1. Introduction 2. Vision 3. Context

1. Introduction • Wicklow County Council recognises that the stock of public infrastructure in an economy is a major determinant of its The Council is the statutory undertaker for the provision of a competitiveness and its’ capacity to address some of its range of physical infrastructure. The Council has been active in major social and environmental needs. constructing, upgrading and expanding infrastructure facilities throughout the County. National Spatial Strategy 2002: The National Spatial Infrastructure within the County includes a wide variety of Strategy (NSS) is designed to achieve a better balance of social, services and functions without which County Wicklow could not economic, physical development and population growth between function socially and economically.These include: regions. Achieving spatial balance by developing the potential of • Waste, effluent and emission control, which involves the areas will depend on enhancing capacity for the movement of provision of satisfactory wastewater treatment, the people, goods, energy and information between different places. protection of existing groundwater aquifers and the Physical networks of infrastructure such as roads, public recovery and disposal of household and hazardous waste. transport, energy and communications are of particular • Water supply, which involves the provision of satisfactory relevance to the NSS, since they themselves have a spatial impact water supply to urban and rural areas. and also influence the location, timing and extent of • Fire service, the provision of an operational fire prevention development. Other economic infrastructure, such as water service for the County. services, and social infrastructure, such as crèches and hospitals, • Roads, whereby the Council, in line with Government and relate to particular locations and are also needed to support National Roads Authority policies,shall maintain and improve balanced regional development. A feature of most successful the road network within the County. economies is that they possess a well-integrated infrastructure • Public Transport, the Council shall facilitate the development that supports movement and energy and communications of public transport within the County and to improve public networks. transport links with Dublin City and around the County. • Further infrastructure provision objectives are formulated Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin for areas such as electricity generation, wind energy, Area : The SPG’s identify a number of strategic transportation hydroelectricity, telecommunications and natural gas. corridors, within which there is both good road and rail access. One of the main transportation corridors runs the length of the N11 and the Dublin to Wexford Rail Line, from north east 2. Vision Wicklow to the south east of the County.The main strategy of To promote the use of sustainable and integrated modes of the SPG’s separates the north east of the County, the transport; to protect and enhance the built environment through Metropolitan Area from the remainder of the County, the the provision of a range of high quality water, drainage and waste Hinterland Area, by concentrating growth in the Settlement management facilities; to encourage the use of sustainable and Areas of the Metropolitan Area and the Development Centres of efficient energy resources and to facilitate the provision of the Hinterland Area. This strategy is based on the location of widespread telecommunications infrastructure. these growth centres along the existing transport corridor and is therefore, dependent on its maintenance and necessary upgrade. 3. Context The overall objective of the SPG’s is to develop an integrated National Development Plan: The National Development network of public transport, in particular within the Plan 2000-2006 states that the government is fully committed to Metropolitan Area and to develop the Metropolitan Area in a ensuring that the development of economic infrastructure is way as to reduce the demand for travel and to facilitate public implemented within the period of the Plan. A number of transport. objectives were established in order to achieve this aim: • To monitor and oversee at a high level the delivery of key DTO A Platform for Change 2000-2016: Due to the fact infrastructure projects that the DTO strategy is an integrated strategy it impacts • To promote measures and Best Practice Guidelines which directly on land-use and infrastructure policies.The Strategy has will support the acceleration of programme and project two interdependent elements: delivery; 1. Infrastructure and Service Improvements, to increase the • To promote appropriate institutional, administrative, legal supply of transport, including a substantial expansion of the and regulatory reforms to avoid unnecessary delays in the public transport network, some strategic road construction delivery of infrastructure projects; and traffic management. • To devise and implement a communications strategy to raise 2. Demand Management, to reduce the growth in travel public awareness of the economic and social benefits of rapid through the application of land-use and other policies while implementation of the infrastructure programme; maintaining economic progress, and which is designed to • To support the development and implementation of the encourage a transfer of trips, especially at peak periods, from Public Private Partnership Framework. the private car to sustainable modes of transport (such as public transport, cycling and walking). INFRASTRUCTURE 67 Other strategies and guidelines : 5. Policy • Wicklow Waste Management Plan 2000 – 2004 • Groundwater Protection Scheme 2003 5.1 – TRANSPORT • Wicklow Water Services Investment Programme This section outlines the policies which support the principles of • Draft Sludge Management Plan the DTO’s Transportation Strategy “A Platform for Change”, and • Waste Management : Changing our ways:A Policy Statement the Government’s “Strategic Rail Review”, the DEHLG’s National • Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, DOELG Spatial Strategy and the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the 1997 Greater Dublin Area. • WindFarm Development Guidelines for Planning Authorities, DOE 1996 Roads provide an essential means of communication and • Strategy for Intensifying Wind Energy Deployment, The influence the location, timing and extent of development on both Renewable Energy Strategy Group a regional and local scale. Decisions on land use and development • The National Climate Change Strategy, DOELG 2000 must take account of existing and public transport networks and • Telecommunications Antennae and Support Structures, support the emergence and development of new integrated Guidelines for Planning Authorities, DOE 1996 transport systems. • Quarries and Ancillary Services: Guidelines for Planning Authorities:April 2004 The primary objective of policies relating to transport will • Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area facilitate the provision of proper road infrastructure in a 2004–2016 sustainable manner and the promotion of public and integrated transport networks, in order to ensure the sustainable and economic development of County Wicklow. 4. Strategy The location of County Wicklow within the Greater Dublin Area and its close proximity to Dublin and international links, has 5.1.1 – NATIONAL ROADS resulted in development pressure in particular within the north Policy T1: The Council will, in line with Government and of the County. The Plan, therefore seeks to encourage and National Roads Authority (NRA) policies,and in accordance with facilitate the provision of infrastructure services to meet the the “Roads Needs Study”, published by the NRA and the demand for development and future population increases in an National Development Plan, seek to bring national primary and environmentally sustainable manner. secondary roads up to the appropriate standards. The strategy of this Plan aims to locate population growth and Government policy refers, inter alia, to: channel development in line with the principles of the NSS and • the vital importance of national routes to the economic and SPG’s, including the growth of the Development Centres, and social development of the country, within the Metropolitan and Hinterland Areas. Therefore, the • the need to safeguarding roads investment by preventing strategy in relation to infrastructure services is to promote and premature obsolescence as a result of inadequate control on facilitate the provision of the necessary infrastructure to fully frontage development accommodate this population and achieve a balanced economy, • preventing adverse affects on road safety society and sustained environment. • where local authorities fail to take effective measures to control frontage development, the Minister for the This can be achieved by the provision and promotion of Environment will consider reducing their overall level of integrated transport networks and the encouragement of annual roads’ grants having regard to the reduced benefits sustainable modes of transport such as public transport, walking accruing from national route investment in their areas. and cycling. The Plan aims to deliver and promote a high quality and efficient 5.1.2 – REGIONAL AND LOCAL ROADS water supply, drainage and waste management facilities during Policy T2: The Council will continue the improvement of the Plan period, which will ensure the long term environmental, regional roads and to develop the local

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