elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

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