The Case for a Boundary Extension on the Northern Side of Waterford

Home , Kilkenny, Waterford

Prepared: November 2015

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Concentric Development—The Need 2

Extent of the Boundary Extension 5

The Planning Land Use & Transportation Study 6

A Strong Waterford is Vital 8

A Clear and Concise Voice for Waterford 9

Flawed Planning Policies and Lack of Investment 10

Democratic Representation & Efficiency and Adequacy of Services 12

Perpetuating Failure 14

The Future 15

INTRODUCTION

Nearly every city in the world grows concentrically unless physically or politically impeded from doing so. Concentric development allows for maximum efficiency, competitiveness and branding and its absence is a major retarder to performance.

The people of Waterford, the South-East Region and indeed the country as a whole need a strong Waterford.

The existing administrative arrangements have meant that, despite the opportunity being available to Kilkenny for nearly a century, development of consequence hasn’t happened on the northern side of the river. Einstein’s definition of insanity applies – it hasn’t happened and it won’t happen under existing arrangements.

Democratic representation and efficiency in services can be best delivered by an organisation headquartered on people’s doorstep, if adherence to subsidiarity or proximity is to have any meaning as principles for proper local government. In practice Waterford has been the front-line local service provider to residents in the Committee’s area of interest for decades.

The extent of a boundary extension has been in effect defined by the

Planning, Land Use and Transportation Study and the Ferrybank-Belview

Area Plan. It is vital for the future development of Waterford as the Gateway City that the Port of Waterford is included in an extended boundary.

A single clear and concise voice is needed to make Waterford stronger and financial arrangements are not and should not be the determining influence. In any case this Council will not require extensive compensation to correct the decades of under-investment and would view that the economic gain from a unified urban area will facilitate the correction of many of the deficiencies over time.

There simply is no effective alternative to a boundary extension. Political trust has been damaged over decades on both sides and competition between Kilkenny and Waterford will always militate against and prevent an effective co-operative solution. Page 1

CONCENTRIC DEVELOPMENT – THE NEED

Nearly every city in the world grows concentrically as a result of normal

market forces unless constrained from doing so.

The following maps highlight the lack of consistency in relation to previous

boundary extensions in Waterford compared with the historical extensions

in Cork and Dublin and they also underscore the rationale for a city’s port to be located within the administrative boundary of a city.

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In 2004, Frank McDonald wrote in the Irish Times that ‘lopsided development has hampered Waterford’s attempts to show off its best assets that front onto the River Suir’ and in the same article it was noted that the administrative arrangements have rendered Waterford as a ‘bird with one wing’. This lopsided development has significantly damaged

Waterford’s capacity to fulfil its role as a Regional Gateway and as one of the largest economic drivers in the state.

Fig. 4 ‘Bird‘Bird withwith oneone wing’wing’ Republic of Ireland RGB & CIR - © Bluesky International Ltd.

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This is not the sole reason that Waterford has underperformed its peers but it is the major reason.

Why is this the case?

Services are more expensive as they remove from the centre – sewerage

facilities in particular require expensive central upgrades to enhance

capacity and outward expansion inevitably leads to pumping and less

cost effective solutions.

All forms of connectivity to the city centre are weaker with transportation in particular far less cost effective and more time consuming. For example

the development of efficient bus routes is significantly compromised and each and every engagement between the citizen and the Centre is more

time consuming on the average with the attendant loss of productivity.

The city centre is inherently weaker if it is not at the centre of the urban space – the more people in greater proximity to the Centre the greater its

vitality and vibrancy. The centres capacity to fulfil its role as the predominant employment base and the greatest informer of reputation

for Waterford is retarded significantly by development being pushed

further and further away to one side only.

Example: By extending the Boundary and bringing the population of the area into Waterford is solely of its peers dependent on one Waterford will further enhance the rationale for the planned investment in

City Centre bridge because the North Quays and it will strengthen Waterford as the Gateway City for of the lack of concentric development. the South-East Region.

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EXTENT OF BOUNDARY EXTENSION

The Boundary Committee has declared an area of interest which is broadly consistent with the spatial area provided for in the Planning Land

Use and Transportation Study as outlined in Fig. below.

Fig 5: PLUTS Future City

This visualises the future city, indicates the zones for development and it is simply irrational to place an artificial boundary within this area. It will be the single economic zone for Waterford and requires once voice, single leadership and appropriate representation for its leaders.

The Kilkenny County Development Plan 2014-2020 recognises the Ferrybank/Belview area as being ‘an integral part of the Gateway City for the South East Region’. The Kilkenny Local Area Plan for the Ferrybank/ Belview area effectively acknowledges this as well viewing that the area requires to be planned as a whole.

The Report of the Limerick Local Government Committee concluded; The totality of Limerick City, i.e. the contiguous urban area, should not be managed by multiple local authorities. The boundary of the city area should encompass the entire contiguous urban area, with some additional space for future development. Future development in and around the boundary must support the status of Limerick city and, in particular, the city centre. Enhanced cooperative arrangements, pursued in isolation of other changes, would not

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The Planning Land Use and Transportation Study

The Planning Land Use & Transportation Study (PLUTS) completed and

adopted by all three Councils in 2003 further reinforces this proposition

specific to Waterford.

A detailed analysis of all transportation issues, the rational location of employment bases, the need for sustainability in transportation solutions

and maximisation of efficiency and economic potential all determined that the future Waterford City would have to grow to the northern side.

In many respects this was not particularly politically palatable to the

Waterford Councils at the time, but the logic was so compelling that no rational argument could be proposed to counter it.

The logic is every bit as valid today and will be in the future. As a

consequence the future urban entity that is Waterford is clearly defined in

the mapping relating to the Planning Land Use and Transportation Study.

Notwithstanding the agreed framework in the PLUTS, subsequent actions

and decisions of Kilkenny County Council would not give any comfort or

reassurance of co-operation. This is not unique or indeed unusual – the Report of the Limerick Local Government Committee highlighted

‘uncoordinated policy and competition between local authorities’ and instances where ‘strategies and policies agreed at regional level have not

translated into actual decision making at individual local authority level’.

View of Waterford City from north side of River Suir

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Waterford Harbour and the Port of Waterford Company The PLUTS recognised the Port of Waterford is a “key national and strategic asset” and proposed to further develop the area adjacent to the Port as a major employment development node.

The Port of Waterford Company was established under the Harbours Act

1996 with the expressed purposes of managing and developing Waterford

Harbour. The Port has a significant economic linkage with the city. Up until

1992 the Port was located in the heart of the city and as capacity demand increased it was necessary to expand further down-river.

The future economic development of Waterford City will be closely linked with having sufficient transportation infrastructure and the location of both

Waterford Port and Waterford Airport within the boundary of Waterford City and County Council will ensure that an integrated approach can be ensured in future planning for the Gateway City for the South-East Region.

The Report of the Limerick Local Government Committee is also relevant on this issue concluding that situations where primary assets (in Limerick’s case, the University of Limerick) cross local authority boundaries should be avoided.

View of Port of Waterford from south side of River Suir

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A STRONG WATERFORD IS VITAL

It is an imperative for the people of the area, the region and the country

that Waterford has the greatest possible capacity to perform from both an

economic development and societal perspective.

From an economic development perspective:  The capacity of our major urban centres is critical to our future

competitiveness internationally.  As a centre of 50,000 people Waterford is the only viable Gateway

for the South-East and needs to be the predominant economic driver.

 A unified urban area can deliver greater opportunity for all its citizens.

From a societal perspective:

 The building of community in the wider urban context can only be

achieved without artificial boundaries.

 The artistic and cultural contribution of the city to the national

scheme of things will be better enhanced through a unified voice

and

 Appropriate democratic representation can only enhance citizen participation in all facets of life both locally and nationally.

As part of the reforms of local government in Northern Ireland, the

boundary of Belfast City Council was extended to include the contiguous urban area around the city, increasing the population by almost 25% and

incorporating parts of three other Councils – economic development was one of the main drivers behind the decision to extend the boundary.

The merger of Waterford City and County Councils in 2014 was only the first

step of the required reforms to ensure that Waterford can develop to its

potential as a Gateway City for the South East Region. To complete the

process, the boundary needs to be extended to incorporate the

contiguous urban area, the Port of Waterford and surrounding areas within

the Committee’s area of interest.

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A CLEAR AND CONCISE VOICE FOR WATERFORD

A clear and concise voice for Waterford City is needed and two parts of Example: If an IDA itinerary vis- the same urban area cannot have a single and concise voice having: its Waterford they can be shown Belview, Butlerstown  Two sets of executive and political leadership and Old Kilmeaden Road and has to meet both Councils. To  Differently defined goals and needs. the investor, it simply is and  Internal competition influences. looks stupid.  Vested interests that will always divide opinion.

Our competitors and vested interests have the capacity to drive a coach and four through our differences at both political and executive level and it can’t continue.

There is only one solution that can deliver this clear and concise voice – a boundary extension over the full area of the future City.

The current boundary between Waterford City and County Kilkenny is undermining the role of the Gateway city, its competitiveness and capacity to exploit the potential of the city and function as the economic driver of the region. Current planning policies clearly run counter to the optimal strategy for the desired development of the city and are impacting on its vitality and retail function.

Mao of South East Region Source: National Spatial Strategy

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FLAWED PLANNING POLICIES AND LACK OF INVESTMENT

There have been flawed planning policies and underinvestment across a

whole host of areas.

 No evidence of investment in sustainable transport measures.

 Poor quality urban design in residential areas.

 No advanced planning frameworks or design to ensure future sustainability.

 Many policies ignore the presence of Waterford City and the City Centre on its doorstep.

Images of Ferrybank Shopping Centre and Car Sales Showroom

Let’s look at the Ferrybank Shopping Centre as an example:  It’s developer-informed, in the wrong place and the wrong scale.

 Had successive designations as a ‘Town Centre’ and a ‘Suburban Centre’ contrary to national policy.

 Ignores the presence of the city centre visible just across the river.  Ignores the presence of Ferrybank Neighbourhood Centre a few

hundred metres away.

 Has had a planning history that has seen acquiescence from

Kilkenny to more and more comparison retail development.

 Has no market sustainability due to being completely out of scale

with the available population when it would have been perfectly

viable as a District Centre. (3,000 people cannot support over 20,000

square metres of retail regardless of form and any development

profile for the area cannot close the gap in any realistic or sustainable timeframe)

 Will render the Abbeylands and Ferrybank neighbourhood centres unviable.

 Is the only shopping centre in the Western World that has a car sales showroom where in combination;

 No car can be serviced or worked on  No used cars can be sold as a condition of permission.

Page 10  No car can access it with ease.

The Ferrybank/Belview Local Area Plan adopted by Kilkenny County Council in 2009 sought to rationalise the Ferrybank shopping centre as a way of avoiding ‘leakage of potential retail expenditure from the plan area’ and, bizarrely, suggested that the shopping centre has the potential to ‘kick-start the area’s tourist trade’.

Image of Ross Abbey Retail Development

Images of Ferrybank Neighbourhood Centre, Waterford

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DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION AND EFFICIENCY AND ADEQUACY OF SERVICES.

Representation

Real representation is absolutely critical to the democratic process and is

currently being stymied for citizens of the Ferrybank area through:

 There being historically low levels of representation from the urban area and low levels of representation from the urban area and low

participation as a consequence.  The individual citizen having no say in the City where they are

predominantly employed, receive education and receive the majority of their services.

Efficiency

Geography dictates that the efficiency of services delivered from a headquarters less than a mile away will be greater than that from a

remote location:

 Senior decision makers will have greater oversight due to proximity.

 Citizens and representatives will be able to demand efficiency and

service more readily due to proximity.

 The logistics and travel distances are simpler and less costly.

Adequacy of Services

Enhanced accessibility will aid social inclusion and the availability of all services less than a mile away will be of assistance to everybody residing in

the area.

There has been a complete lack of investment by Kilkenny County Council in community, recreational, cultural and social services.

Now and in the past there has been near absolute dependence on

Waterford City for the provision of social and cultural services.

Under-investment

This history of under-investment by Kilkenny County Council is best

demonstrated by the provision of social housing in Ferrybank and the

surrounding areas. Since the 1930’s Waterford City Council has been the

de facto provider of social housing on the northern side of the river. There

are 9 separate housing developments provided by Waterford in the subsequent decades – most of these were developed within county Page 12

Kilkenny. Waterford City and County Council has more than 270 social housing units in Kilkenny. Waterford has nearly 750 requests for housing assistance in the Ferrybank area.

Waterford Council also supports community development projects and estate management in Kilkenny. The sports fields used by Ferrybank GAA and soccer clubs, located in county Kilkenny, are actually leased (at low costs) to the two clubs by Waterford City and County Council.

Apart from the library located in the otherwise unused shopping centre, there are practically no leisure or recreational amenities, such as playgrounds, provided by Kilkenny County Council in Ferrybank (which outside of Kilkenny city is the largest populated area in the county).

Image of Ferrybank Pride of Place Winners (2012)

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PERPETUATING FAILURE

There has been no impediment to Kilkenny developing a significant urban Doing the same thing over and over again and area on the northern side of the Suir since the formation of the State. It expecting different results? had suitable topography, a natural drainage outlet, significant water

frontage, proximity to the portal function and a National Primary

transportation artery.

Why didn’t it happen?  The political and executive decision makers were at a remove from

the area.  Kilkenny City understandably received priority.

 There was no political or executive will to make the necessary investment.

 All politics being local meant that an area served by a limited number or indeed no Councillors will attract little investment.

 There was and remains a lack of urban focus, with predominantly

rural elected representatives informing policy.

 There have been flawed planning policies and a consistent lack of

investment due to this lack of urban focus.

 The vast majority of investments were made or catalysed by others

eg. services to Belview Port.  Kilkenny was quite happy to sit back and allow Waterford bear the

costs of the recreational, cultural and social supports.

In truth there was little or no interest or acknowledgement of Waterford’s existence by Kilkenny until the Port moved to Belview in 1992 whereupon

the realisation of potential rates income brought some interest, the sole substantive interest that is in effect still being expressed.

The ultimate outcome of this was that largest populated area in the

county outside of Kilkenny city was totally neglected by the County

Council – for example there is almost a complete absence of publicly

provided recreational facilities in the area.

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THE FUTURE

Financial arrangements are not the vital issue even though they have to be recommended within the Local Government Boundary Committee process and will therefore need to be fully teased out. Similarly a boundary extension to incorporate the Committee’s area of interest would not have significant staffing implications for either Council.

It is our view that there has been significant underinvestment in the area over time both in terms of day to day services and capital investment. This will have to be remedied at a cost. Waterford City Council has historically provided significant services for the area whether sporting recreation, cultural or social.

It would appear to us that proportionate funding is not being spent in the area and in all the circumstances a neutral financial position is sustainable, with the rates income and proportionate transfer of the Local Government

Fund and other grants transfer with a boundary extension.

There is simply no other workable co-operative solution!

It is very much an Irish cultural reality that places of different name – cannot do co-operation and only do competition. Waterford and Kilkenny people work together on a daily basis but there are different priorities.

Kilkenny City and its environs are understandably a priority for Kilkenny County Council, Waterford City and its environs are equally so for

Waterford City and County Council – ne’er the twain shall or can meet on some of the major issues.

It is entirely to be expected that Kilkenny County Council and indeed

Kilkenny residents will argue of the need to protect their traditions and their identity. The Report of the Limerick Local Government Committee also recognised the need to preserve heritages and traditions but concluded that preservation must not compromise the decision-making, effectiveness or operation of the new arrangements.

There are many areas where cooperation is possible but in the big areas it is almost impossible and far too easy for vested interests to lever the difference between the authorities and the people open.

The only solution is one entity, the closest to the citizen, delivering quality Page 15

and representing the urban entity with one voice.

Any suggestion from Kilkenny that they will commit to the implementation of agreed strategies such as the PLUTS really cannot be trusted. Decades

of under-investment on the northern side of the river, coupled with some

irrational planning decisions in recent years provide two very compelling

reasons for this lack of trust.

A boundary extension will not only improve the quality of life for the

residents of the City and surrounding suburbs , particularly those currently in south Kilkenny, but will also benefit the residents in the South East Region

by enabling its Gateway City to maximise its potential.

The residents of the suburbs of Waterford city who are resident in county Kilkenny would benefit from a boundary extension in several ways. Firstly,

they would be given democratic representation and would have a say in what happens in the city that they live in. They will move from being both

politically remote and at the periphery of decision making in county Kilkenny to being at the centre of a strong urban-focused Metropolitan

District which has a clear understanding of the needs of an urban

population and a track-record of service delivery. The residents will be

able to enjoy the full range of Council services on their door-step as

opposed to the relatively limited range of services under the present

arrangements.

Bringing the population of northern side of the river into Waterford will

strengthen the city and will enhance the rationale for the planned investment in the North Quays. A boundary extension as proposed would

also ensure an integrated, urban-focused approach to the development of transportation within the city.

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