Chapter 15: Rural Nodes

Closed28 Jun, 2022, 3:21pm - 28 Jun, 2022, 3:23pm

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Rural Nodes

As outlined in Chapter 2, Rural Nodes include:  

  • Ballymurphy
  • Drumphea
  • Garryhill
  • Grange1
  • Newtown
  • Newtown Fennagh
  • Rathanna

These settlements are the lowest tier in the settlement hierarchy and comprise of cluster of developments where public wastewater and / or public water infrastructure is currently not provided. These nodes contain important services including schools and community facilities supporting the surrounding rural area. Rural nodes are designated for small scale limited development at a sustainable scale for immediate local need including one-off housing for persons who comply with the local need criteria, local services, small scale employment and community facilities. The Council will support high quality designed development on appropriate sites in rural nodes subject to proper planning considerations and the environmental carrying capacity of the area.

Consideration of planning applications for development within the nodes will have regard to the role and form of the node within the wider rural area with particular care being taken that these settlements do not compete with the designated larger and smaller serviced villages in the services they provide or the role and function they play within the rural area.

Rural Nodes - Policies

It is the policy of the Council to:

RN. P1: Require persons who apply for one off housing in the rural nodes to comply with the local need criteria as contained in Section 3.16. A minimum site area of 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres) for each residential unit will be required in rural nodes where serviced by an individual waste water treatment plant.
RN. P2: To ensure that proposals for new development take account of the character of the area and where possible retain existing features such as building line, height, railings, hedgerows, trees, gateways etc. All development in rural nodes should take cognisance of the prevailing scale, pattern of development and the environmental capacity to accommodate the development.
RN. P3: To support the expansion of existing educational facilities within the rural nodes and to promote the provision of childcare facilities to meet local demand and encourage the location of such facilities near schools where possible.
RN. P4: To encourage the provision of community facilities and services / employment together with local small-scale convenience shops, exclusive of service stations, at an appropriate scale in rural nodes where there is a clear deficiency in retail provision, subject to the  protection of residential amenity and the rural character of the area.
RN. P5: To promote the development of brownfield sites in rural nodes, if existing, as appropriate. Suburban type developments or multiple housing will not be permitted.
RN. P6: To seek to ensure  that strong linkages to the rural node are provided and that new development addresses connectivity to local services, community facilities etc with the provision of footpaths, where deemed appropriate.

Flood Risk Management

RN. P7:

Manage flood risk in Ballymurphy in accordance with the following provisions:

New highly vulnerable development is only appropriate within Flood Zone C. New less vulnerable development is only appropriate within Flood Zone B/C.  For existing development within Flood Zone A/B it is not appropriate to undertake significant redevelopment whereby additional numbers of people are introduced into the Flood Zone.

Any future development should be subject to an FRA which must follow the general guidance provided in Section 6 of the SFRA and specifically address the following:

  • Existing flood data is indicative and does not provide flood levels. An appropriately detailed hydraulic model will be required to confirm flood levels and extents;
  • FRA should address climate change scenarios in relation to FFLs and potential mitigation measures;
  • Finished floor levels should be above the 1% AEP level plus climate change and freeboard;
  • For existing development in Zone A/B extensions/renovations bedrooms should be located in the upstairs of two-storey buildings;
  • Flood resilient construction materials and fittings should be considered if in Flood Zone A/B;
  • Proposals should not impede existing flow paths or cause flood risk impacts to the surrounding areas;
  • Emergency evacuation plan and defined access / egress routes should be developed for extreme flood events;
  • Any development shall also be required to be built in accordance with Carlow County Council SuDS Policy.

Rural Nodes - Objective

It is an objective of the Council to:

RN. O1: To monitor and review rural nodes in the County, across the lifetime of the Plan, in order to ensure compatibility with the Core Strategy and environmental protection objectives.

Ballymurphy Settlement Boundary

Drumfea Settlement Boundary

Garryhill Settlement Boundary

Grange Settlement Boundary

Newtown Settlement Boundary

Newtown/Fennagh Settlement Boundary

Rathanna Settlement Boundary
 

 

1 Grange is serviced by a number of WWTPs not in the control of Irish Water and therefore is designated as a rural node pending resolution of capacity and service constraints.

 

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