Development plan · Wicklow County Council
Wicklow County Development Plan 2022–2028 – Volume 1 Written Statement
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards.
Wicklow County Council · 2022–2028 · 465 pages
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- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08c Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council CRONEYHORN - BALTINGLASS M.D. DAVIDSTOWN - BALTINGLASS M.D. GLENMALURE - ARKLOW M.D. CRAB LANE - BALTINGLASS M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028113
- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08d Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council GORTEEN - BALTINGLASS M.D. KILAMOAT - BALTINGLASS M.D. KILCARRA - ARKLOW M.D. GOLDENHILL - BALTINGLASS M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028114
- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08e Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council KILMURRAY (NTMK) - WICKLOW M.D. KINGSTON - ARKLOW M.D. MACREDDIN - ARKLOW M.D. KILLISKEY - WICKLOW M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028115
- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08f Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council MULLINACLUFF - BALTINGLASS M.D. OLDCOURT - BALTINGLASS M.D. PARK BRIDGE - BALTINGLASS M.D. MOYNE - BALTINGLASS M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028116
- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08g Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council REDWELLS - BALTINGLASS M.D. STRANAKELLY - BALTINGLASS M.D. TOMACORK - BALTINGLASS M.D. RATHMOON - BALTINGLASS M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028117
- Wicklow County Council Planning Department Settlement Boundaries Rural Clusters Map No. 04.08h Map not to Scale Legend Level 9 - Settlement Boundaries © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved Licence number 2022/35/CCMA/Wicklow County Council TOMRILAND - WICKLOW M.D. WICKLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2022-2028118
- Wicklow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Chapter 5 | Placemaking for Town and Village Centres CHAPTER 5 TOWN & VILLAGE CENTRES - PLACEMAKING & REGENERATION 5.0 Introduction Wicklow has a strong and diverse network of towns and villages that perform a variety of roles and functions for their residents and the wider rural communities. The strengths of these settlements lie in their capacity to accommodate a mix of uses including residential, employment, community and other functions in a compact, walkable environment that provides a high quality of life. They are a hub for social, economic and administrative functions in addition to providing places for recreation, worship and leisure. Town and village centres have experienced significant challenges to retain vibrancy and vitality. The National Planning Framework (NPF) places a strong emphasis on strengthening Ireland’s urban structure by targeting both population and employment growth in urban areas, promoting urban infill and brownfield development and ensuring that towns and villages are attractive, liveable, well designed, high quality places that are home to diverse and integrated communities that enjoy a high quality of life and wellbeing. The NPF acknowledges the importance of rural towns and villages in terms of their economic, administrative and social functions and seeks to activate the potential for renewal and strengthen and diversify rural towns as a focus for local housing and employment growth and regeneration. Towns and villages are continually evolving. This is essential for their survival. It is important that Wicklow’s planning policy is flexible to allow town centres to evolve and diversify. It is therefore the strategy of this plan to: Activate the potential for regeneration and renewal of our town and village centres, creating resilient, adaptable and vibrant places with a strong focus on creating compact towns and villages. Planning policy for Wicklow’s town and village centres will: Protect and maintain the future viability of town and village centres by facilitating a diverse mix of uses; Embrace the historic character and heritage attributes of town and village centres and strengthen the strong sense of place; Support and enhance the potential of our towns and villages as focal points for the local community, for tourism and culture; Ensure that town and village centres are attractive places to live in, to work in and to visit, easy to get to, easy to walk and cycle within and are competitive places to conduct business; Enable town and village centres to address economic challenges and exploit opportunities; Maximise the use of public assets; Create compact towns and villages by reusing existing buildings and maximising the potential of infill and brownfield sites; Promote healthy placemaking and prioritise walking and cycling; Use public realm improvements to stimulate investment and economic confidence; Facilitate an expansion of convenience and comparison floorspace within the County to reduce leakage of expenditure from County Wicklow to other counties; Guide and promote the expansion of retail floorspace first and foremost within the core retail areas / existing town and village centre areas and thereafter in accordance with the sequential approach to retail development; Require a high quality of design in all centres.119
- Wicklow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Chapter 5 | Placemaking for Town and Village Centres 5.1 Role of Town & Village Centres Town and village centres need to be able to adapt and evolve to remain vibrant and relevant. The challenges facing town and village centres are evident in the number of vacant units and underutilised sites in some towns and villages. Town and village centres throughout the County need to be dynamic and able to evolve to accommodate new uses. The reuse and regeneration of vacant buildings is an essential catalyst to transform the capacity and potential of our smaller towns and villages. The growth of online retail has undoubtedly impacted on towns and villages. Retailers can access new markets without the need for physical presence. This has undermined the traditional function of the ‘Main Street’. Second to online retail, the most significant challenge for town centres has been the growth in out-of-town shopping centres and retail parks and their ease of accessibility. As the nature of retail evolves it will be necessary for some town and village centres to redefine and broaden their functions. It is no longer sustainable to rely on retail as the only use in town and village centres. The lasting effects of the COVID 19 pandemic will further redefine how retail operates into the future, particularly in relation to floor space requirements as businesses move towards a more hybrid way of operating and probable mix of both on-line and physical experience. Geodirectory, in their analysis of commercial data between 2010 and 2019, identified a number of trends in urban areas including ‘1) an increasing café and bar culture, 2) a greater number of beauty salons and personal grooming establishments and 3) a growing preoccupation with health, fitness and well-being’. The number of cafés in the GDA (excluding Dublin) has grown by 11% while the number of beauty salons has increased by 22%. There is significant potential in Wicklow to expand the role of towns and villages and to develop them as enterprise hubs, becoming viable and attractive alternatives to major employment centres. These smaller settlements have a comparative advantage in terms of lower costs. Wicklow boasts a highly skilled workforce and this is a significant asset for towns and villages, particularly in terms of making them attractive to new employers. Technological advances are making it easier to work remotely. There is potential to greatly expand the provision of shared / remote working hubs. This will also increase activity and footfall in town and village centres. It is important to support and strengthen local distinctiveness, a key element in placemaking that makes a place attractive to investment. In addition, there is significant potential to facilitate additional residential development in the centres by reusing existing buildings, intensification and densification. This will reverse the long term trend of people leaving town and village centres and help put people back at the heart of town and village centres. This can be achieved through a range of options including infill, conversion of existing underutilised buildings, over the shop residential etc. Town and village centres must be accessible and attractive to all, a place where people come together, interact, socialise and enjoy. They should include facilities and services which serve the needs of all members of the community; children, adolescents, young professionals, families and elderly people. 5.2 Successful Town Centres The Framework for Town Centre Renewal (Retail Consultation Forum) identifies 11 key attributes for successful town centres. These are presented in Figure 5.1. The two attributes which are of particular importance in terms of planning and the built environment are ‘Place Making Strategy’ and ‘Visual Appearance Strategy’. The Framework notes that ‘as investment and people are increasingly mobile, considering the quality of a place becomes ever more important. A place making strategy is essential for ensuring that a town positions itself as an attractive location for investment, for talent and as a place to enjoy a good quality of life’. The visual appearance of a town has an immediate impact on the perception of a town. Interventions in the public realm can have a transformative effect and act as a catalyst for regeneration and future improvements.120
- A ‘ Th be hav hav pe 1 A health check e Retail Plan en very activ ve been carr ve also bee rforming. Annex 2 Assess So k’ assessmen nning Guidel ve in County ried out for B n carried ou sing the Vitalit Figure 5 ource: Framew t provides a lines (DoECLG y Wicklow in Bray, Blessing ut for Wickl ty and Viability 5.1 Key Attrib work for Town consistent fr G 2012) iden n carrying ou gton, Kilcoole ow and Ark y of Town Cen Ch butes of a Suc Centre Renew ramework fo ntify a numb ut health che e, Baltinglass klow. These ntres, Retail Pla Wicklo apter 5 | Pla ccessful Town wal (Retail Con r assessing t ber of health eck assessme s, Newcastle assessments anning Guidel ow County De acemaking fo n Centre nsultation Foru he vitality an h check indic ents. To date and Dunlavi help to un ines 2012. evelopment or Town and um) nd viability o cators1. The e health che n. Preliminar nderstand ho Plan 2022-20 Village Cent f a town cen community eck assessme ry health che ow the town 028 tres ntre. has ents ecks n is121
- Wicklow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Chapter 5 | Placemaking for Town and Village Centres Qualities of a Vital & Viable Town Centre Attractions These underpin a town and comprise the range and diversity of shopping and other activities which draw in customers and visitors. Accessibility Successful centres need to be both accessible to the surrounding catchment area via a good road network and public transport facilities, and to encompass good local linkages between car parks, public transport stops and the various attractions within the centre. Amenity A healthy town centre should be a pleasant place to be in. It should be attractive in terms of environmental quality and urban design, it should be safe, and it should have a distinct identity or image. Action To function effectively as a viable commercial centre, actions need to follow: development and improvement projects should be implemented efficiently; there should be regular and effective cleaning and maintenance and there should be co-ordinated town centre management initiatives to promote the continued improvement of the centre. Source: Retail Planning Guidelines, DoECLG 2012 Vitality and viability are key indicators in determining the health of a town or village centre. Vitality refers to how active a centre is and viability refers to the commercial wellbeing of the centre. Successful healthy town centres provide a diversity of uses, activities and experiences which in turn feed off each other. A broad mix of uses encourages trade and activity and contributes to a range of activity from daytime through to night time. The predominance of one particular use along a street or in an area can limit the potential for activity and have a negative impact on the streetscape. The quality and vitality of the street can be undermined by the concentration or clustering of uses that fail to interact with the streetscape - enclosed car parks, blank shop frontages and ground floor offices. Such uses can result in bland inactive frontages that detract from the vitality and appearance of the streetscape. Solid ground floors with few windows and doors and no relief in colour or texture create a hard edge that is unwelcoming to pedestrians. A strong sense of place is created by a street that is lined with active street frontages. Active street frontage provides for passive surveillance and promotes pedestrian activity. Within the town and village centres, ground floor units should be occupied by uses that promote a high level of activity and animation, including residential use. In order to maximise the effectiveness of street activity in town and village centres, setbacks should be minimised and where possible a high frequency of entrances provided. Internalised shopping or commercial environments that ‘turn their back’ on the public realm and present a blank street frontage have negative impacts on the attractiveness of urban centres and will not be encouraged. The Retail Design Manual advocates that where large units are required ‘negative streetscape impacts can be avoided by ‘wrapping’ the large floorplates with complementary streetfront units such as hairdressers, cafes, bookshops and suchlike’. Artisan food and craft shops, pop-up shops and country markets are a positive addition to towns and villages as they increase vitality and viability. Markets should be appropriately located in the town or village centres where they can be accessed by pedestrians rather than at sites which require vehicular travel. 5.3 Placemaking Placemaking focuses on the interaction between people and the built environment, a sense of place and facilitating a high quality of life. There is growing acceptance that placemaking generates social and economic outcomes and fosters healthy sustainable communities. Placemaking encapsulates all the elements that make a place memorable and enjoyable to be in. There are key elements in the creation of attractive places and these include, but are not limited to, the quality of the built environment, the public realm, how buildings and spaces interact with each other, active street frontage, variety of uses, permeability and pedestrian activity, the availability of community facilities122
Source Wicklow County Council: Wicklow County Development Plan 2022–2028 – Volume 1 Written Statement (2022–2028) · 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.