Development plan · Westmeath County Council
Westmeath County Development Plan 2021–2027
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards.
Westmeath County Council · 2021–2027 · 634 pages
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- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 171 Attractive - visually pleasing spaces with high quality design, materials and installations (lighting, furniture and signage) based on a singular common design theme. Distinctive - reference to local context and building on the character and identity of place. Creative places Regional Strategic Outcome 5 as set out under the EMRA RSES provides for the creation of 'Creative Places' with the aim to ‘enhance, integrate and protect our arts, culture and heritage assets to promote creative places and heritage led regeneration’. The RSES acknowledges that positive placemaking cannot be achieved by physical intervention alone. The overall quality of our built environment is enriched by details, quite often subtle components of the public realm, while not immediately obvious, serve to reinforce the identity of a place and enhance its overall quality and atmosphere, either on an individual or collective basis. It is important therefore that proposals for development show regard to existing features of interest and incorporate such features into design proposals. The concept of creative placemaking presents an opportunity to evolve our existing urban spaces to create attractive and memorable places that interweave and showcase Westmeath's arts, culture and heritage as part of the urban fabric. Additionally, the installation of Public Art can provide for interesting and creative focal points within our towns and villages. In this regard large scale projects such as Strategic Housing Developments and urban regeneration developments will be required to provide a public art installation. Healthy Placemaking Healthy placemaking highlights the connection between people and place and importantly, how people interact with and use the everyday places of the built environment that surrounds them. Thus, it is essential to protect and enhance the unique identity and character of places and to facilitate improvements to human well-being and the quality of life that comes from the interaction of people and their environment. A key element of healthy placemaking is the need to ensure alternatives to the car in the design of streets and public spaces and to prioritise and promote cycling and walking as active transport modes. The provision of high-quality public transport, greenways and cycleways can enhance areas, contributing to more attractive places and creating opportunities to be physically active and reduce the necessity for car-based commuting. Healthy Placemaking features as one of 3 cross-cutting Key Principles that reflects the three pillars of sustainability; Social, Environmental and Economic. The central requirement to successfully achieve Healthy Placemaking is to ensure that policy objectives are people focussed, as ‘quality of life’ encapsulates strong economic output and stability, good environmental performance and a good standard of living for all.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 172 Healthy Placemaking Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.3 Encourage transition towards sustainable and low carbon transport modes through the promotion of alternative modes of transport and ‘walkable communities’ whereby a range of facilities and services will be accessible within short walking or cycling distance. CPO 7.4 Support the objectives of public health policy including Healthy Ireland and the National Physical Activity Plan, through integrating such policies, where appropriate and at the applicable scale, with planning policies contained in development plans. CPO 7.5 Support the vision and objectives of the National Sports Policy, including working with local sports partnerships, clubs, communities and partnerships within and beyond sport, to increase sport and physical activity participation levels locally. CPO 7.6 Promote the development of healthy and attractive places by ensuring: • Good urban design principles are integrated into the layout and design of new development. • Future development prioritises the need for people to be physically active in their daily lives and promote walking and cycling in the design of streets and public spaces. • New schools and workplaces are linked to walking and cycling networks. • The provision of open space considers different types of recreation and amenity uses with connectivity by way of safe, secure walking and cycling routes. • Developments are planned for on a multi-functional basis incorporating ecosystem services, climate change measures, Green Infrastructure and key landscape features in their design. Sustainable Communities It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to support the development of socially and economically balanced sustainable communities and assist in the actions and implementation of the Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) 2015 – 2020. The Westmeath Local Economic and Community Plan 2015 together with policy objectives outlined in this Development Plan provides an opportunity to identify and chart a course of action that will support economic and community development that renders Westmeath a better place where a higher quality of life is available to all the people of the County. It is important that the Plan provides for enhanced well-being and quality of life for the people of Westmeath through sustainable economic and community development.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 173 Sustainable Communities Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.7 Enhance the well-being and quality of life of the people of Westmeath through sustainable economic and community development. CPO 7.8 Support the implementation of Local Authority Local Economic and Community Plans, in collaboration with Local and Economic Development Committees (LCDCs) and through the use of spatial planning policies, to seek to reduce the number of people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the County. CPO 7.9 Support the planned provision of easily accessible social, community, cultural and recreational facilities and ensure that all communities have access to a range of facilities that meet the needs of the communities they serve. CPO 7.10 Support the development of sport and recreational facilities and community-related projects through the Council’s Capital Programme. Universal Design – Places for everyone Universal Design refers to the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by everyone. This includes public places in the built environment such as buildings, streets or spaces that the public have access to including products and services provided in those places and systems that are available including information and communications technology. According to Census 2016, the population aged 65 years and over in County Westmeath accounted for 11,370 of the total population of 88,770 equating to an increase of 16.1% since 2011 Census. There were 11,887 people registered as living with a disability in Westmeath equating to 13.4% of the County’s population, compared with 13.5% at national level. In catering for this cohort, it is important to recognise that successful public realms should not only be attractive but should serve a functional purpose that is easily accessible to everyone, regardless of age or ability. It is therefore important in the creation of new or adapted public spaces that an inclusive universal design approach is undertaken.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 174 Figure 7.3 Universal Design Designing for everyone does not necessitate complex design solutions; simple and considered design interventions can result in solutions that address the needs of many others. For example: • Elimination of stepped features to facilitate wheelchair users also assists people with prams, suitcases or shopping trolleys, people using walking or mobility aids and people with impaired vision. • Clear, well-placed signage and way-marking using recognised symbols or pictograms and visual supports helps the visually impaired and people with reading or cognitive difficulties and can be understood by different language speakers. • Sensory-friendly designs and layouts provide for a highly functional environment while also creating interesting spaces with considered lighting and wayfinding installations together with sensory sensitive physical spaces to provide an inclusive and autism friendly environment. Universal Design Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.11 Require proposals for public realm enhancements to include inclusive universal design principles. CPO 7.12 Require that new social infrastructure developments are accessible and inclusive for a range of users and provide for an age friendly society in which people of all ages and abilities can live full, active, valued and healthy lives. CPO 7.13 Require that all new developments, including public open spaces, cater for disability needs by way of appropriate design of the built environment. Placemaking for Climate Change Adapting our built environments to overcome the consequences associated with climate change is becoming more prevalent. The long-term impact of built-up urban environments with impermeable
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 175 surfaces such as roads and pavements have resulted in many of our towns becoming increasingly vulnerable to urban flooding, reduced air quality and poor quality ‘grey’ environments. Consequently, it is imperative that climate adaptation infrastructure is accommodated in a sensitively designed manner in order to integrate with urban settings to positively contribute to the public realm. Simple incremental measures present opportunities to enhance the attractiveness of our urban spaces in response to our environmental and social needs through incorporation, for example, tree planting and soft landscaping. All new developments will be required to incorporate placemaking design proposals that support the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and sustainable environments in line with the policy objectives as set out at Chapter 11 Climate Action. Placemaking for Climate Change Policy Objective It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.14 Require the incorporation of adaptable multi-functional and sensitive design solutions that supports the transition to low carbon, carbon resilient, sustainable and attractive environments. Role of the Town Centre The importance of our Town Centres cannot be underestimated. They are the destinations that represent the social and economic heartbeat of our towns with an active role in retaining the vibrancy and vitality of the urban fabric. The economic and social benefit of positive public realm is widely recognised. The public realm acts as the platform on which to showcase each town's competitive edge and unique selling point and is thus considered to be a pivotal component in achieving economic success and well-being. It is essential that Westmeath’s towns and villages are given the appropriate platform on which to thrive as vibrant and welcoming town centres. In this regard, public realm and placemaking play a vital role in defining our towns, villages and neighbourhoods by projecting a positive image as attractive locations for people to live, work and visit. The Ministerial 'Framework for Town Centre Renewal' 2017 sets out key characteristics of a successful town centre and includes an Action Plan for Town Centre Renewal. The Framework also identifies a list of 11 'Key Attributes' for successful town centres which include, inter alia: • A Placemaking Strategy –to ensure that a town positions itself as an attractive location for investment, for talent and as a place to enjoy a good quality of life and the need for planning policy to place greater emphasis on placemaking for town centres at the key stages of development of Local Area Plans and Development Plans.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 176 • Visual Appearance Strategy –to ensure that town centres are attractive places to visit if they are to succeed and thrive and in particular the importance of revitalising existing spaces incrementally rather than depending on large-scale redevelopment. Chapter 8 provides a framework to guide new development, regeneration and renewal of our Towns and Villages. It is envisaged that the Settlement Plans will be supported by public realm strategies to enhance the unique characteristics and assets of selected towns and villages. Positive interventions to improve the public realm of Westmeath's towns and villages can begin with simple measures such as landscaping, paving, street lighting and furniture as part of a long-term vision. In certain instances, improvements to public realm can be delivered incrementally rather than being dependent on large budget projects. However, in such circumstances, care needs to be taken to ensure that works are undertaken as part of an overall long-term enhancement programme and not on an ad hoc basis. Town Centres Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.15 Support the use of targeted financial incentives to re-establish the role of town centres and encourage a greater take up of town centre development opportunities for retail, residential, commercial and leisure uses. CPO 7.16 Seek funding to support the preparation of site-specific Public Realm Strategies to enhance the unique characteristics and assets of Westmeath's towns and villages. Town Centre Management and Placemaking Town centres are facing challenges presented by ever-changing and evolving shopping patterns particularly in the age of on-line consumerism, thus, it is essential that our town centres offer more than the traditional ‘high street’ retail offering. The creation and maintenance of healthy and attractive places requires ongoing improvements to the physical and social infrastructure of our urban centres. Successful town centres are people-orientated places - they present attractive and welcoming destinations, where residents and visitors can enjoy a safe, pleasant and vibrant destination and where businesses can thrive – in turn adding value to the vitality and vibrancy. To maintain activity in our town centres, it is important to provide a competitive mix of compatible uses, including retail and non-retail/entertainment (café's, bars, restaurants) providing for a bustling vibrant atmosphere attracting people to work, live and recreate in the same area. Further, the Town Centre Renewal Framework (2017) outlines the key attributes of a successful town centre and identifies existing supports and best practice examples from around the country. The Framework includes an Action Plan for Town Centre Renewal which is intended to be a blueprint for towns and villages that also provides a structure for collaborative partnerships among stakeholders to achieve successful town centre renewal, whether a large town or small village.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 177 Town Centre Management and Place-making Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.17 Prepare and deliver Place-making and Visual Appearance Strategies for Athlone and Mullingar, in order to support their roles as a Regional Centre and Key Town respectively. CPO 7.18 Promote the value of placemaking in town centres, by preparing a Placemaking Strategy for the towns of Castlepollard, Kilbeggan, Moate and Kinnegad. CPO 7.19 Provide for improvements to the appearance of streetscapes and revitalising of public spaces for example with cost effective, temporary uses that build on the longer-term vision for space. CPO 7.20 Support investment in town and village centres so that they can become more diverse, sustainable and thriving places for communities to live, work and enjoy. CPO 7.21 Ensure the best quality of design is achieved for all new commercial and residential development and that design respects and enhances the specific characteristics and heritage of the different towns and villages in the County. CPO 7.22 Provide for, protect and strengthen the vitality and viability of town centres, through consolidating development, encouraging a mix of uses and maximising the use of land. CPO 7.23 Support and sustain the vitality and viability of town and village centres by ensuring that retail proposals enhance and positively reinforce the public realm. CPO 7.24 Prioritise a Town Centres First collaborative and strategic approach to the regeneration of our villages and towns, using the Collaborative Town Centres Health Check (CTCHC) framework to gather data and lead actions. CPO 7.25 Support the key attributes and strategies as detailed in the Framework for Town Centre Renewal 2017. Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Development in Urban Areas Urban Regeneration and Compact Growth are key focus areas within this Plan, supported with a central objective to regenerate the County’s towns and villages by making better use of under-used land and buildings within the existing built-up urban footprint and to drive the delivery of quality housing and employment choice.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 178 Compact Urban Centres The National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (EMRA-RSES) identifies ‘Compact Growth’ as the means to deliver sustainable growth in our urban settlements through consolidation, rather than the continued sprawl of urban development into the countryside, at the expense of town centres and smaller villages. Westmeath County Council is committed to delivering compact growth through active land management together with the positive regeneration of urban areas and settlements. To facilitate population growth, a significant proportion of urban development will be accommodated on infill/brownfield sites through the redevelopment and regeneration of underused, vacant or derelict town centre and urban lands. It is an objective of the Council to facilitate the continuous regeneration and redevelopment of existing built up areas as equally attractive and as viable as greenfield development to create more desirable places in which people can live and work. Further, it is a priority of the Council to enable infill and appropriate brownfield redevelopment in order to maximise the efficient use of existing infrastructure and services and promote a positive modal shift towards sustainable transport use. Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Development in Urban Areas Policy Objectives It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.26 Support and facilitate the ambitious regeneration of underused town centre and brownfield/infill lands along with the delivery of existing zoned and serviced lands. CPO 7.27 In order to promote the development of brownfield / infill and back land sites, the Council will consider, in appropriate circumstances, the implementation of mechanisms such as the preparation of site development briefs, use of compulsory acquisition of lands and development incentives. CPO 7.28 Monitor the development of greenfield land and rural housing in the open countryside versus brownfield / infill and back land development over the plan period. CPO 7.29 Facilitate the delivery of sustainable, compact, sequential growth and urban regeneration in the town core of Key Towns by consolidating the built footprint through a focus on regeneration and development of identified key town centre infill/brownfield/back land sites promoting sustainable higher densities. CPO 7.30 Combine active land management with best practice planning policies to deliver compact urban growth through the delivery of innovative adaptable urban schemes. CPO 7.31 Facilitate higher and increased building heights at suitable locations and in accordance with settlement hierarchy in line with ‘Specific Planning Policy Requirement’ (SSPR) 1 of the ‘Urban Development and Building Heights Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ (2018). In this regard, the locations for increased building height will be informed by a
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 179 buildings height study and identified as part of the UAP and LAP to be prepared for Athlone and Mullingar respectively. CPO 7.32 Promote regeneration and revitalisation of small towns and villages and support local enterprise and employment opportunities to ensure their viability as service centres for their surrounding rural areas. Brownfield Sites Brownfield sites are classified as any land which has been subjected to building, engineering or other operations excluding temporary uses or urban green spaces. These sites generally comprise of redundant lands and/or buildings. Infill Sites Development within urban infill sites must consider the context of the surrounding area. Development proposals on sites within existing streetscapes should provide for active frontages and continue the established building line. On larger infill sites new development has the potential to establish a new pattern of development; it should however consider matters such as streetscape, layout, pedestrian permeability, location of car parking and service bays as well as the amenity of any adjoining buildings. Backland Development Backland sites are usually undeveloped parcels of land located to the rear of existing buildings. Development proposals on these lands should be prepared using the principles of master planning to ensure that large areas of land, often in multiple ownership, are appropriately planned and developed in a sustainable manner. Masterplans provide a plan-led approach and may include provision for phasing, infrastructure provision, community facilities, density, layout, open spaces, landscaping and development design briefs and statements. Piecemeal development of individual plots will generally not be permitted unless it is satisfactorily demonstrated that the development will not jeopardise the comprehensive redevelopment of surrounding lands. Vacant Site Levy (VSL) The Vacant Site Levy was introduced under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 (URHA) as a site activation measure to bring vacant and underutilised land in urban areas into beneficial use, while also ensuring a more effective return on State investment by enabling infrastructure and helping to counter unsustainable urban sprawl. The legislation also placed a statutory obligation for all Planning Authorities to identify and establish a register of vacant sites. Westmeath County Council have identified a number of sites in Athlone and Mullingar to date. The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 sets out two broad categories of vacant land that the levy may apply to: • Lands zoned primarily for residential purposes; • Lands in need of regeneration.
- URBAN CENTRES & PLACEMAKING 7 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 180 Lands zoned primarily for residential purposes include: • Proposed Residential (PR) and; • Existing Residential (ER) zoned lands as they have capacity to provide residential accommodation. Lands in need of regeneration include: • Mixed Use/Expanded Town Centre zonings as they offer opportunities to sustain and enhance the vitality and viability of town centres and where appropriate to consolidate urban areas. • All ‘Enterprise and Employment’ and ‘Commercial’ zoned lands contained within Tier 1 – Tier 3 of the County’s settlement hierarchy. The above land use zonings are subject to the provisions of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 with respect to the Vacant Site Levy for ‘regeneration’ purposes. (Commercial uses provide for uses including hotels, community buildings, tourism and recreation). Further, all ‘Consolidation Sites’ identified within plan boundary of all towns contained within Tier 1- Tier 3 of the settlement hierarchy for County Westmeath, are subject to the provisions of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 with respect to the Vacant Site Levy for ‘regeneration’ purposes. This Plan sets a framework to identify and secure the redevelopment and regeneration of areas in need of renewal and supports the active land management of vacant sites to address incidents of urban decay and vacancy. The primary objective is to facilitate long-term economic development in the region and the delivery of sustainable housing. Vacant Site Policy Objective It is a policy objective of Westmeath County Council to: CPO 7.33 Maintain and update a Vacant Sites Register in accordance with the provisions of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 to include Tier 1 – Tier 3 settlements within Westmeath. CPO 7.34 Facilitate the implementation of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, in particular, by way of utilising site activation measures, including the provision of the Vacant Site Levy, as appropriate to assist in bringing forward vacant and/or underutilised ‘residential’ zoned land and ‘regeneration’ land into beneficial use within lands identified and zoned within the town boundary of all towns contained within Tier 1 – Tier 3 of the settlement hierarchy for Co. Westmeath.
Source Westmeath County Council: Westmeath County Development Plan 2021–2027 (2021–2027) · 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.