Ciarán Cuffe
Ceist:140 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on progress to date in implementing the national spatial strategy. [16635/03]
Written Answers. - National Spatial Strategy.
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern)
The Government published the national spatial strategy on 28 November 2002 as a 20-year planning framework designed to enable every part of the country to achieve its potential. The strategy aims to build up the strengths of all areas, to achieve more balanced regional development and population growth. It recognises that a greater share of economic activity must take place outside the greater Dublin area and to achieve this, the strategy sets out a framework within which gateways, hubs and other urban and rural areas will act together to allow areas to grow.
Regional and local authorities are key players in taking forward the spatial strategy, starting with the preparation and adoption by regional authorities of regional planning guidelines under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Immediately following the publication of the strategy, I attended a number of events at regional level to brief a wide cross-section of interested parties on the strategy and to start the process of rolling it out to the regions. In February 2003, guidance notes for regional authorities on preparing regional planning guidelines were issued by my Department to all such authorities. The authorities, working in partnership with local authorities, have now commenced this work with the aim of ensuring that the guidelines are in place in all regions by early 2004. A number of the regional authorities have published papers for public consultation in relation to the preparation of regional planning guidelines in their regions and the other regional authorities will do so shortly.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government made two legal instruments to support this process on 1 May 2003. The Planning and Development (Regional Planning Guidelines) Direction 2003 formally directs each regional authority to make regional planning guidelines for its region. The Dublin and mid-east regional authorities have been directed to jointly review the strategic planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area and to make new regional planning guidelines for the combined area of their regions. The Planning and Development (Regional Planning Guidelines) Regulations 2003 set out a number of requirements in relation to the preparation of regional planning guidelines. In particular, the regulations specify that the national spatial strategy is of relevance to the determination of strategic planning policies. This means that regional authorities are obliged to take account of the strategy when making regional planning guidelines.
Structures and mechanisms to integrate the national spatial strategy into planning and activities at Government, Department, State agency, regional and local level are also being put in place to ensure that the strategy directs the spatial aspects of public sector planning, policies and programmes, including the determination of investment priorities. The strategy has already shaped the strategic rail review and the development of the Forfás regional investment strategy. It will also influence the mid-term review of the national development plan, to be completed this year. An interdepartmental steering group, similar to that which oversaw preparation of the strategy, has been established and will now oversee its implementation.
The successful development of gateways and hubs will require the establishment of integrated spatial frameworks for land use, planning, urban design, transport and public service delivery. The relevant local authorities have primary responsibility for driving the preparation of these frameworks, in consultation with relevant public agencies, including those responsible for the provision of transport and other infrastructure, and translating them into statutory development plans to guide the development process. Work on the preparation of such frameworks is well advanced in some gateways and other gateways and hubs are being advised to advance their plans as quickly as possible.
Question No. 141 answered with Question No. 112.