Strategic approach to development is a must
From BELFAST TELEGRAPH May 9th, 2000
By Adam Ingram
THE Good Friday Agreement included a commitment to make rapid progress in preparing a Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland. The Department for Regional Development, for which I currently have responsibility, has been working towards that goal. The strategy was to have been considered by the Assembly and I would hope that this is still possible. However, I am conscious of the growing demand for progress, particularly given the major challenges facing Northern Ireland. This is one of the fastest growing regions in the UK and it has a relatively youthful population. Further, the population could grow by 180,000 persons over the next 25 years. We need to plan for an extra 250,000 houses to meet the needs arising from population growth, household formation, and the replacement of out-of-date housing stock. The challenge is to find appropriate land in sustainable locations to build 10,000 dwellings a year for 25 years. Even if we achieve a minimum 40% of new houses within existing urban areas, using existing infrastructure, we would still have to urbanise some 30 square miles of land. Economic development challenges, the need to create more than 100,000 additional jobs will mean demand for development sites and supporting infrastructural services. The number of vehicles in the region will also rise to well over one million by 2025, with impacts on congestion, the environment and quality of life. It is vital, therefore, that we take a strategic approach to the future development of the region to achieve balanced and sustainable development. A draft Regional Development Strategy, known as 'Shaping Our Future', was published in December 1998 after an intensive round of consultation. The key issues of concern were debated at an independent public examination last autumn. he independent panel endorsed the proposed Hub, Corridor and Gateway Framework for the future development of the region. This framework provides the flexibility to deal with changing social and economic circumstances. The final strategy will identify the main urban hubs of employment and services. The region will be developed around a skeletal framework of key transportation corridors. There will be an emphasis on the regional gateways - the ports and airports, vital to the development of a prosperous outward-looking region. Fundamental to the overall success to the Regional Development Strategy is the need to develop a modern, integrated transportation system. In particular, easy communication on a modern network is essential. However, creating this system will be an incremental process over the next 25 years to provide an efficient system comparable to some of the best in Europe. It is important that this strategy provides a balanced spread of development, meeting the needs of both the east and west of Northern Ireland, and the different requirements of urban and rural communities. I attach great importance to the Regional Development Strategy. While Peter Robinson, as the then Minister for Regional Development believed this strategy to merit broad endorsement, I want to make sure that there is an opportunity for any final views about its detailed content. Officials from the department are currently engaged in making presentations on the strategy to district councils and further comments from these and other interested parties should be submitted by the end of May to the Regional Planning Division in Windsor House, Belfast BT2 7LT. Implementation and co-ordination of the Regional Development Strategy represents an enormous challenge, not least in terms of funding. Innovative funding for essential transport development methods will have to be found. However, I am confident that the private sector, in association with the community and voluntary sectors, will form partnerships with Government so as to ensure sustainable development for Northern Ireland. The strategy has been developed carefully, sensitively and painstakingly, and everyone now needs to see it put into practise. We want to improve the quality of life for all our cit
izens. The 'Shaping Our Future' Strategy paints an ambitious picture of what our Region might be - if we can harness the resources of all our people.
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