Introduction
The Galway City Council Development Plan 2005–2011 has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000-2004
The Plan was adopted by the members of Galway City Council on the 31st January 2005.
Context
The Galway City Development Plan 2005-2011 has been prepared having regard to the various relevant national strategies, plans and guidelines regarding proper planning and sustainable development including the following:
• The National Development Plan 2000–2006 (DoEHLG) seeks more balance regional
development and identifies Galway City as a one of five national gateways.
• The National Spatial Strategy for Ireland 2002 to 2020 (DoEHLG) is the national sustainable development framework that will inform and direct decisions in relation to investment, planning matters and spatial policy over a twenty year period. The development of the city as a gateway, a regional engine of growth, is a key component of the strategy.
• Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland 1997 (DoEHLG) is the pre-eminent statement on sustainable development policy in Ireland. It seeks to ensure that the economy and society of Ireland can develop to its full potential within a well-protected environment, without compromising the quality of that environment and with responsibility towards present and future generations.
• Ministerial guidelines to planning authorities provide guidance in the formulation of policies and objectives that encourage sustainable development. These include guidelines on residential density, housing strategies, retail planning, childcare facilities and architectural heritage.
• National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) is the government’s plan for reducing and preventing poverty in Ireland, came into effect in 1997. The NAPS acknowledges that tackling poverty requires a multi-agency approach.
• The Connaught Regional Waste Management Plan is the strategy that the Connaught regional Local Authorities, including Galway City Council, will implement in order to meet national waste targets and objectives.
• The Galway Transportation and Planning Study 1996–2016, as updated, provides the spatial framework for Galway City and GTPS study area for future urban growth up to 2016 and recommends a transportation strategy compatible with that land use distribution.
• The Galway City Development Board Strategy, Gaillimh Beo agus Bríomhar 2002–2012 which provides the socio-economic context for the physical development plan.
• Western Regional Authority Regional Planning Guidelines 2004-2016 which puts in place a broad planning framework for the region and provides an overall long term strategy for the making of development and local plans for each of the local authorities in the region.
Development Plan Consultation
The Galway City Development Plan 2005-2011 has been prepared following a period of intensive public consultation on various issues and topics that have been addressed in the plan. In addition to the statutory requirements for public consultation, public consultation meetings, presentations and clinics were organised at different locations throughout the city and the mechanisms of the City Development Board were used extensively to disseminate information to a wide range of people and organisations. The consultation period raised a wide range of issues relating to the sustainable socio-economic, physical and cultural development of the city, which were influential in the establishment of the aims and strategies of this development plan.
Structure and Format of Galway City Development Plan 2005-2011
The Galway City Development Plan 2005-2011 consists of the written statement and two maps.
The written statement is divided into eleven chapters and four appendices. Chapter one outlines the overall strategy of the plan. Chapters two to eight address different topics, chapter nine deals with area based policies, chapter ten deals with the Housing Strategy and chapter eleven deals with land use zoning and development standards and guidelines. Each chapter sets out the overall aim, planning context and strategy for each topic. The strategy outlines the stated aim for each topic during the lifetime of the development plan and provides the framework for the related policies and specific objectives. Polices are the Council’s general objectives on a topic basis while specific objectives are more area/site specific relating to various land-use and/or project proposals.
Four appendices are included in the written statement of the development plan:
• Appendix 1 sets out the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the plan.
• Appendix 2 is the list of structures on the Record of Protected Structures (RPS).
• Appendix 3 sets outs details of the Housing Strategy.
• Appendix 4 is a glossary of legal and technical terms and list of abbreviations used in the development plan.
The two accompanying maps are back to back on one sheet and are divided as follows:
• City Map - Land Use Zoning and Objectives, scale 1:2,500
• Overall City Map – Land use Zoning and Objectives, scale 1:10,000