boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council

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