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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- INTRODUCTION 1 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 17 1.9 Cross Cutting Themes The following cross-cutting themes inform the plan: Healthy Placemaking - To promote people’s quality of life through the creation of healthy and attractive places to live, work, visit, invest and study in. Sustainable Communities - To develop and support vibrant sustainable communities in Westmeath where people can live, work and enjoy access to a wide range of community, health and educational facilities and amenities, suitable for all ages and needs, in both urban and rural areas, thereby supporting a high quality of life for all to enjoy. Climate Action - The need to enhance climate resilience and to accelerate a transition to a low carbon society recognising the role of natural capital and ecosystem services in achieving this. Regeneration – Urban and Rural Regeneration to capitalise on existing underutilised assets of our towns and villages to achieve compact economic growth as an alternative to unsustainable urban sprawl. Green Infrastructure – To protect and enhance the County’s natural heritage and biodiversity and ensure that networks of green infrastructure are identified, created, protected and enhanced to provide a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits to communities. Tourism – To create strong visitor destinations, attractions and activities through high-quality visitor services to provide memorable, immersive visitor experiences, capitalising on our natural and cultural heritage assets. These six key cross-cutting principles reflect the three pillars of sustainability; Social, Environmental and Economic. The policy context and central objective of this plan is people focussed, recognising that ‘quality of life’ encapsulates strong economic output and stability, good environmental performance and a good standard of living for all, through the creation of healthy, sustainable and attractive places.
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- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2020-2027 18 Table of Contents 2.1 Rationale for Core Strategy ....................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Strategic Development of County Westmeath over the Plan Period 2021-2027 within a national context (NPF) ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 Strategic Development of County Westmeath within a Regional Context (Eastern & Midlands Region) ...................................................................................................................................... 23 2.4 Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) ............................................................................ 27 2.5 Strategic Aims ........................................................................................................................... 27 2.6 Population Trends and Targets ................................................................................................. 28 2.7 Settlement Hierarchy ................................................................................................................ 31 2.8 Population Estimates and Projections to meet Regional population targets ........................... 35 2.9 Regional Growth Centre – Athlone ........................................................................................... 39 2.10 Key Town – Mullingar ............................................................................................................... 41 2.11 Self-Sustaining Growth Towns .................................................................................................. 41 2.12 Self Sustaining Towns................................................................................................................ 43 2.13 Towns and Villages .................................................................................................................... 44 2.14 Rural Areas ................................................................................................................................ 44 2.15 Economic Development ............................................................................................................ 51 2.16 Housing Stock and Capacity ...................................................................................................... 52 2.17 Core Strategy Table ................................................................................................................... 56 2.18 Monitoring and Implementation .............................................................................................. 58 2.19 Core Strategy Policies and Objectives....................................................................................... 58 2.20 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 59
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 19 2.1 Rationale for Core Strategy Part V of the Planning & Development Act 2000 (as amended) contains requirements for all Planning Authorities to ensure that their Development Plans are consistent with high-level strategic policies and population projections for the country. Planning Authorities are required to prepare and incorporate a Core Strategy that shows that the Development Plan is consistent with national and regional objectives under the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the relevant Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). The NPF was adopted and published by the Government on 16th February 2018, as a strategy to replace the National Spatial Strategy 2002-2020. The RSES replaced the Regional Planning Guidelines (RPGs) for the Midland Region and were introduced under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 which envisaged RSESs co-ordinating not only the physical planning process, as was the case with RPGs and Development Plans, but also the Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs) that have been prepared by local authorities under the 2014 Act. The NPF and relevant RSES are thus of direct statutory relevance to the preparation of County Development Plans. Under the Act, a Core Strategy focuses on: Defining a settlement hierarchy for the County that is consistent with the NPF and RSES. • Transposing the prescribed NPF and RSES housing and population targets set at County level for the rural and urban centres identified within the settlement hierarchy. • Providing an evidence-based rationale for the land proposed to be zoned for residential and mixed-use development having regard to the capacity of existing zoned land and the phasing of development taking account of the location of public transport and services. • Demonstrating how the Planning Authority has had regard to the statutory Retail Planning Guidelines in setting out objectives for retail development. The Core Strategy sets out a vision for Westmeath and strategic aims required to deliver this vision. The development of this Core Strategy has been guided by the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government ‘Guidance Note on Core Strategies’ (2010), taking into account relevant changes brought about through the publication of the NPF and RSES. Encompassed within this are revised population targets, zoning requirements and associated policies to ensure consistency with these updated national and regional strategies. These are expressed in the Core Strategy Table (Table 2.9) and related zoning maps. 2.2 Strategic Development of County Westmeath over the Plan Period 2021- 2027 within a national context (NPF) The National Planning Framework (NPF) is a high-level strategy that will shape growth and development in Ireland out to the year 2040. The NPF draws upon lessons learned from the National Spatial Strategy 2002-2022 and provides a framework for the sustainable development of Ireland’s existing settlements. As a framework document it sets in train a process by which more detailed planning documents must follow, including the relevant RSES and County Development Plan. It sets out ten National Strategic Outcomes (NSO’s) which underpin the overarching vision for the country and serve as shared goals, as depicted in Figure 2.1. The Strategy also contains a range of National Policy Objectives providing a wider context for targeting future growth across the country.
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 20 Figure 2.1: NPF National Strategic Outcomes. Source: NPF, p13 With regards the Eastern and Midland Region, the NPF states that the region’s most significant placemaking challenge will be to plan and deliver future development in a way that enhances and reinforces its urban and rural structure and moves more towards self-sustaining, rather than commuter driven activity. In turn, this allows its various city, metropolitan, town, village and rural components to play to their strengths, while above all, moving away from a sprawl-led development model. The NPF identifies an urban structure for the region based on commuting patterns, with reference to the EU/OECD definition of ‘functional urban areas’ (FUAs) which is used to identify areas with different sub-regional interdependencies and influence in the region. The FUAs support and augment the Strategic Planning Areas (SPAs), which provide for a sub-regional planning remit, through recognising spatial, social and economic similarities and differences within each SPA. These FUAs are: • The Dublin Metropolitan Area (DMA) • The Core Region; which is the peri-urban ‘hinterlands’ within the commuter catchment around Dublin, which covers the eastern counties and extends into the Midlands, north into Louth and south beyond the region into Wexford. • The Gateway Region; includes the Midlands and north east border areas, outside the Core Region, which are strategically located as inter-regional portals to the Northern and Western and Southern Regions, where over 400,000 people reside. The Gateway Region also includes the Regional Centres of Athlone and Dundalk.
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 21 In terms of the settlement hierarchical structure, the NPF abolished the linked Gateway status which was attributed to the gateway towns of Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar under the NSS. Athlone has now been designated as a ‘Regional Centre’ and has been identified as a focal point within the region and neighbouring regions in economic and employment, transport, education and public service delivery and retailing terms. Given the importance of regional interdependencies, the NPF directs that it will be necessary to prepare a co-ordinated strategy for Athlone at both regional and town level, to ensure that the town and environs has the capacity to grow sustainably and to secure investment as the key regional centre in the Midlands. In the same way that the NPF requires Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans to be prepared for each of the five cities, a strategic plan that responds to the lead role of each of the five identified regional centres is also required. These consolidated plans will address a high-level strategy approach to the future of each centre. Where these regional centres straddle local authority boundaries, the preparation of these plans must be jointly and collaboratively undertaken. This is the case for Athlone – with collaborative efforts required by Westmeath County Council and Roscommon County Council. The NPF further states that there is scope for potential growth in all towns in Ireland and this will largely be determined by the relevant Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for each Regional Assembly area, also taking into consideration the potential of smaller settlements and rural areas. Moreover, the NPF asserts that “in setting overall targets for future growth, it is a pattern of development that is being targeted, rather than precise numbers. From a long-term, national perspective, the targeted location, relative scale and proportionality of growth will assist in monitoring and assessing delivery and performance” In terms of specific national objectives relevant to Westmeath, the NPF includes a number of targets aimed at growing the Eastern and Midland Region (NPF; p26): Policy Objective 1a: The projected level of population and employment growth in the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly area will be at least matched by that of the Northern and Western and Southern Regional Assembly areas combined. Policy Objective 1b: Eastern and Midland Region: 490,000 - 540,000 additional people i.e. a population of around 2.85 million; Policy Objective 1c: Eastern and Midland Region: around 320,000 additional people in employment i.e. 1.34 million in total; Furthermore, the NPF includes specific targets related to securing compact and sustainable growth in Ireland’s towns and cities, recognising that the physical format of urban development in Ireland is one of our greatest national development challenges. As such it states that within the Eastern and Midlands Region, 30% of all housing outside of Dublin City and its suburb footprints are to be delivered within existing urban footprints. The NPF further states that projecting housing requirements more accurately into the future at a Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and Local Authority development plan level (e.g. through Core Strategies) will be enabled by the provision of new statutory guidelines to ensure consistency of approach, implementation and monitoring. This is enshrined in National Policy Objective 36 (NPF; p95);
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 22 National Policy Objective 36: New statutory guidelines, supported by wider methodologies and data sources, will be put in place under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act to improve the evidence base, effectiveness and consistency of the planning process for housing provision at regional, metropolitan and local authority levels. This will be supported by the provision of standardised requirements by regulation for the recording of planning and housing data by the local authorities in order to provide a consistent and robust evidence base for housing policy formulation. 2.2.1 Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework The Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework (July 2018) highlights the Governments focus on achieving alignment between national, regional and local planning policy and practice. It addresses issues around the legal status of the NPF and provides transitional population projections for the period up to 2031. It also sets out mechanisms to ensure that Development Plans will broadly align with the NPF and RSES’s to address the six-year period up to 2026/2027. Given the above, 2026-2027 will allow the assessment of the first full round of Development Plans prepared in accordance with the NPF and the RSES. This assessment will coincide with several other key dates; 2026 is a Census Year, and 2027 will see the review of the ten-year National Development Plan. It is further noted that Development Plans approved in 2020/21 will commence reviews in 2025/2026 and so require demographic data for the six-year period beyond to 2031. Therefore, it is stated that “The critical population projection periods are to 2026 and 2031, with a particular emphasis on the initial six-year period to 2026, for city and county development plans that are to be formulated during the 2019-20/21 period” (NPF Implementation Roadmap, p4). The Roadmap provides transitional population projections for these milestones at a regional and county scale, in order to inform Development Plans for the period 2026 and 2031. The transitional population projections for the Eastern and Midland Region are listed in Table 2.1 below. For the purposes of this Development Plan (2021-2027), figures up to 2027 are also considered in subsequent sections. Table 2.1: Transitional Regional and County Population Projections to 2031 for the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly. Source: NPF Implementation Roadmap, p13 Regions and Counties 2016 2026 2031 Mid-East Kildare 222,500 249,000-254,000 259,000-266,500 Meath 195,000 216,000-221,000 225,500-231,500 Wicklow 142,500 155,000-157,500 160,500-164,000 Louth 129,000 139,000-144,500 144,000-151,500 Subtotal 689,000 759,000-777,000 789,000-813,500
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 23 Midlands Westmeath 89,000 96,500-98,500 100,000-102,500 Laois 84,500 92,500-94,000 95,500-97,500 Offaly 78,000 85,000-86,500 88,000-90,000 Longford 41,000 44,500-45,500 46,000-47,000 Subtotal 292,500 318,500-324,500 329,500-337,000 Dublin Dublin 1,347,500 1,489,000-1,517,500 1,549,500-1,590,000 Total 2,329,000 2,566,500-2,619,000 2,668,000-2,740,500 2.3 Strategic Development of County Westmeath within a Regional Context (Eastern & Midlands Region) The Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for the Eastern and Midland region came into force in June 2019, superseding the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Midland Region. The RSES is a highlevel plan that seeks to support the implementation of the NPF by providing a strategic planning and economic framework for the region’s sustainable growth and development. It echoes the NPF in emphasising sustainable development patterns and seeks to focus growth within the footprint of existing urban areas and in key regional growth settlements. The RSES seeks to determine at a regional scale how best to achieve the shared goals set out in the National Strategic Outcomes (NSOs) of the NPF. To this end, the Strategy sets out 16 Regional Strategic Outcomes (RSOs), which are aligned with international, EU and national policy and which in turn set the framework for City and County development plans. These are illustrated in Figure 2.2. In relation to Westmeath, the Settlement Strategy for the region designates Athlone as a Regional Growth Centre and aims to promote Athlone’s sustainable and compact growth by setting the town a target population of 30,000 up to 2031. The RSES acknowledges that Athlone includes lands within the combined functional area of two Local Authorities; Westmeath and Roscommon County Councils. As such, a key priority is the preparation and adoption of a Joint Urban Area Plan for Athlone by Westmeath and Roscommon County Councils. The strategy further designates Mullingar as a Key Town, recognising that the town provides a function at a much higher level than its resident population and provides key employment and services for its extensive hinterlands. This designation for Athlone and Mullingar sits within a wider settlement hierarchy which consists of seven settlement tiers (see Table 2.2) as follows; Dublin City and Suburbs; Regional Growth Centres; Key Towns; Self Sustaining Growth Towns; Self Sustaining Towns; Towns and Villages, Rural. Within the top three tiers of the hierarchy, settlements are clearly defined with the RSES. Settlements within the other four tiers are to be further defined in the County Development Plans. Within the higher order settlements of Athlone and Mullingar, the RSES asserts that Core Strategies should apply higher densities in these towns. However, the RSES further states there should
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 24 be a graded reduction in residential densities for Self-Sustaining Growth Towns, Self-Sustaining Towns, towns and villages that are commensurate to the existing built environment. Figure 2.2: EMRA Regional Strategic Outcomes (RSOs). Source: EMRA RSES, p24
- CORE STRATEGY 2 Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 25 Table 2.2: RSES Settlement Hierarchy for the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Region. Source: EMRA RSES, p44 Settlement Typology Description Areas Metropolitan Core Region Gateway Region Dublin City and Suburbs International business core with a highly concentrated and diversified employment base and higher order retail, arts, culture and leisure offer. Acts as national transport hub with strong inter and intra-regional connections and an extensive commuter catchment. Dublin City and suburbs Regional Growth Centres Regional Growth Centres are large towns with a high level of selfsustaining employment and services that act as regional economic drivers and play a significant role for a wide catchment area. Drogheda Athlone Dundalk Key Towns Large economically active service and/or county towns that provide employment for their surrounding areas and with high-quality transport links and the capacity to act as growth drivers to complement the Regional Growth Centres. Bray Maynooth Swords Navan Naas Wicklow-Rathnew Graiguecullen (Carlow) Longford Mullingar Tullamore Portlaoise Selfsustaining growth towns Self-Sustaining Growth Towns with a moderate level of jobs and services – includes sub-county market towns and commuter towns with good transport links and capacity for continued commensurate growth to become more self-sustaining To be defined by Development Plans Self- Sustaining Towns Self-Sustaining Towns with high levels of population growth and a weak employment base which are reliant on other areas for employment and/or services and which require targeted ‘catch up’ investment to become more selfsustaining. To be defined by Development Plans Towns and villages Towns and villages with local service and employment functions To be defined by Development Plans Rural Villages and the wider rural region To be defined by Development Plans In developing this settlement hierarchy, the RSES recognises that population and employment size are not the sole determinant of a settlement’s functional role or in the consideration of its strategic regional significance.
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