KILDARE NORTH, 31 October: by Brian Byrne. The proposed National Spatial Strategy ‘must take account of reality’, according to the Kildare North Labour Party, which has made a written submission on the draft strategy.
The submission has been endorsed by Deputy Emmet Stagg, Cllr Catherine Murphy (left), Cllr John McGinley, Cllr Pat McCarthy (right), Commr Colm Purcell and Commr Sean Purcell, and says that national recognition of the needs of rapidly developing areas is ‘absolutely necessary’ if the ‘mistakes made by developers stretching back to the 60s’ are not to be repeated.
“A strategy for the physical development on its own will result in compounding and repeating the same problems,” the authors say, “with large tracts of Irish cities/counties being turned into housing estates which, whether private or local authority, were left bereft of essential facilities.”
The authors argue that facilities at present available in Kildare towns are more suited to village living than to the large urban developments which have sprung up over the last 20 years, and maintain that a ‘development fatigue’ has emerged which manifests itself as a resistance to continued large scale growth without the accompanying infrastructure, services or facilities.
“The kind of one-dimensional development that is taking place in Kildare at the moment is not adequately providing for [young families’] educational, health, commercial or leisure needs,” they say.
The authors also take issue with a statement in the draft strategy which suggests that a large enough ‘critical mass’ of population will achieve a state of development that ‘permits the beginning of a chain reaction of onward growth and development’.
Not reality, they say, noting the experience of Kildare North where many additional facilities emerged only following a crisis, for example in classroom provision or direct community action in relation to sporting and recreation provisions.
The submission also highlights the demographic imbalances in North Kildare and West Dublin, where there is a ‘disproportionally young’ age profile, resulting in educational and sporting facilities being unable to cope for a time and becoming underused or redundant in the long term.
In terms of the bodies which might be given responsibility to ensure the implementation of the strategies at local level, the authors of the submission agree that county and city Development Boards may be the correct mechanisms, but they will need to be adequately resourced. They also say that the existing Regional Authorities ‘should be democratically elected in order that they will have democratic legitimacy’.
Full Submission here.
©2001brianbyrne/knn