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
Ask this document
Answers come only from the text of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020–2032, each claim linked to its page. They are not advice; check the page itself.
Free, with a daily limit.
- Figure 18: Map of Region There is now an opportunity to deliver an effective alignment of plans at national, regional and local levels and shift away from a business-as-usual scenario towards more compact growth. For our region, this means that our strategy must focus on the significant growth of the urban centres of Galway, Letterkenny, Sligo and Athlone (partially within the Northern and Western Region) - see Tables 2 and 3. These places also need to be underpinned by the network of towns that perform a support role in providing regionally strategic employment development of significant scale. The National Planning Framework provides a target growth rate for Galway between 50%-55% to 2040. This RSES has targeted the Letterkenny, Sligo and Athlone Regional Growth Centres to grow their population by at least 40% to 2040 and the Key Towns to have a targeted growth of at least 30%, relative to Census 2016 (See Tables 3 and 4 respectively). This shall allow balanced growth elsewhere within each county to be determined locally and based upon the varied growth potential of different places, subject to safeguarding that the growth of the Regional Growth Centres and Key Towns is not compromised. The rationale for this shall be identified within the core strategy of the development plans, which shall take into consideration the level of vacant properties. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES RPO 3.1 Develop urban places of regional-scale through: g Delivering on the population targets for the Metropolitan and Regional Growth Centres through compact growth: g Delivering significant compact growth in Key Towns; and g Developing derelict and underutilised sites, with an initial focus within town cores. These targets need to be matched by the delivery of critical enabling infrastructure and services, thus ensuring that these places grow as successful significant employment centres and service locations not only for the urban areas themselves but, importantly, for their extensive hinterlands that include smaller towns, villages and rural areas. Further detail in respect of the development objectives of these Cities and Towns is provided elsewhere within this strategy, through Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans (MASPs) and Regional Growth Centre Strategic Plans (RGCSPs), with specific opportunities and strategic priorities also being detailed for Key Towns. The making of development plans for these and other areas, whilst being informed by this strategy, are primarily a function for local authorities to perform. GALWAY CASTLEBAR ROSCOMMONTUAM BALLINASLOE ATHLONE SLIGO BALLINA LETTERKENNY CARRICK-ON- SHANNON CAVAN MONAGHANNorthern & Western Regional Assembly 41 3 People and Places
- 3.5 Smaller Towns, Villages and Rural Areas The population living in rural towns, villages and the countryside (i.e. other than the Cities and Regional Growth Centres and Key Towns) are home to almost 80% of our region’s population and as such represent a sizeable cohort of the population and land area. They include settlements in each county that are smaller than Key Towns but play an important role in supporting the social, economic and cultural life within rural communities. The culture of living in smaller towns and the countryside is built upon a strong connection with rural areas. For some, it is both their place of work and their home but for many, the reality is that their place of work and main services are at a distance from their home elsewhere and therefore transport connectivity and telecommunications connectivity is a key issue for accessing employment, education and healthcare lifelines. The issues of connectivity and accessibility are explored in more detail within Growth Ambition 3: Connected Region. According to Census 2016, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries have a higher proportion of people employed within them in our region (7.5%) compared to the State (4.4%). There are over 60,000 farms in this region alone, which accounts for approximately 56% of the regional landmass, covering the land type of arable land, pastures, permanent crops and heterogeneous agricultural areas. Peatlands and wetlands are the second most widespread land cover type, covering about 25% of the region and transitional woodland-scrub makes up approx. 4.5%, coniferous forest comprises around 3.7% and water bodies around 3%. Our islands lying off the western seaboard of Counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway and our coastal areas also contain some of our most vibrant and culturally distinctive communities, with many areas forming part of the Gaeltacht. As a result of their location, they are highly dependent on rural employment within the fishing, agriculture and tourism sectors. The importance of these assets to this region and their potential to be sustainably developed into the future are explored further, particularly under Growth Ambition 1: Vibrant Region and Growth Ambition 2: Natural Region.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 42 3 People and Places
- This region is defined by its strong connection to our rural areas, which provide for the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of our communities, both urban and rural. This requires the careful management of development within rural areas to ensure that they remain and grow as vibrant communities. Thus, the response required must be informed by the specific attributes of the place, including its role which in broad terms may be summarised as one or more of the following: g Areas with a clear distinction from urban areas in their character. g Areas of rural population, rural employment and rural social character. g Areas of recreation and tourism based on their resources and assets. g Areas of high environmental quality. g Areas of agriculture and natural resource development. g Areas that protect against climate change and areas that can adapt to climate change. g Working areas that can accommodate renewable energy production. g Areas of water resources. VIBRANCY AND VITALITY Whilst the vibrancy and vitality of our rural areas need to be conserved, so also does the sense of place, culture and the quality, character and distinctiveness of our landscape. It is necessary to make our rural areas more resilient to challenges they are experiencing from urban generated pressures in some locations to a declining and ageing population in others, the structure of the economy and lack of access to quality infrastructure and new technologies in others. One solution does not fit all but areas experiencing declining and ageing population will require careful management, as it is also often the rural areas that have an ageing population, where issues of isolation are more prominent and the economic viability of service provision is most acute. The management of rural areas is challenging in that some areas have a declining and ageing population whilst others are experiencing urban generated pressure from the demand for houses within the commuter zone of our cities, regional centres and their support towns. The NPF confirms that there needs to be a distinction made between areas under urban influence and elsewhere. It confirms that the capacity to provide for single rural housing should be retained for those that have a demonstrable economic or social need toNorthern & Western Regional Assembly 43 3 People and Places
- live in the area, subject to all other proper planning and sustainable development considerations. The management of these pressures is a matter for individual local authorities through the development plan process, having regard to the provisions of Ministerial Guidelines and other material considerations. This includes, but is not limited to, environmental considerations, the pressure for housing, availability and adequacy of support infrastructure, suitability of soils to treat and dispose of wastewater to appropriate standard, visual and physical impact and the need to provide for house design and orientation that meet current and future energy efficiency demands. The preference would be that all new housing would be designed to high standards of energy efficiency with an emphasis on non-fossil fuel heating systems. REALISING OPPORTUNITIES The emphasis of the RSES is on highlighting opportunities for the region arising from the positive assets of rural areas and the diversity of opportunities that differentiates this region, including the quality of life offering and the sense of community that is available. Furthermore, it is well understood that rural employment opportunities are undergoing a fundamental and potentially radical transformation in response to the societal and technological changes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, through changing capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, automation, digitisation, robotics and nanotechnology. As these global changes gather pace, jobs will be created which currently do not exist or have yet to be imagined, and existing roles of places will be disrupted or transformed. The fourth industrial revolution presents a significant opportunity for our region and this strategy needs to enable employers to plan for and adapt to these changes, including the provisions of appropriate upskilling and reskilling of employees to meet these new challenges, through investment in infrastructure and education. Through technology and improved connectivity, our rural communities can become better equipped to take advantage of the digital revolution and to overcome the challenge of isolation and population decline. It is these new trends that are creating fresh opportunities for the development of rural areas and the emergence of new rural businesses, as the internet and other digital technologies provide the potential to address the legacy issue of geographic distance and create new forms of proximity to knowledge, markets and people. Rural areas are also well placed to benefit from new market opportunities that are emerging in sectors such as the food economy, the green economy, circular economy and the bioeconomy. These have the potential for job creation and to attract people to live and work in rural areas. Within our rural areas, the small towns and villages are particularly suitable for and reliant upon SMEs, since their local labour markets are generally too small to supply large firms. These SMEs make vital contributions to the economic and social fabric of their rural communities. The development of these types of small firms will assist in reversing economic decline and achieving more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. There are a variety of government supports available to SMEs and it is important to build greater awareness and enable accessibility to targeted financial incentives and instruments to support their growth and economic competitiveness.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 44 3 People and Places
- In this context, some of the advantages of rural locations become more apparent, including the likelihood of cheaper land and housing, more space, cleaner air and easier access to the countryside. However, balanced against this is the fact that the vitality and viability of our towns and villages is a significant issue for this region, as we emerge from the economic recession and as the role and function of these settlements evolve. The delivery of the National Broadband Plan will be a critical enabler in this transition. REGENERATION AND REVITALISATION The future role and function of our large network of smaller towns and villages across the region need to be re-imagined, addressing economic, physical and social decline issues. The regeneration of our smaller towns and villages is now a major priority action for our region, which provides an opportunity to address legacy issues and to turn around their fortunes. The health of our villages and towns can be significantly influenced through the delivery of new housing through the utilisation of existing buildings, brownfield/infill sites or otherwise. The NPF target 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 is an important opportunity for our smaller towns and villages to be re-imagined and therefore it is included as a key objective. The focus needs to be on regenerating the original core and main street areas initially, where traditional retailing opportunities lessen and examine how they can best relate to the expanded town/village. The reuse and regeneration of the existing building stock within the core area, development of brownfield and gap sites and the organic development of these places needs to be considered, to create more liveable places that people want to live, work and spend time in as their place of choice. The emphasis will change from place to place but in all cases, the approach should be to provide a range of attractive housing choices appropriate to the needs and character of the place, including the provision of serviced sites and to provide for low-density housing demand, as an alternative to living in one-off houses outside towns and villages. There are many lessons to be learnt from the experience of practitioners in regeneration across the region and the rollout of a peer learning programme shall be developed by the NWRA in collaboration with interested stakeholders, which will be of benefit and may assist in developing collaborative applications for funding, such as the new Rural Regeneration and Development Fund committed to by Government in Project Ireland 2040. Additionally, given the extent of vacant and derelict buildings within the countryside, it is appropriate to set a target that 20% of rural housing to be delivered on brownfield sites, subject to planning considerations including those outlined above.Northern & Western Regional Assembly 45 3 People and Places
- REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES RPO 3.2 (a) Deliver at least 50% of all new city homes targeted in the Galway MASP, within the existing built-up footprint of Galway City and suburbs. (b) Deliver at least 40% of all new housing targeted in the Regional Growth Centres, within the existing built-up footprint. (c) Deliver at least 30% of all new homes that are targeted in settlements with a population of at least 1,500 (other than the Galway MASP and the Regional Growth Centres), within the existing built-up footprints3. RPO 3.3 Deliver at least 20% of all new housing in rural areas on brownfield sites. RPO 3.4 To support the regeneration and renewal of small towns and villages in rural areas. 3 built up footprint of settlement is that defined by the CSO RPO 3.5 Identify and develop quality green infrastructure, within and adjacent to City, Regional Growth Centres and Key Towns. RPO 3.6 Support a coherent and consistent approach in the identification and monitoring of the scale of housing vacancy within the region, identifying vacancy hotspots and informing the setting of actions, objectives and targets in Action Plans and identify how these might best be achieved. RPO 3.7 The Assembly supports local authorities in identifying and prioritising a program for the provision of serviced sites within smaller towns and villages within 1 year of the adoption of the RSES. A rolling 2-year implementation pan shall subsequently be prepared.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 46 3 People and Places
- RPO 3.8 Support the design of new/replacement/ refurbished dwellings to high energy efficiency standards that fully avail of renewable technologies, maximise solar gain, utilising modern materials and design practices. RPO 3.9 Identify suitable development opportunities for regeneration and development that are supported by a quality site selection process that also addresses environmental constraints and opportunities. RPO 3.10 Ensure flood risk management informs development by avoiding inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding and integrate sustainable water management solutions (such as SUDS, non-porous surfacing and green roofs) to create safe places. Development plans should assess flood risk by implementing the recommendations of the Planning System and Flood Risk Assessment Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2009) and Circular PL02/2014 (August 2014). RPO 3.11 Local Authorities, DHPLG, OPW, and other relevant Departments and agencies to work together to implement the recommendation of the CFRAM programme to ensure that flood risk management policies and infrastructure are progressively implemented. RPO 3.12 Within Gaeltacht Areas and Gaeltacht Towns, in particular, emphasis shall be assigned to the impacts of proposed developments and their impact on the community of language and the maintenance and development of its socialisation networks. RPO 3.13 To support the role of smaller and mediumsized towns, which demonstrate an important role in terms of service provision and employment for their catchments within the economic function of the county. Such settlements will be identified through the Development Plan process as part of the Settlement Hierarchy and the Core Strategy.Northern & Western Regional Assembly 47 3 People and Places
- Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-203248
- GALWAY METROPOLITAN AREA STRATEGIC PLAN 3.6 49
- Galway Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan3.6 Galway Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT A key ambition of the RSES strategy is to grow globally competitive urban centres of scale that shall be compact, connected, vibrant and inclusive places for people and for businesses to grow. The primary centre identified for growth in the region is Galway City through its designation as a Metropolitan Area in the NPF. The next tier identified comprises the Regional Growth Centres of Athlone, Letterkenny and Sligo. The RSES amplifies the provisions of the NPF and this MASP sets out the strategic direction the city will grow to achieve compact growth, as envisaged within the first national strategic outcome in the NPF. The importance attributed to metropolitan areas for the development of the regions requires the preparation and delivery of a Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (MASP). This new focus for national development offers an opportunity to build a new dynamism in residential, commercial, social, educational, recreational and infrastructural development. The delivery of compact growth will be achieved through collaboration between all stakeholders in the community. The MASP is the template, the ownership of the plan will be taken by the local authorities through their development plans and local area plans which will provide the fine grain for the detailed development for all areas in the MASP. As the only MASP Galway has a pivotal function in the development of the region. Its immediate influence is illustrated in Figure 20, which is based upon the 15% commuting area for the city, (west to Clifden, north past Tuam, east near Ballinasloe and south past Gort). Galway is not alone however at a national level and it is one of five MASPs in the country, the others being Dublin, Cork, Limerick/ Shannon and Waterford. There is a willingness at regional level that the cities outside Dublin cooperate and collaborate with each other to foster and grow a collective urban alternative to Dublin. The policy below encapsulates these ambitions. REGIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVE RPO 3.6.1 It is an objective to establish a collaborative approach between the Regional Assemblies (NWRA & SRA), the local authorities and other stakeholders to enable all their metropolitan areas to collaborate to harness their combined potential as an alternative to Dublin.Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 50 3 People and Places
Source Northern and Western Regional Assembly: Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020–2032 (January 2020) · 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.