elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 9: Urban Development
9. URBAN DEVELOPMENT
9.1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
Urban areas act as vital economic, social and cultural hubs and the continuing challenge is to sustain and
enhance the viability and diversity of these settlements through appropriate development and growth.
Please see Maps 7 – Opportunities and Constraints in Elphin, and Map 8 – Elphin Land Use Zoning, at the
end of this LAP.
9.2 POLICY CONTEXT
National Spatial Strategy, 2002
The NSS places County Roscommon in the West Region, which has as its goal to promote economic
activity and build balanced regional development by building on the dynamic role of Galway as a gateway
and expanding its influence. Aims within the Strategy include the achievement of more cohesive and
integrated local urban communities. The NSS broadly sets out the range of services and facilities that
contribute to the attractiveness of the various settlements within the country. It is acknowledged that there
is a strong relationship between settlement size and the levels of service that can be supported.
Similarly to other areas, the NSS notes that it is important to build on the central locations of the key
towns at the intersection of national road and rail routes, the attractiveness of the village structure and the
natural resources of the rural areas.
The NSS, especially in the development of gateways and hubs, identifies for local authorities where major
future housing needs are likely to arise. This will allow for timely, comprehensive and sustainable
planning responses that integrate housing provision with employment, services, transport and the local
environment.
Through combining the location of housing, employment and other services with good transport facilities,
especially public transport, more effective and sustainable mobility within Ireland will be achievable.
Housing availability requires close monitoring to ensure that, within agreed spatial frameworks, whether
at national, regional or local levels, housing requirements are matched by the supply of zoned and serviced
land.
The development of socially balanced communities can be supported through catering for social and
affordable and other housing market needs in an integrated way.
Local authorities, under the provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, are obliged
to prepare detailed estimates of housing demand for all sectors – private, social and affordable housing –
through the preparation of housing strategies as part of the development plan process. It is vitally
important that both housing strategies and development plans take account of the spatial framework
provided by the NSS.
In addition, it will be critical to provide for an adequate supply of land in line with assessments of housing
land needs, through the development plan system. Such provision will require
• strategic reservation of land through the development plan process, coupled with ensuring
timely and sequential release of land, to avoid delays in the availability and servicing of
land on the one hand and premature release of zoned land on the other.
• broad evaluation frameworks as an aid to the most appropriate spatial locations for
housing land.
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 81