boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council
boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council
boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council
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PART I: INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT Chapter 2: Historic Context, Settlement Policy & Vision<br />
indicated as a key town within the RPGs with a defined growth rate, population<br />
targets and estimate of residential land requirement. Population growth is<br />
envisaged to be higher in this primary growth centre than the other settlements,<br />
with the exception of Monksland/Bellanamullia (Athlone West) which is<br />
linked to the Midlands Linked Gateway.<br />
‣ Key support towns have an interacting and supporting role to the <strong>County</strong> town<br />
and act as service centres for their adjacent rural <strong>area</strong>s. Population growth for<br />
these centres is expected to be less than that for the <strong>County</strong> Town, with Boyle<br />
marginally less than <strong>Roscommon</strong> and then Ballaghaderreen and Castlerea less<br />
than that again but above that expected of the Remainder of the <strong>County</strong> as<br />
reflected in the RPGs.<br />
‣ The Gateways as priority growth <strong>area</strong>s should be growing at faster rates then<br />
the regions, though the Hub and Linked Hub are also expected to grow and<br />
build on critical mass at a higher rate then recent trends, while the rest of the<br />
region grows at a steadier rate in line with the NSS principles.<br />
‣ The Regional Planning Guidelines for the West 2010 – 2022 recognise<br />
Monksland as an integral part of the Athlone Gateway and the fact that this<br />
<strong>area</strong> is an important employment generating <strong>area</strong> for the Midlands and Western<br />
Region.<br />
‣ Monksland/Bellanamullia (Athlone West) is always likely to have a greater<br />
population growth rate than anywhere else in the <strong>County</strong> due to its proximity<br />
to the Linked Gateway of Athlone-Mullingar-Tullamore. This will continue to<br />
be encouraged.<br />
‣ In the past the actual population growth has not always reflected expected<br />
trends. For example, between 2002 and 2006 Boyle grew at a greater rate than<br />
<strong>Roscommon</strong> Town (14.4% as opposed to 12%) largely due to tax incentives<br />
and improvements in roads infrastructure such as the N4 which provides easy<br />
access from this <strong>area</strong> to larger employment centres such as Carrick-on-<br />
Shannon and Sligo. Due to the cessation of the tax incentives, growth is likely<br />
to decrease to below that of the <strong>County</strong> Town.<br />
‣ During periods of economic decline the normal trends of population growth<br />
levels in towns exceeding those of rural <strong>area</strong>s normally slows. In this context,<br />
and with the continuation of the weak economic growth observed at the start of<br />
the LAP period, there may be an expectation that population stagnation or<br />
decline may occur during the LAP period. This contingency has been considered<br />
in the strategic development model summarised in section 2.6 of this LAP.<br />
‣ Growth in Ballaghaderreen particularly, was fuelled by the presence of the tax<br />
incentives (at 21.5% between 2002 – 2006) which has left many unoccupied and<br />
unfinished houses in the town. This growth is likely to drop significantly and the<br />
settlements of Ballaghaderreen and Castlerea are expected to be similar. Their<br />
growth is encouraged to be greater than that for the Remainder of the <strong>County</strong> as<br />
reflected in the RPGs.<br />
‣ Development will continue to be encouraged into zoned <strong>area</strong>s, which have the<br />
requisite infrastructure and services to support sustainable development<br />
Therefore, the assumed growth rate for 2011 – 2017 for the settlement of Boyle is<br />
as follows;<br />
Settlement<br />
Per annum growth Total for period<br />
rates<br />
Boyle 1.8% 11%<br />
Therefore the assumed growth rate for 2017 – 2023 for the settlement of Boyle is<br />
as follows;<br />
Settlement<br />
Per annum growth Total for period<br />
rates<br />
Boyle 1.67% 10%<br />
The population increase between 2011 and 2017, based on minimum population<br />
targets, is 299 persons. The total number of residential units required over the<br />
period 2011 – 2017 is indicated at 120 units with a projected average household<br />
size of 2.5 (even though the figure given in the 2006 census was 2.6 for aggregate<br />
town <strong>area</strong>s in <strong>County</strong> <strong>Roscommon</strong>). These are then used to calculate the total zoned<br />
housing land required over the period 2011 – 2017 (incorporating a 50% over<br />
Boyle Local Area Plan <strong>2012</strong>-<strong>2018</strong> Page 10