General Council of County Council, Ireland
An Taisce believes the government's spatial strategy lacks teeth and will do nothing to arrest the decline of rural Ireland or the sprawl of Dublin. We can look at the rhetoric or we can look at the likely reality. An Taisce looks only at the latter.
Spatial Strategy for Quality of Life The government's National Spatial Strategy will determine where development will take place in Ireland . In other words it will decide where we live, work and play - and so crystallise much about our way and quality of life. Because of demographics the next ten years will set in concrete our living environment for several generations.
The Spatial Strategy The paper is an unstrategic strategy! Ostensibly pandering to electoral populism, it envisages that an unrealistic number of places - 17 in total - will become significant growth centres. It also suggests a lack of will to restrict anything much, even growth of Greater Dublin. It suggests a large number of centres can and will grow. But if they do, the first problem is that the principal or "Gateway" growth centres - cities outside Dublin - will not grow enough to develop the critical mass to be counterpoints to Dublin.
Secondly, allocating too many growth centres means that many places that are not growth centres will decline. The non-growth-centres will be most towns and nearly all villages. Their decline will create unnecessary losers.
Thirdly, allocating too many growth centres means some so-called growth centres will in fact not grow. Whether a particular so-called growth centre grows will be determined, not by plans, which say they'll all grow, but by landowners. This serves a developers' agenda not the common good, making losers of us all.
Fourthly, the "whatever you're having" philosophy will lead to the unsustainable continuation of policies that have led to over 35% of our recent housing being built in the countryside.
Fifthly, we believe the spatial strategy will allow Greater Dublin (meaning Dublin and its hinterland in Meath, Wicklow and Kildare)to continue to grow disproportionately, to the detriment of rural Ireland. There is no political will to give teeth to population limitations in the Greater Dublin Area. If there were, why wouldn't the spatial strategy set a strict population limit for the Greater Dublin Area for, say, ten years? Then you could have appropriate population targets for specific places all over the rest of Ireland. In this way you might orchestrate regional balance.
There are already clear signs that there is no political will to curtail development of Greater Dublin, Provision has been made by local authorities in Meath, Wicklow and Kildare for a population more than 100,000 greater than the already-inflated target of 1.76m for the Greater Dublin Area by 2011.
Public Transport Finally, before the spatial strategy was even contemplated, the National Development Plan had made it clear that the government is not serious about sustainable transport. It seems likely to provide over €10bn for roads and nothing at all for new rail outside of Dublin.
An Alternative Strategy In a discussion document, An Taisce is proposing an alternative win: win spatial strategy based on the following:
1) The development of a strictly limited number of "Gateway" growth centres with an inter-regional spread - providing dense and sophisticated alternatives to Dublin. So, An Taisce supports the high-quality development of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. Beyond this, balanced regional development suggests there should be a growth centre in the North West, perhaps Sligo, or Letterkenny and Derry. Three further towns: Tipperary, Portarlington, Co Laois and Claremorris, Co Mayo - representing a geographical spread and all either currently or potentially well-served by rail transport could be added to the list of growth centres, but no more.
2) The proposal that all towns and villages have a right not to decline. To insure intra-regional balance all existing towns and villages should be encouraged to consolidate, providing for local growth including from the surrounding countryside - though not generating significant demand for growth from outside. They should make full use of existing infrastructural potential - social, economic, cultural and environmental.
3) Publication of Strategic Planning Guidelines implementing the spatial strategy as soon as possible for all cities and major towns and their hinterlands. These SPGs should have mandatory, statutory teeth so that they cannot be ignored.
4) A general end to commuter-based/urban-generated one-off housing in the countryside, though An Taisce supports housing for farmers and others tied to the land. Real, affordable alternatives must be provided to one-off housing - in towns and villages.
5) A shift in population growth away from Dublin and its hinterland. The Greater Dublin Area should accept no more than 25% of future population growth. This is an obvious win:win:win prospect for the whole country. Dublin doesn't want pressure on its infrastructure, its hinterland doesn't want reluctant, deracinated commuters and rural Ireland wants quality development in the right places.
6) A transport investment policy which is based on rail as the primary mode of inter-regional transport.
7) Above all however, acceptance that development must be to the highest possible quality standards and be Community-led rather than developer-led.
No country in the history of civilisation has been as rich as we are with the opportunity to re-create its living environment. We currently have a building stock of around 1,000,000 houses. We will build close to another 500,000 housing units over the next ten years. We have the money to forge a model new Ireland - the best-planned country in the new Millennium. We must not squander our opportunity.
See also www.antaisce.org