The government has set out a 25-year development strategy for Northern Ireland which aims to encourage cross-border development corridors in the North West and between Belfast and Dublin.
The draft regional strategic framework policy published today also encourages development in key transport corridors in the Belfast Metropolitan area – Londonderry, Craigavon, Antrim, Newry, Ballymena, Coleraine, Omagh and Enniskillen.
In addition the strategy aims to strengthen 12 regional towns as key service centres to accommodate local growth including Armagh, Ballymoney and Newtownards.
A key element of the paper is the need to provide 200,000 new homes by the year 2025 to cope with population growth expected to top 1.75m by then.
The draft strategy suggests 55% of the new housing development in Belfast up to 2010 should be provided within existing urban areas. The suggested target for towns in the rest of the region is 40%.
The emphasis on urban development is intended to help reduce pressure from a projected growth in the number of cars and lorries on the roads. The number of vehicles is expected to increase from the current 700,000 to more than one million by 2025.
Announcing the launch of the draft paper, Environment Minister in the NI office Lord Dubs said: “We also have to consider the trends which have led to dispersal out of cities and main towns to the suburbs, smaller towns, villages and the countryside which has resulted in development and infrastructure pressures.”
The minister identified two other major concerns that emerged during the consultation process. “Firstly, the issue of a divided society and the need for a future development pattern which was fair to the whole community and, secondly, the public at large is genuinely concerned about environmental matters.”
EGi News 8/12/98
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