Agenda and minutes

PROPOSED Councillor Brendan Barry

SECONDED: Councillor Finola Armstrong Maquire

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

David McGlinchey from KPMG provided an update of the new Leitrim LECP.  In his presentation he outlined the new LECP has completed stage 1 of the LECP preparation process.  This involved the completion of a comprehensive data analysis, overview of selected policies to develop a baseline analysis and profile for Leitrim and the preparation of a Socio-Economic Statement with  the development of high-level goals. The next stage involving a public consultation process will now take place for four weeks until the end of January 2023.

Mr McGlinchey outlined that the objective of the Socio-Economic Statement is to prepare an initial baseline and summary analysis of Leitrim, looking at the strengths and weakness that currently exist in Leitrim and the development of High-Level Goals. Mr McGlinchey stated the statement would be available on the Leitrim County Council website for written feedback to be received from the public.

Mr McGlinchey announced his findings to date in the areas of Demographics, Housing, Economy, Social & Community and Environment within Co. Leitrim highlighting Leitrim’s current strengths and weaknesses in each area that will form the basis of the new LECP.

Mr McGlinchey notably highlighted a number of statistics in relation to Leitrim that will be incorporated within the new LECP including Leitrim’s 9.5% population growth in the 2022 census and the growth in housing stock by 3.4% between 2016-2022.

Mr McGlinchey declared that the top three industries for employment in 2016 were “Professional Services” (25%), “Commerce and Trade” (19%), and “Manufacturing

Industries” (12%). Leitrim however has the 4th highest commercial vacancy rate of 16.9% in Q2 of 2022.

Based on his findings Mr McGlinchey reviewed the strengths, constraints, opportunities and threats currently affecting Leitrim and how they can be incorporated into the new LECP.

Mr McGlinchey outlined the six Emerging High-level Goals for the new LECP.

1. Leitrim will be an inclusive, healthy, and equitable county that supports wellbeing across its communities.
2. Leitrim will proactively support climate action to create resilient and sustainable communities.
3. Leitrim will support the regeneration and revitalisation of towns and villages as attractive places to live, work and visit.
4. Leitrim will facilitate life-long learning and training opportunities to support education, personal attainment, and employment.
5. Leitrim will have a diverse, resilient, and innovative economy that supports enterprise and employment.
6. Leitrim will champion its natural and cultural environment and support the development of the county as a tourism destination in a sustainable and balanced manner.

Currently the LECP is now at stage 2 of the LECP preparation process and will complete a consultation process comprising of surveys, interviews, workshops with collation of feedback to be concluded in February 2023. The new Leitrim LECP will be finalised in June 2023 before being adopted and implemented.

Seán Ó Conláin thanked Mr McGlinchey for his presentation and highlighted how great it was to see a population increase in Leitrim. He stated that one off rural housing and conversion of derelict buildings has stabilised the population. Sean also commented that investment in tourism in Leitrim could be a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Ms Bernadette Mullarkey and Ms Angela Bane of Bane Mullarkey Tourism Consultants provided an overview of new Tourism Strategy for Co. Leitrim. Ms Mullarkey outlined the new strategy will align to the new LECP that is in development and will be positioned with the Hidden Heartlands and Wild Atlantic Way Tourism Strategies.

The new strategy is currently at the development stage following a literature and digital marketing review and a consultation process with agencies, industry and the general public.

Ms Mullarkey and Ms Bane outlined the five emerging themes identified for Leitrim’s new Tourism Strategy.

1. Infrastructure & experience development product for tourists

2. Facilitating tourism entrepreneurship

3. Collaboration

4. Sales, marketing &digital transformation

5. Sustainability

Ms Bane highlighted ways in which Leitrim can maximise its tourism potential through studying the successes of other counties in Ireland and successful collaboration between tourism providers and Leitrim County Council tourism department.

Ms Bane and Ms Mullarkey commented that Leitrim is well positioned to be a successful tourism destination due to the rich natural assets of the county. Eco tourism has excellent potential within the county.

Seán Ó Conláin thanked Ms Bane and Ms Mullarkey for their presentation and acknowledged that tourism is a game changer for Leitrim with so many opportunities available. He stated that some areas such as Glenfarne appear to be on the fringes of the Hidden Heartlands and Wild Atlantic Way promotional areas and more needs to be done to promote these areas.

Séan also highlighted the current issues with availability of accommodation and transport with people unable to stay or socialise in the more rural parts of Leitrim due to lack of public transport options and taxis.

Cllr Finola Maguire stressed the importance of getting hospitality and tourism providers to talk to each other. For example on Monday nights a lot of restaurants are closed however these tourism providers could advise tourists to bars or restaurants that are open during these times. Stronger collaboration between providers is required for the successful provision of services to tourists.

Seán Ó Conláin also stressed that the capacity building referred to in the five emerging themes have no project start or end dates. He highlighted that capacity building should be focused around the greenway. Studies should be completed on towns with successful greenways in place to identify what businesses have emerged from the greenway facility.
Seán also stated that three signature projects should be chosen and capacity building should be completed around these projects.

Cllr Sean McDermott commented that restaurants are often not open in towns when tours are taking place. He highlighted the need for cooperation among tourism providers.

Ms Bane agreed that there appears to be a lack of communication currently between tourism providers in Leitrim, however people can be afraid to get involved and will require guidance for the implementation of successful collaboration and communication. Ms Bane stated that capacity building around projects in Leitrim should take place at the beginning of the project and should be tangible.

Ms Mullarkey  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Mr Pio Byrnes, Senior Executive Planner provided an overview on the development of the new Draft County Development Plan for Co. Leitrim. Mr. Byrnes outlined that the Plan is in the final stage of development and the preparation of a Chief Executive’s Report on submissions is currently being completed. Mr. Byrnes outlined that 150 material alterations were published arising from issues raised in submissions on the Draft Plan. These vary from additional wording to rewrites of sections. Mr. Byrnes outlined to members that a new Forestry Study has been developed as part of the County Development Plan 2023-2029 titled “Landscape Capacity Study for Commercial Forestry ? Co. Leitrim (March 2022)” This study incorporates a landscape capacity study for commercial forestry in Co. Leitrim.

The public consultation process closed on 23rd November 2022 and a total of 16 submissions were received.  Mr. Byrnes outlined two key submissions received from the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly.

The OPR made two submissions regarding zoning proposals in Kinlough and Carrigallen (Core Strategy) and also in Keshcarrigan (Flood Risk Management). The Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) provided a submission that commended the Draft Plan for consistency with the RSES policies and the innovative development of the Forestry Study.

The Chief Executive’s Report will go to Elected members for approval on the 21st of December 2022 and the final County Development Plan will be adopted by members in February 2023 before being implemented in March 2023.

Seán Ó Conláin praised the development of a forestry study for Co. Leitrim and wished to find out more information on how the study came about.

Mr Pio Brynes described to the members that forestry in Leitrim has become a contentious issue over the years with great impact on the county. The forestry study was deemed to be necessary to complete a landscape character assessment and assessment of future capacity on future commercial forestry in Leitrim. The study is available on the Leitrim County Council website.

Séan also added his concerns that investors would see increased opportunities for forestry development arising from this study. He questioned how Leitrim County Council would prevent this? He commented that commercial forestry is out of the planning sphere and is the responsibility of the Department and Coillte. The PPN completed a report on forestry in Leitrim a number of years ago, however Leitrim County Council failed to get the Department to address issues that arose from that report. Seán stated he was sceptical on what powers the Local Authority have in relation to commercial forestry and instructing investment companies on what they can and cannot plant.

Mr Byrnes highlighted that the report had been submitted to the Department but what the Department do with the report in the future is beyond the control of Leitrim County Council and is at the discretion of the Department. He hopes the Department would be able to collaborate with Leitrim County Council in the future.

Seán Ó Conláin further added  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Draft 2023 Work Programme was presented to members by Ms Emer Conolly, SEO Economic Development. All members agreed with the contents of the 2023 work programme and Ms Connolly outlined that amendments to the work programme may be made at a later stage.

All members agreed on the following dates for 2023

•          Tues 21st February - 10am

•          Tues 18th April - 10am

•          Tues 19th September – 10am

•          Tues 21st November - 10am

The next Planning, Economic Development and Infrastructure Strategic Policy Committee meeting will take place on 21^st February 2023 at 10 am.