Spatial plan bids to drive forward development

PLANS to ease housing and traffic congestion in Dublin and revitalise regional centres will be published by the Government today.

The controversial spatial strategy, kept secret until after the general election and Nice Treaty referendum, is an attempt to recast economic and social development for the first time in the State’s history.

The plans will delight political, business and community leaders in the 15 towns newly designated for investment, and disappoint others not cited for major development.

In the strategy, the Government will also examine restrictions on building single rural houses.

The aim of the overall strategy is to redress the major population imbalance that now sees more than half the country’s 3.9 million population living in Leinster, according to the latest census figures.

The Government’s regional development plan will list nine gateways along with nine hubs to complement these major centres of development.

Gateways are areas with urban populations of more than 100,000, with strong second and third-level education facilities.

Five of the gateway centres will be the main cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, as previously targeted in the National Development Plan.

The four other future cities, deliberately chosen for their location in the Border, Midlands and Western regions, will be Dundalk, Sligo, Letterkenny and the triangle of Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore.

The gateway cities and towns are to drive development in that area and bring about more balanced development patterns. The hubs will be Mallow, Tralee-Killarney, Ennis, Kilkenny, Wexford, Ballina-Castlebar and Monaghan.

The regional centres with urban population of more than 100,000 are intended to draw industry, services and people away from Dublin, thereby spreading economic development more evenly across the country.

The strategy will dictate planning for the next 20 years and ensure the gateways are prioritised for transport, energy and communications infrastructure as well as housing to draw people and business to the areas.

But the plan, to be unveiled by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Environment Minister Martin Cullen this morning, will also seek to support rural communities.

The strategy will likely make it easier for those with strong rural connections to build one-off-housing.