The Case for a Boundary Extension on the Northern Side of Waterford - Prepared: November 2015
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The Case for a Boundary
Extension on the Northern Side
of 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.
Fig. 1 Map of Waterford
City historical boundary
extensions and Waterford
Port
© Ordnance Survey Ireland. All
rights reserved.
Fig. 2 Map of Cork City
and Port in historical
boundary extensions
© Ordnance Survey Ireland. All
rights reserved.
Page 2
Fig. 3 Map of Dublin City and
Port in historical boundary
extensions
© Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights
reserved.
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 with one wing’
Republic of Ireland RGB & CIR - ©
Bluesky International Ltd.
Page 3
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.
Page 4
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
Page 5
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
Page 6Waterford 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
Page 7A 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.
Page 8A 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
Page 9FLAWED 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
Page 11DEMOCRATIC 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 12Kilkenny. 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)
Page 13PERPETUATING FAILURE
Doing the same thing over There has been no impediment to Kilkenny developing a significant urban
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.
Page 14THE 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 15and 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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