82.2% 17.8% Northern & Western Region Rest of Irish State However, in this strategy, we do not constrain ourselves to the administrative boundaries of the Regional Assembly but rather we perceive our region as one that is made up of many catchments of people and places that overlap administrative boundaries. It boasts world-leading multinationals, indigenous companies with global success, untapped economic sectors, communities hosting titles such as the ‘Best Place in Ireland to live’,’ the Coolest Place on the Planet’, ‘European Volunteering Capital 2017’, ‘European Capital of Culture 2020’ and a region that has been awarded ‘European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) 2018’ by the European Union.Northern & Western Regional Assembly 35 3 People and Places
- At the interface of the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal counties of the region have a broad range of opportunities from the diverse marine economy and these counties are also synonymous with the Wild Atlantic Way tourism brand. There is the emerging economic value proposition in the Atlantic Economic Corridor, stretching from the northernmost to the southernmost counties on the Island of Ireland. Another economic corridor extends from Dublin to Belfast and the counties of Cavan and Monaghan have a close relationship with it. Counties Cavan and Monaghan have an easterly focus and the NPF recognises that they comprise part of a North Eastern functional area with County Louth, where the key driver is the Dublin – Belfast cross border network, that influences both these counties. The Cavan/Monaghan sub-region also provides an important connection between the remainder of the Northern and Western region and the Greater Dublin Area. These counties, together with counties Leitrim and Roscommon, are also nestled within the Hidden Heartlands tourism brand that includes the Shannon Blueways providing an important value proposition with counties to complement that of the Wild Atlantic Way. Additionally, the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Cavan all share the only international land border Ireland possesses, something that brings its specific challenges and opportunities for communities, which may be magnified by Brexit. As evidenced in Section 1.6 the global economic downturn has taken its toll on our rural regions, perhaps more so than more urban locations. Although the region in overall terms has grown its population by almost 180,000 over this past two decades, it was Galway that accounted for almost two-fifths of this growth. Furthermore, all eight counties have seen their pattern of growth slow during the 2011 to 2016 period, with counties Donegal and Mayo experiencing a small decline in population. It remains to be seen if this is a blip or the commencement of a trend. The international trend of urbanisation, where more and more people have decided to move to urban centres to seek employment, among other things, has also impacted. This reinforces the emergence of new thinking about the process of local spatial and economic development. Across the world, local and national governments have moved towards a ‘placebased’ approach that emphasises the identification and mobilisation of indigenous potential, that is, the ability of places to grow drawing on their resources.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 36 3 People and Places
- 3.3 Placemaking The new “place-based” approach involves attempts to tap into the economic potential that remains unused and not identifiable to outside agencies, so that all parts of regions, be they cities, towns or their rural hinterlands, can contribute to national development. From an enterprise development perspective, investment in the creation of ‘place’ is key to realising regional potential. Access to talent is a chief site location criterion for businesses and ‘Quality of life’ is a key factor both in retaining our current population and also attracting more people to the region in the future. It is determined by having an active and successful economy and living in a great place with an excellent education, leisure, transport, planning, housing, medical facilities and strong, safe communities. Consequently, a community’s ability to compete for new investment is strongly correlated to its attractiveness to talent. This is because communities that can offer a multitude of amenities are the ones best able to attract and retain skilled and talented workers, especially younger workers. Likewise, a community that is attractive to talent will, in turn, be more likely to attract companies. Therefore, enhancing the quality of place amenities such as public realm, arts, culture, entertainment, accessibility, green spaces and landscape is a key economic development priority for this region. Place is a way to help the region to position itself for skills/ talent attraction, business expansion, and creative and innovative economic activity. Sustainable enterprise thrives in supportive business environments that enhance competitiveness and productivity. Companies are attracted to invest in locations where they can access skills/talent, where people will want to live and work and where the surrounding infrastructures are supportive of business. It is a combination of factors that deliver efficiencies, economies of scale and wider societal benefits. The overarching critical elements are: g Connectivity - rural, regional, national and international - enabling the mobility of people and goods and making use of smart technologies to deliver enhanced productivity, competitiveness and quality of life; g Concentration of developments - building places of scale and internationally competitive locations and connections with wider hinterlands through technologies, community and infrastructures; and g Celebrating difference – developing distinctive propositions for each region and realising the full potential for enterprise development, job creation and higher standards of living. However, there may also be locational considerations that influence a business activity or sector to locate in certain places, - for example if natural resourceintensive, utility intensive, knowledgeintensive, internet-based etc. In addition, the Northern and Western Region has experienced considerable emigration over time and there is a growing body of evidence which suggests that our diaspora continue to play a critical role in supporting sustainable development in our region in a variety of ways, including returning to establish new enterprises in the region (including FDI), participating in the development of new networks for our indigenous enterprises abroad and through the transfer of resources, knowledge, and ideas back to this region, thus integrating their place of origin into the global economy.Northern & Western Regional Assembly 37 3 People and Places
- To deliver for this region, certain elements are understood to inform business location choices and their delivery are key in this regard. EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION OF LAND-USE AND TRANSPORT PLANNING There is a need to significantly improve the integration of Land-use and Transport Planning across our region. The principle of compact growth and the identification and delivery of appropriate development lands within the existing built-up footprint of urban places is a central tenet to the RSES. This commitment to compact growth will be delivered locally through Development Plans and Local Area Plans. 12 Urban Places of Regional Scale are identified in this RSES for accelerated growth. Local Authorities through liaising with the NTA, TII and other stakeholders are to prepare Local Transport Plans (LTPs) for each of these settlements (see 6.3.7). The Galway Transport Strategy (GTS) has already been prepared and it will now be implemented as an objective of the Galway MASP. Other key infrastructural projects are necessary to provide access to and within the region and these critically enabling projects are listed in Growth Ambition 3: Connected Region together with multi-modal transport priorities, including rail, bus, walking and cycling. The output of this approach shall deliver more effective integration of land-use and transport planning for the region. KEY BUSINESS ELEMENTS 1. Development of compact urban centres with critical mass in population; encouraging the revitalisation of urban areas and reinhabitation of urban cores. 2. Provision of connectivity and access (including national and international), enabled by physical and technology infrastructures with capacity resilience and quality especially post-Brexit. 3. Establishment of competitive, smart and integrated public transport networks within and between cities and urban areas. 4. Nurturing of world-class infrastructure and competitive services with capacity, resilience and quality. 5. Growing our third level infrastructures, access to skills and research, development and innovation. 6. Availability of property solutions – including ‘ready-to-go’ commercial properties, ‘landing spaces’, co-working spaces and flexible property solutions and affordable housing. 7. Co-location or dynamic clustering, enabling connectivity and linkages within and between suppliers and purchasers, between enterprises and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). 8. Development of quality of life factors and sense of Place, including harnessing the social, and cultural dimensions of the living experience of communities, including the unique social, linguistic and cultural dimensions of our Gaeltacht communities.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 38 3 People and Places
- 3.4 Urban Places of Regional Scale The National Planning Framework includes a suite of objectives that are to be delivered through this RSES, including targets for population, employment and the development of infill/brownfield sites. The ratio of employment to population targets are set out in the NPF as being 0.66:1.0 and the target is for at least 40% of all new housing to be delivered within the existing built-up areas of cities, towns and villages on infill and/or brownfield sites. This means encouraging more people, jobs and activity generally within our existing urban areas, rather than mainly on ‘greenfield’ sites and this requires a significant change in the approach historically taken in many places. It does not dispense with appropriate standards being achieved but rather will require imaginative high-quality architectural bespoke solutions be developed to provide for high-quality desirable places that can attract more people, and generate new employment opportunities within the existing footprint of our cities, towns and villages. The population and employment targets provided in the NPF for this region are set out in Table 1 below. Table 1: Population Projections via the National Planning Framework National Policy Objective Northern and Western Region 1. Growing Our Regions g +160,000–180,000 people (1m total) g +115,000 in employment (450,000 total) 2. Building Stronger Regions: Accessible Centres of Scale g Galway City and Suburbs: +40,000–45,000 people (at least 120,000 total) g RSES to set out a strategic development framework for the region, leading with the key role of Sligo in the North-West, Athlone in the Midlands and the Letterkenny-Derry cross-border network 3. Compact, Smart, Sustainable Growth g 50% of new city housing within existing Galway City and suburbs footprint g 30% all new housing elsewhere, within existing urban footprintsNorthern & Western Regional Assembly 39 3 People and Places
- It is recognised that the move towards the full implementation of the NPF shall take time to cascade down through the RSES and Development Plan process. Population projections at Regional, County and Metropolitan level have been provided in the publication of ‘Project Ireland 2040 Implementation Roadmap for National Planning Framework, DHPLG July 2018’1 and they should provide sufficient scope to enable Development Plans to be reviewed, land zonings to be prioritised and Local Area Plans and 1 https://www.nwra.ie/rses/ 2 Takes into account Transitional Regional and County Population projection to 2031 as set out in the implementation roadmap for the NPF published in 2018 planning permissions to be worked through. This allows for agility and ambition to be maintained, as well as facilitating ongoing monitoring and review, as we move towards full implementation of the NPF and NDP. The traditional ‘headroom’ within land zoning practice is, however, now contained within these transitional figures thus obviating the requirement to zone 50% more land than was notionally heretofore required. Table 2: Implementation Roadmap Population Projections Region 2016 2026 2031 Border 394,000 430,000-437,000 444,500-454,500 West 453,000 512,500-524,500 542,000-559,500 NWRA 847,442 942,500-961,500 986,500-1,014,500 Table 3: MASP and Regional Centres Population Targets Settlement Population 2016 census % increase to 2040 (min) Uplift to 2040 Proposed 2026 uplift (min) Proposed 2031 uplift (min) Transitional Target Population2 Galway City 79,900 50 - 55 42,000 23,000 12,000 115,000 Regional Growth Centres Athlone 21,300 40 8,700 4,800 2,400 28,500 Letterkenny 19,300 40 8,000 4,400 2,200 26,000 Sligo 19,200 40 8,000 4,400 2,200 26,000 Table 4: Key Town Population Settlement Population 2016 census Key Towns: (30% uplift) Ballina 10,200 Castlebar 12,100 Cavan 10,900 Ballinasloe 6,700 Carrick-on-Shannon 4,100 Monaghan 7,700 Roscommon 5,900 Tuam 8,800Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 40 3 People and Places
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