The day time population of city as high as 40,000
ACCORDING to the Council submission the vision of Gateway status conferred in 2002 hadn’t been realised yet but Sligo’s “capacity and willingness to grow have strengthened” in the past 15 years. The document outlines the potential Sligo has to become a regional growth centre saying it wished to become “an enterprising, inclusive, resillient and environmentally sustainable place which values and celebrates its unique landscape and rich culture and heritage and where the wellbeing of future generations is central to everything we do.”
It states that Sligo is the largest urban centre in the North West serving as an administrative, employment, commercial, health and education centre for a hinterland that is substantially larger than the hinterlands of other towns with similar populations. It says thousands travel daily to Sligo for work from neighbouring counties so that the day time population of the city could be as high as 40,000. It also pointed out that in the context of Brexit, the National Planning Framework had the opportunity to proactively support the North West by directing growth here.
It also spoke of Sligo’s potential to house an additional population of 27,800 through five identified growth areas including the Docklands, Caltragh and Ballinode. Rail, road and air links are also emphasised as is Sligo’s third level education colleges, IT Sligo and St Angela’s. At the end of 2007, Sligo’s local authorities sought funding from the Gateway Innovation Fund for an overall investment of almost € 188m for four fully designed and financially appraised projects. These included: the Eastern Garavogue Bridge and approach roads; the enhancement of O’Connell Street; creation of a cultural quarter including a new museum and refurbishment of The Model Arts Centre ( above) and Cleveragh Regional Park.
The cultural quarter and O’Connell Street works have not been funded to date while the regional park at Cleveragh “has been partly realised with progress underway regarding land acquisition for the construction of the Eastern Garavogue Bridge.” The submission also highlights the need for the completion of the Western Distributor Road and how there were new public squares planned for Stephen Street and Quay Street car parks and also at Adelaide Street, Centre Block and Connaughton Road. It also describes how Sligo is a liveable, green and creative city.
Cllr Chris MacManus said it wasn’t clear if there would be designated gateway cities as before “but we need to get in at the highest tier possible” and he stressed the need for support from the constituency’s TDs. Cllr Seamus Kilgannon said no one could deny but Sligo had the vision, capacity and ambition to be the growth centre for the North West. He added that in the past 15 years, Sligo could have developed along the lines outlined in the submission but the economic circumstances prevented this. Cllr Michael Clarke sought to have ‘ Capacity to Deliver’ added to the phrase. ‘ Ready to Grow’ in the plan while Cllr Declan Bree wondered would the Department see a need for positive discrimination in favour of the five counties of the region which have shown net population loss. Cllr Jerry Lundy said he would like to see Sligo grow and then expand southwards to benefit towns like Tubbercurry. Cllr Margaret Gormley and Cllr Dara Mulvey wanted the N17 mentioned in the submission as a vital link. He also stated Sligo needed to up its game considerably in terms of tourism as this was a major driver of growth.
“We need attractions for people to stay here rather than them up and going the next morning after a night in one of our hotels.” He mentioned the success of the Wild Atlantic Way and the need for attractions such as the planned mountain bike centre in Coolaney and a greenway on the disused Galway rail line.