Surprise over suggestion to 'preserve' west

WESTERN DEVELOPMENT:REGIONAL ENTERPRISE agencies and planners have reacted with surprise to a suggestion that attempts to foster urban development outside the east coast may be misplaced.

The suggestion that it might be more prudent to preserve the West as an ecologically pure amenity which might attract high net worth individuals to live, while facilitating the development of the Dublin-Belfast corridor into a major, urbanised area encompassing most of the east coast, was made in a series of articles in The Irish Times this week.

However the articles, written by Conor Skehan, head of the department of environment and planning and Dr Lorcan Sirr head of research, faculty of the built environment at Dublin Institute of Technology, have drawn criticism from Shannon Development, Liam Scollan, chief executive, Ireland West Airport Knock and Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Brian Callanan of Shannon Development said the argument put forward in the articles seemed to ignore the already high level of enterprise in the west.

Mr Callanan said this included a major investment in the knowledge economy through the universities of Cork, Limerick and Galway alongside the institutes of technology, which were already paying off in terms of attracting foreign direct investment and fostering indigenous industry.

The articles appeared to ignore the Limerick-Shannon area in its entirety, while also not considering the development of the Atlantic road and rail corridor and Shannon Development's own fostering of next-generation broadband communications infrastructure, he said. Even if the articles were to be solely concerned with a post-foreign direct investment scenario, he said the west had considerable indigenous industry.

Mr Callanan remarked it was a surprise that leading academics would put forward such a view and he added "it reminds you, how solid the 'Dublin-centric' opinion can be".

Liam Scollan, a former director of the Western Development Commission, said his initial reaction was to consider the date of the final article, April 1st, might be a significant factor. Mr Scollan said he believed the vision presented was "class-ridden" because of its references to the midlands being a place where manual work would be carried out, with rich people enjoying an ecologically better environment in the west and middle-class workers in the East.

However, some of the strongest criticism came from Mr Gormley. While he said he "welcomed the input which highlighted the need for the planning system to be more pro-active and integrated", he would "strongly challenge the notion in the articles that the National Spatial Strategy is misplaced and undeliverable, and that it is futile to try to alter demographic trends on the island, unsustainable though they may be".

He said some people held a mistaken understanding that the strategy was about taking development from the east, and directing it to the gateways, towns and hubs.

"It's not about taking development away from Dublin and limiting the economic growth of the capital, which we all acknowledge is the main international gateway to this country and main driver of our economy," Mr Gormley said.

The Minister pointed to investment in critical infrastructure in Dublin such as the Luas and new governance arrangements through the establishment of the Dublin Transportation Authority and the commitment to a Dublin mayor with real decision-making powers, as evidence that the strategy was not to deprive Dublin.

"The National Spatial Strategy is aimed at tapping fully into the resources and opportunities available to 'Ireland Inc' as a whole, by activating the unique and specific potential of all the regions, while at the same time supporting the development of Dublin in a sustainable manner. This has to be our overriding objective and definitive goal," he added.