boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council

PART I: INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT Chapter 2: Historic Context, Settlement Policy & Vision
2.3.2 An Post Geodirectory The primary aim of the development and settlement Figure 2: West Region – Spatial Settlement
Utilising the An Post Geodirectory, the number of
existing households in the Boyle LAP area has been
calculated at approximately 1492 (January 2011). If
one were to apply the figure of 2.6 persons (CSO,
2006) as the average number of people per household
in the aggregate town areas for County Roscommon,
the current population for the Boyle LAP area is
approximately 3,879 people.
2.4 SETTLEMENT POLICY
This LAP must be consistent with government policy
documents such as the National Spatial Strategy, the
Regional Planning Guidelines for the West, and the
statutory guidelines on Sustainable Rural Housing,
amongst others. It is therefore important to consider the
role of Boyle within this national spatial development
perspective in order to ensure that the LAP is consistent
with, and contributes to, the delivery of National
Spatial policy at a local level.
strategy in the Roscommon County Development
Plan 2008-2014 (RCDP) is to consolidate the County
as an attractive place in which to live, work, visit and
recreate. The plan seeks to achieve this aim through the
development of all parts of the county through:
‣ economic and social development in the towns
and villages, where most new development will
be channeled 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 RCDP seeks to promote the development of
settlements in accordance with their location in a
hierarchy and as outlined in the NSS and RPGs. The
strategic aim of these policies is to create a more
sustainable balanced development pattern in County
Roscommon.
In the National Spatial Strategy 2002-2020 (NSS);
Roscommon Town, Monksland (Athlone Environs),
Boyle, Castlerea and Ballaghaderreen are the principle
settlements within the county that serve as the primary
residential, employment, service and retail centres.
In the Regional Planning Guidelines for the West
Region 2010–2022 (RPGs) Boyle is classified as a Key
Town. The guidelines seek to develop the strategic
roles for the Key Towns, and support sustainable towns
through County Development Plans and Local Area
Plans which take account of employment, community,
infrastructure and environmental requirements in
serving the urban and rural hinterland areas.
In terms of the current settlement pattern in County
Roscommon, Boyle is a principle settlement within the
county which serves as the primary residential,
employment, service and retail centre. Boyle is
identified as a Tier 2: Key support towns/settlements.
These centres are described as having an interacting
and supporting role to the County town and also act as
service centres for their adjacent rural areas, which
should be further enhanced. They have an extensive
range of services, they also have a growing residential
and commercial sector; strong connections also exist
from these settlements to towns and counties adjacent
to County Roscommon, for example, Boyle to Sligo;
and transportation linkages should be strengthened
between these areas, and to the County Town.
(Source: RPGs for the West, 2010)
Boyle Local Area Plan 2012-2018 Page 8