TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

FUTURE SCENARIOS FOR LETTERKENNY
SCENARIO 1: “We are Different Up Here” (National scenario: THE SOW OF LIBERTY)
Article in the “Letterkenny Link” newspaper published on 27 th November 2030.
The year 2030 sees Letterkenny win the healthy and convivial city award for the third year
running. When asked what has been the key to its success, Letterkenny City Councillor, Sean
McBride stated that “we recognised that cities are all different. We also realised that all towns
and cities are at different stages, with different resources and geographies as well as having
different foresighting strategies”. He added that Letterkenny recognises diversity, and has come
up with solutions that go along with economic grain in this particular region. Throughout the
late 2000s, local and Border, Midland and Western (BMW) policy makers began to realise the
value in truly embracing the sustainability ethic as opposed to continually advancing the
concept as political rhetoric.
Whilst the Dublin and the South Eastern region in general have been dominated by commercial
and materialistic values, Letterkenny has taken an alternative stance to the prevailing wind of
materialism and individualism that has swept across the State. Indeed, the entire county of
Donegal is reputed across Europe for its orientation towards quality of life luring professionals to
the North West and promoting the best in work and life balance as well as providing a green
alternative way of living.
Letterkenny serves as the national gateway to one of the most beautiful and unspoiled parts of
the world. People no longer flock to Donegal to visit but to live. However, as a result of this fact
a number of problems have arisen and the rural environment has become a contentious debate.
By 2015, Western Europeans and wealthy Asians started purchasing homes in the Letterkenny
area and surrounding environs and this led to tension between this ‘money spinner’ for locals
and the cap on one-off rural housing. The contentious debate surrounding the rural environment
begs the questions? What should its ‘function’ be? A post-productivity commodity to wealthy
business men and tourists or a national jewel to be treasured? Who owns the Northwest?
Another major issue at this time was the one-off rural housing contesting the Sustainable Rural
Planning guidelines. Even back in 2007, the contentious debate was in place, be it positive or
negative. Some aspects of the sustainable guidelines were welcome, for example, the drawing
of a distinction between urban and rural housing and the development needs of rural areas were
based on the desire to sustain rural communities. However, on the negative side, there was an
increase in the building of individual one-off houses in rural areas with an individual septic tank.
Such housing developments increased car use and ownership. Other concerns included the
potential loss of distinctive rural conditions, cultural traditions, and heritage in the built form.
All these arguments were voiced by the Irish planning Institute. This in turn became a political
centre stage hot potato.
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