elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council
elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council
elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council
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Chapter 3: Settlement Policy and Development Strategy<br />
3. SETTLEMENT POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY<br />
3.1. OVERVIEW AND STRATEGIC VISION<br />
The LAP must ‘in so far as is practicable’ be consistent with the following policy documents: the National<br />
Spatial Strategy (NSS); the Regional Planning Guidelines for the West; and, the statutory guidelines on<br />
Sustainable Rural Housing, to name but a few.<br />
The NSS sets out a national framework for spatial <strong>plan</strong>ning; all other spatial <strong>plan</strong>s must coordinate with<br />
this national framework. Regional Planning Guidelines were prepared in order to implement the NSS at<br />
regional level. The ministerial guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing are concerned with the issue of<br />
rural housing, which comes within the ambit of settlement policy. Settlement policy broadly guides where<br />
new development will occur in the county and is a fundamental component of spatial <strong>plan</strong>ning.<br />
The primary aim of the development and settlement strategy for <strong>County</strong> <strong>Roscommon</strong>, which forms part of<br />
the <strong>Roscommon</strong> <strong>County</strong> Development Plan 2008-2014 (RCDP), is to consolidate the <strong>County</strong> as an<br />
attractive place in which to live, work and recreate. It aims to facilitate the achievement of a high quality<br />
of life for residents and visitors, through the sustainable development of further economic and social<br />
activities, in a quality environment.<br />
The <strong>plan</strong> seeks to achieve this aim by developing the county through:<br />
• economic and social development in the towns and villages, where most new development will be<br />
channelled, and where it can bring benefits both to the settlements themselves and to their rural<br />
hinterlands; and<br />
• growth and diversification in rural <strong>area</strong>s, especially where there has been an underlying trend of<br />
population decline.<br />
The current RCDP seeks to promote the development of settlements in accordance with their location in a<br />
hierarchy and as outlined in the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) and Regional Planning Guidelines (RPG).<br />
The strategic aim of these policies is to create a more sustainable balanced development pattern in <strong>County</strong><br />
<strong>Roscommon</strong>.<br />
3.2 POPULATION CONTEXT FOR ELPHIN<br />
The RCDP (2008-2014) Settlement Strategy classifies Elphin as a ‘Key Satellite Village’ (population<br />
range 500-1000) and places it within Tier 3 of the Settlement Hierarchy. The RCDP seeks to promote the<br />
development of settlements in accordance with their location in the hierarchy. The future development<br />
strategy for ‘Key Satellite Villages’ is for these centres to further develop as residential and employment<br />
centres, as well as service and <strong>local</strong> retail centres for their surrounding hinterland. Retail development is<br />
likely to be mainly convenience goods, with supermarkets and <strong>local</strong> shops serving the <strong>local</strong> town and the<br />
hinterland.<br />
It should be noted that Elphin has experienced considerable development pressure in recent years,<br />
primarily due to its proximity to towns such as Carrick-on-Shannon, Longford and <strong>Roscommon</strong> Town.<br />
The town’s attractive rural setting and good provision of amenities/services, including education, are also<br />
significant factors.<br />
Demographic Trends<br />
Elphin lies within the Elphin District Electoral Division (DED) which showed an overall percentage<br />
population increase of 12.1% between Census 2002-2006. This compares favourably to a 1.7% increase in<br />
Elphin Local Area Plan <strong>2009</strong>-<strong>2015</strong> Page 11