elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 5: Economic Development and Employment
5.3.2 Future Economic Strategy
In general, there are three different strategies to promote economic activity within towns/villages and
these include; attracting new companies; retaining/growing existing companies; and starting new
companies. Attracting new companies usually takes the form of attracting Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) by means of offering tax incentives or making development sites available. The policy of attracting
this type of investment to peripheral or declining regions in terms of long term economic growth may be
questionable. The availability of land with appropriate infrastructure, availability of skilled labour,
amenities and quality of life are critical location factors. More often than not these criteria are difficult to
fulfil all at once.
It has also become much more difficult to attract such investment due to increased international
competition and the enlargement of the EU which has opened up cheaper labour markets. Furthermore
other towns in Ireland are also competing aggressively for FDI with the majority of projects been located
in urban areas. In response, economic development efforts have had to re-focus on new strategies aimed at
increasing the size of home-grown businesses. Entrepreneurial development therefore forms a key part of
this new perspective. Given the nature of the rural economy and the lack of a national approach to rural
enterprise, devolved funding and other supports available through LEADER, the County Enterprise Board
and the Western Development Commission are especially relevant to rural enterprises. It is essential that
their combined supports under the new NDP are coordinated effectively and are targeted at rural
entrepreneurs and as well as in providing rural business infrastructure.
The development of infrastructure in smaller or more remote areas, such as Elphin, is a key factor in
attracting people and especially small enterprise projects. These include; Broadband telecommunications,
office accommodation and home office facilities, work/life balance opportunities, good road links and
access to public transport, and marketing of these opportunities.
Having regard to the size, scale, and nature of the town, the strategy for economic development in Elphin
must focus on the attainable delivery of local services and potential employment generation. The zoning
of appropriate sites in the town centre to accommodate mixed use development can aid the development
of small-scale services which can enlarge in time if required.
In response to this, it is the policy of the Planning Authority that commercial developments proposed
within towns and villages within Tier 3 to 6 of the Settlement Hierarchy will be exempt from the
development contribution scheme for developments up to 1,000m2. It is hoped that this incentive will help
to encourage appropriate commercial development in towns and villages such as Elphin.
5.3.3 Rural Enterprises in Towns and Villages
Enterprise in rural areas tends to be characterised by small firms operating in the more traditional sectors,
some 65% of enterprises meet the definition of micro-enterprise (i.e. less than 10 employees). Not only do
rural enterprises have to compete with the attractions of urban locations they have to also deal with issues
such as transport costs, market access peripherality, poor communications and physical infrastructure.
Given the nature of the rural economy and the lack of a national approach to rural enterprise, devolved
funding and other supports available through LEADER, the County Enterprise Board and the Western
Development Commission are especially relevant to rural enterprises within County Roscommon. It is
essential that their combined supports under the National Development Plan are coordinated effectively
and are targeted at rural entrepreneurs and in providing rural business infrastructure.
County Roscommon is largely a rural county with an estimated 81% of people live in aggregate rural areas
compared to 40% nationally and 69% in the western region. The following support initiatives and
agencies are in place to support enterprise within the County.
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 39