Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this matter which provides the opportunity for me to discuss the advancement of housing, community facilities and planned infrastructure in Celbridge area and the continued planned growth of this important town in tandem with the supporting infrastructure and amenities required. This matter was originally tabled for last Thursday and the Minister, Deputy Murphy, had hoped to take it as it is an issue with which he is happy to engage. I welcome the Deputy's positive comments regarding the funding announced for project B for Celbridge and the other counties. Deputies O'Rourke and Durkan raised it with the Minister, Deputy Murphy, and myself on numerous occasions. We recognise the importance of it. We will have development in key areas such as Kildare and Celbridge in this case and we will be bringing forward housing proposals. We also have to provide the necessary infrastructure in order that we provide such development in a co-ordinated and planned way.

The Minister, Deputy Murphy, and the Taoiseach made it very clear when Project Ireland 2040 was announced that four or five funds would be announced later in the year, and that happened in May or June, to back-up Project Ireland 2040 and to make sure our plans are realistic. The Deputy rightly identified the importance of the bridge and the relief road for Celbridge as key areas if we are to be able to develop these lands in a positive way for the town but also to provide housing for people from the area who want to have their own homes or other people who want to live in the area. We are seeking to achieve a proper co-ordinated structure with good planning and infrastructural development, and that is what funding under the urban renewal fund addresses. I recognise Deputy O'Rourke's comments in that respect and the importance of having discussions such as this one in the House to make sure we get all this right. Deputy Durkan and himself have kept us focused on this.

The Deputy's raising of this matters gives me the opportunity to outline where we are at with the development. The Celbridge local area plan 2017-2023 was adopted by the elected members on 17 August 2017 and came into effect on 14 September 2017. It is hard to believe it is a year ago as we had many discussions on that and other parts of the Celbridge plan.

As Minister of State with responsibility for housing and urban development, I welcome the fact that the plan supports the provision of a substantial new housing development in a key urban area close to Dublin. Kildare County Council, in its current county development plan, has earmarked the population of Celbridge to grow by approximately 10,000 people over the next five to ten years. We are discussing that planned development in the coming years but also during the next seven to ten years. We need to plan for this increase and to ensure that Celbridge grows in a coherent fashion with the timely delivery of the new infrastructure that will be needed for this expanded population. That includes the lands that are ready for development today but also we need to ensure we will make good use of our infrastructure, be it bridges, roads or train stations. We planned the development close to those in a joint and co-ordinated fashion.

In particular, I welcome the provisions of the plan enabling future housing growth on the southern side of the town in proximity to the existing commuter rail station at Hazelhatch, as the Deputy mentioned, and around that area. This development strategy is consistent with established national and regional planning policy which encourages new housing accessible to such high quality public transport facilities in the interest of sustainable development.

Importantly, the local area plan also identifies the key pieces of strategic infrastructure that are required to be delivered as part of the planned new housing development areas. The phasing arrangements set out in section 13 of the local area plan include requirements regarding the provision of a new road, bridge, open space and other facilities that will support the new homes to be constructed. Design briefs are also provided for the five key development areas earmarked for future housing development which will further assist in ensuring the construction of quality residential neighbourhoods that are integrated into the existing urban fabric of the town.

As part of the roll-out of the local area plan and in the interests of supporting the integrated development of housing within the local area plan, Kildare County Council is committed to preparing a transport mobility management plan to support the sustainable growth of the town. State agencies, along with my Department and, I understand, the National Transport Authority, will be active in their support of the development of such a plan which will inform future infrastructure delivery. It is very important that we get the infrastructure right.

I understand that Irish Water is in the process of upgrading the Leixlip wastewater treatment plant which serves Celbridge, and is also actively working to address identified constraints in the local wastewater system, in particular the upgrading of the local pumping station. These measures will actively support the ongoing and future delivery of housing in Celbridge.

I mentioned the fund, which enables lands to be developed in a co-ordinated way. Celbridge was successful in that respect.

I will check the status of the communication between the Department and Kildare County Council. The planners and officials in the Department are happy to engage with the Deputy's team in Kildare County Council to develop the lands that are set aside for development now and also to master-plan the next phase of development. That is what we are to do, namely, to do this work in a co-ordinated way. We will be happy to engage around that also. The lead authority is Kildare County Council and it has been engaged in this process under its local development plan during the past year or two. We are happy to engage and build on that in the future.

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