City status group take the fight to the capital
deadline for submissions is midday on Friday 10th November.
Senator Ged Nash (pictured) has appealed to the people of the town to get behind the campaign to ensure that Drogheda’s size and potential is fully recognised in the final National Planning Framework.
He said, “When I secured the Boundary Review for Drogheda, I was confident that the case for a boundary extension spoke for itself and that the town could then take its rightful place at the top of the proposed new National Planning Framework. A change of government and a consequent dilution of influence at the very top put paid to the ambition of extending the town boundary which would have properly reflected the real scale and significance of the town,’ he stated.
“Drogheda’s omission from the National Spatial Strategy did enough damage. However, our exclusion from this plan could be disastrous.
“Unlike the NSS, this Plan will have a legal, statutory effect and governments up to 2040 will be dictated to by this Plan in terms of jobs investment, major infrastructure and service delivery. I am urging anyone who cares about Drogheda to make a submission on the Plan at www.npf.ie,’ he added. THE Drogheda City Status group will bring its campaign to the gates of Leinster House this week with a national launch of a new planning study, aimed at making the Boyneside Ireland’s newest city - with the possible support of Europe!
The report from Brian Hughes, a chartered planning and development consultant, says the latest figures from the 2016 census point to a population of over 83,000 in the Greater Drogheda Area, in effect twice the size of Co. Longford and larger than Waterford City.
The report was commissioned by Drogheda City Status group which has been campaigning for over a decade to end what it claims is the “nightmare” dual administration of the town and its rapidly expanding satellite communities.
Last week the report was handed in to the office of Eoghan Murphy TD, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. The detailed report has also been submitted for inclusion in the Government’s National Planning Framework. A final decision is due presently on a framework plan which will guide planning decisions up to 2040.
The Drogheda City Status report highlights how the former Municipal Borough of Drogheda, together with the adjoining Louth and Meath rural areas, have increased in population by almost 80% between 1996-2016. The population has risen from 46,451 to 83,042 at a time when the average national increase was 31.22%.
The area earmarked for city status includes the borough of Drogheda and the rapidly expanding towns of Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington (LBM) in east Meath, which now boast in excess of 10,000 people and is expected to reach 15,000 or more by the next census in 2021.
Crucially, the report pinpoints how Drogheda/LBM fulfils the criteria laid down by the EU Commission and the OECD for city status because of population density per kilometre and its population in excess of 50,000 people.
‘Co Louth will remain Louth and Co Meath remains Meath but an urban density this size requires a city administration to make the place work,’ The Chairman of Drogheda City Status group Vincent Hoey said.
The report’s author, Brian Hughes, said: “What worries me is the published draft framework proposal ignored Drogheda’s city status request.
‘ This despite the fact that in seeking submissions, the Government said the final policy would be based on evidence.
‘ They have the evidence in this report. They need to act and act now.”