The Regional Economic and Spatial Strategy (RSES) has designated a hierarchy of Key Towns with Tralee as a Key Town that is a ‘Large population scale urban centre functioning as self-sustaining regional drivers’ and Killarney as a Key Town with a ‘sub-regional context.’
The RSES is quite clear in its differentiation, grading and ambition for the two types of Key Towns, insofar as:
“Six of the Key Towns have a very significant population scale; Kilkenny City, Ennis, Carlow, Tralee, Wexford and Clonmel. These are major centres for delivery of public services, with large hospitals, third level institutions, courts, local and national government functions as well as economic and business roles and higher order retail functions. These Key Towns are self-sustaining regional drivers and have a comparable structure to the five regional growth centres identified in the NPF. Given their considerable scope for growth, it is envisaged that local authorities should plan for population growth of more than 30% by 2040.”
In the context of the RSES in relation to the County Development Plan, we must be cognisant of the clear target of 30% population growth by 2040 for Tralee, much of this has to be achieved during the lifetime of the new county development plan up to 2028.
This 30% increase on a pro-rata calculation must facilitate the delivery of in excess of 137 new public and private residences per annum and increase employment by an additional 225 jobs per year. With reference to the Tralee Local Area Plan, a target of 40% of all new housing is to be developed in the urban centre of Tralee. In the context of sustainable growth, the creation of employment must also match this 40% target for the urban area.
We are seeking as part of the County Development plan, that a Strategic Growth Plan is developed for Tralee, which must be aided by strategic investment into Tralee to not only meet the target of 30% growth, but out-perform these goals and in time under a review of the NPF achieve re-designation as a Regional Growth Centre.