Kilkenny welcomes the recent announcement of the impending arrival of Infoscore, Deutsche Bank and Bank of Ireland at the Kilkenny Business and Technology Park. However Kilkenny has no large modern industry resulting from inward investment in the pharmaceutical, healthcare or high tech sectors like towns of similar sizes. Apart from its successful industries engaged in manufacturing, financial services, retailing, tourism and construction industry, Kilkenny has yet to act on its historic manufacturing base.

In order to facilitate development and the promotion of industrial development within Kilkenny, KIDCo (Kilkenny Industrial Development Company) was established in 1996. KiDCo represents the business community in Kilkenny plus Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Council. It has been successful in creating an integrated strategy to attract modern and sustainable investment in the city and county.

The National Development Plan has acknowledged that “the challenge ahead is to facilitate the conditions which allow for future development of an indigenous enterprise culture which recognises the importance of high tech, high value added business which has at its heart a deep commitment to the role of research and innovation”.

Kilkenny has many strengths as an attractive location for industry: -

There is now a real opportunity for the location of substantial inward industrial investment in Kilkenny which can equally benefit both new investors and the local economy.

A 27,000 sq.ft. advance office has been built in the Kilkenny Business and Technology Park. The site for this Business and Technology Park was purchased by the IDA with the assistance of Kilkenny County Council in 1997. KiDCo built a modern industrial facility with access to the Ring Road.

Kilkenny Borough Council in association with Kilkenny County Council adopted the Integrated Area Plan (I.A.P) identifying McDonagh Railway Station and its environs as (amongst other commercial uses) a designated area of potential development for a purpose built Technology Park. (Hebron Square).

Herbon Square should accommodate enterprises in technological, knowledge based and financial based operations including software engineering, telesales, marketing, computer mail and research and development.

In order to achieve inward investment at a local level, the following will be the Industrial Policy for Kilkenny City and Environs:

To Liaise with the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the County Enterprise Board, KiDCo, the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other bodies to promote Kilkenny as a city for inward investment and growth of indigenous industry.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council to co-ordinate with Kilkenny County Council the provision of improved road infrastructure from Kilkenny to other local urban centres and national centres, to support the provision of an improved rail service (freight and passenger) for the industrial, agricultural and service sectors having particular regard to access to and from Waterford Regional Airport and Belview Port.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to facilitate the provision of childcare facilities in appropriate locations thereby promoting labour market participation among parents and supporting parents in accessing employment, training and education.

The role of micro enterprise (employing less than 10 people) is very important in terms of employment in Kilkenny. During the plan period there will be a requirement for increased provision of space for small-scale enterprises, in particular for start up or incubator units.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to continue to liaise with KiDCo and ensure that there are sufficient sites and buildings to meet the specific needs of both local small firms and incoming larger firms and employees particularly by establishing low cost start-up units for new firms.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to continue to liaise with Kilkenny County Enterprise Board, Kilkenny County Development Board and The Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the development of the KiDCo Site and the Hebron Square Technology Park.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to concentrate on attracting clean industries such as software development internationally traded services and tele-services.

Kilkenny has a strong Arts and Crafts base which is buoyant at present. Approximately 10% of Kilkenny County Enterprise Board assistance has been directed towards the Craft Sector since 1993. As retailing is vitally important for many crafts people, the location of any proposed workspace is vital.

Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council acknowledge the importance of the craft sector to Kilkenny for tourism, employment and quality of life.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to support the development of the crafts sector and liaise with the Crafts Kilkenny County Council of Ireland, the County Enterprise Board and other interested bodies to facilitate growth within this sector.

Kilkenny City enjoys world class telecommunications connection to the national telecommunications grid both through traditional copper and fibre optic connections. The service provided is state of the art, with Broadband and ISDN lines available.

A Broadband cable network in Kilkenny City to support digital telecommunications services including: high speed Internet access, digital television, virtual private networks (VPNs), voice telephony, high speed tele working access, on-line education and E-Commerce services has been put in place. Enterprises involved in information technology, communications and data processing will be well served by Kilkenny’s telecommunications infrastructure.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to support the development of an up-to-date telecommunications infrastructure including the internet, e-mail and digital television in order to further enhance the attractiveness of Kilkenny City and Environs as a location for inward investment.

Electronic Commerce may be defined as the exchange of value over the electronic medium. The electronic medium is the internet, the wireless network used by mobile phones or the digital TV Network.

The uptake and impact of e-commerce has varied dramatically between industry sectors, but its true to say that over time, almost every industry will be impacted in some form by E-Commerce. The high tech sector, both hardware and software is being transformed by e-commerce.

E-Commerce will effectively mean accessing information and services from home, from the car or from the office. In supporting e-commerce, Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council will be supporting the tourist trade and the growth of indigenous industry.

The communications /electronic commerce sector is a key input to continued economic development. It provides the basic infrastructure for new information communications and digital industries and is already altering the modus operandii of traditional industries, the way in which work is organised, the interaction between consumers and business and visa versa.

Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council will support and facilitate the provision of advanced communication networks and services to the extent required to contribute to national competitiveness and attract inward investment.

The Retail Planning Guidelines require the following matters to be included in development plans:

i Confirmation of the retail hierarchy, the role of centres and the size of the main town centres;
ii Definition in the development plan of the boundaries of the core shopping area of town centres;
iii A broad assessment of the requirement for additional retail floorspace;
iv Strategic guidance on the location and scale of retail development;
v Preparation of policies and action initiatives to encourage the improvement of town centres; and
vi Identification of criteria for the assessment of retail developments.
A key requirement output from the County Retail Strategy was to confirm or otherwise the retail hierarchy and also the role of centres and size of main town centres. Certain principles require to be considered in determining the outcome/advice in respect of these three factors:

• The need to protect and enhance the importance of Kilkenny City Centre and the local market town functions of the four scheduled towns
• The distribution of new retail floorspace should be linked to the existing and future retail hierarchy of the County and should be appropriate in scale and character to the hierarchical role of the centre
• The distribution of new retail floorspace should broadly reflect the distribution of population growth, where market conditions allow
• The need to reduce as far as is practicable the demand for travel and the consequential support for centres well supported by public transport
• The desire to facilitate a competitive retail industry and to encourage retail innovation
• Some forms of retailing may be inappropriate for a town centre location and in the interests of enhancing choice, competition and innovation, they should be accommodated in locations offering good levels of accessibility by both public and private transport
• Linking the distribution of retailing and population is likely to be far more practical in convenience than in the comparison sector – there is more scope for spend retention in the former than the latter and hence the importance of looking at both the higher value and bulky goods markets if comparison expenditure is to be retained.

In determining the retail hierarchy, in addition to considering these principles, it is necessary to take due account of the RPGs definition of what the characteristics are for the different tiers in the hierarchy. We have set these out in Section 4. When the different existing or proposed retail centres are reviewed against these definitions, it is clear that at a sub-national level some of these tiers are too broad and more appropriate for the more metropolitan areas of the country. A modification of the tiers is proposed to better reflect the retail structure of the County. This is illustrated in Table 6.8.2 below and the roles within this hierarchy described in the paragraphs that follow.

Table 6.8.2
County Kilkenny Retail Hierarchy

Kilkenny City is the only centre within this tier. The Retail Study illustrated that the City Centre is dominated by comparison floorspace (nearly 71.5% of City Centre floorspace) that serves an extensive catchment area reflecting its County Town function. The City Centre in view of its role and its attraction to visitors and tourists has potential for additional comparison floorspace, including some higher value shopping. This is appropriate for sustaining its role as a Major Town Centre.

The sub county town centres are Callan, Castlecomer, Graiguenamanagh and Thomastown. Although all are of limited size in population terms, they support a range of floorspace, both convenience and comparison (see Table 5.2 of The Retail Study), confirming their role as market towns for their hinterlands. As has been noted, the four scheduled towns are not set to increase in population size significantly over the development plan period. From the County Kilkenny Housing Strategy 2001-2006, the estimated total population increase for all of the towns is 1,602 and there will be only very limited housing development in their hinterlands. These facts plus retail trends would indicate that there will be little potential for any significant increase in retail floorspace apart from that of a scale to serve local and hinterland needs.

There are currently no District Centres in the County. The RPGs state:

“Normally, the provision of additional centres will be based on major growth in population or a clear proven level of existing underprovision.”

On the basis of the planned major growth in population in the Waterford City Environs and the lack of easily accessible quality retail floorspace north of Waterford City Centre, we recommend that there is a need for a District Centre within Waterford City Environs. The RPGs state the following in respect of purpose built district centres:

“They are usually anchored by a large foodstore and contain a range of unit shops and non-retail service outlets (such as banks, post office or hairdressers).”
The lands zoned for housing in the County Development Plan in the Waterford City Environs will accommodate over 4,000 residential units bringing a population of some 12,000. At 1996, the area had a population of 1,615. The combined end population will be over 13,615 which will be nearly 20% of the planned 70,000 population of Waterford City. A total population of the size proposed requires a greater range of goods and services within close proximity than Neighbourhood Centres typically provide. The District Centre will reduce the need to travel to centres in Waterford City Centre and south of the city and this meets the RPGs test of ‘efficient, equitable and sustainable’. Of the three potential locations in the draft plan, the site on the N25 adjacent to Abbeylands is the most central to the area with ready access to public transport and thus best meets this test.

This definition captures the tier above that of simply a Corner Shop and comprises a small range of mainly convenience outlets to serve a very local population. In the list under this definition in Table 6.8.2, with the exception of Poulgour Townland, the centres are existing centres.

Poulgour Townland is in the Western Environs of Kilkenny City. In the Development plan, there are substantial lands zoned for housing. The total population will be over 5,000 in time. Within the development plan period, it is likely half of the development will take place. Given proximity to the City Centre and other existing floorspace, reflecting the small size of the forecast population over the plan period, the zoning for a Neighbourhood Centre in Poulgour Townland was adopted. The nature of the development, in line with the RPGs definition is:

“Small groups of shops, typically comprising a newsagent, small supermarket/general grocery store, sub-post office and other small shops of a local nature serving a small, localised catchment population.”
The position with regard to progress on residential development at Poulgour Townland should be kept under review over the plan period to ensure that the expanding population’s needs are met not solely in respect to shopping but wider community, cultural, commercial and social needs.

The definition of the core shopping area relates only to Kilkenny City Centre, the scheduled towns are of too small a scale to warrant such an approach. In arriving at the definition, regard was had to:

i The definition and policies in the draft development plan; and
ii The experience from around the country and the UK.
The policies in the Development plan rightly seek to promote and reinforce the primary shopping area and to protect the retail function of that area. The main retail frontage areas in the City Centre streets are covered by the following streets: Parliament Street/Market Cross, High Street, Patrick Street, The Market Yard/St Kieran’s Street, Rose Inn Street and John Street, but not all can be termed the core shopping area floorspace. Core shopping areas are normally characterised by a mix of factors including:

• Prime pitch rentals
• No vacancies and high demand
• Predominance of national and international multiples and few leisure and non-retail uses
• High pedestrian foot flow.
Taking account of the above factors, the core shopping area more appropriately comprises: Parliament Street/Market Cross; High Street; Rose Inn Street; and St Kieran’s Street. This, plus the varying 400m edge of centre isochrones are identified in Map 3.4.

The RPGs define the Sequential Test and what should be endorsed as an edge of centre site. This is a site that is of the order of 300 – 400 metres from the edge of the prime shopping area. The larger the defined core or prime shopping area then the greater scope to diffuse retail floorspace around a wider area. This would bring policy conflicts and a potential wider distribution of floorspace. The result could be a real threat of weakening not strengthening the prime shopping area. Whilst there appears to be little difference in the two isochrones, from experience the difference is very important in terms of how Local Planning Authorities can address proposals and planning applications.

Based on Table 6.8.9, over the development plan period there is of the order of £18.73 – 21.03m of net additional convenience and £56.47 – 65.07m comparison spend to support additional retail floorspace in the County. This is floorspace that will have a strategic bearing on sustaining the County’s competitiveness and meeting need.

Table 6.8.9
Forecast Expenditure Growth Potential (£m 2000 prices)

In practice, different types of retailing and retailing formats have different turnover ratio figures. Based on work for the Greater Dublin Area(GDA) Retail Strategy, a set of turnover figures have been derived that cover the range of different formats. These figures have been used in quantifying the spend required for floorspace with extant planning permission. The turnover ratios have been informed by consultations with the retail industry. They are presented in Table 6.8.10 below.

Table 6.8.10
Turnover Ratios

When these figures are set against the available potential spend, an interesting picture begins to emerge. For example, there would be capacity for the order of an extra 1,870 – 2,100m2 of superstore/supermarket floorspace or 2,200 – 2,475m2 of local convenience floorspace. In respect of the former, this net figure is the equivalent to a superstore that is of a larger size than the existing Dunnes Store (grocery part only) or Superquinn in Kilkenny City Centre (1,350m2 and 1,200m2 respectively). The floorspace for the latter would be equivalent to between 18-21 small supermarkets.

Across the different comparison retail categories, the different potential floorspace would be as follows:

To put these into context in terms of the size of the developments, accepting that the examples are a mix of both convenience and comparison floorspace, the Market Cross Shopping Centre is 5,710m2 (net) in size and the Dunnes Department Store is 3,950m2 (net) in size. Using these examples, there is comparison expenditure potential for 2-3 Market Cross Shopping Centres or 3-4 Dunnes Store equivalents. If all this spend was diverted to bulky goods, there would be almost a three fold increase in the County’s current floorspace.

To determine the scale and distribution of new convenience and comparison floorspace the following factors require to be considered:

i Sequential Approach;
ii Land Availability; and
iii Need.

The RPGs set down advice on how the location of development should be assessed. This is commonly known as the Sequential Approach or Test. In summary, the key considerations or tests are:
• The preferred location for new development where practicable and viable is within a town centre or district centre or major village centre
• Where the above is not possible due to the form and scale of development then consideration can be given to a site on the edge of a town centre as this will encourage the possibility of one journey serving several purposes
• An edge of centre site is taken to be one which is within an easy and convenient walking distance from the primary core of a town centre – although this will vary, it is unlikely to be more than 300-400 metres from the edge of the prime shopping area
• Alternative sites should only be considered when it can be demonstrated that there are no town centre and edge of centre sites that are suitable, viable and available.

On the basis of the retail hierarchy and the distribution of the existing and future population over the plan period and beyond, on a strategic basis the location for any major new floorspace will be at the following, taking due account of the above tests:
• Kilkenny City and its Environs
• Waterford City Environs.
This strategic response does not seek to prevent either convenience or comparison floorspace that meets local needs being permitted within Sub County Towns or Village Centres/Neighbourhood Centres, subject of course to the Sequential Test and proven need.

In the review of the hierarchy within the County, it was recommended that in view of the amount of zoned land and population that will stem from the residential development, the Waterford City Environs within County Kilkenny requires a District Centre to meet local retail, community, cultural and social needs. The District Centre will be multi-functional to ensure a range of community needs are met within easy travelling distance by foot, bicycle, car and public transport. It will provide both convenience and comparison floorspace with the greater balance being towards the former. The maximum size of supermarket to be developed shall not exceed that permitted in the retail planning guidelines. The amount of comparison floorspace to be provided shall be such that the greater balance of floorspace will be towards convenience with the actual amount of comparison floorspace subject to the outcome of a retail impact assessment and based on fulfilling local need.
The following should however be noted:
• Retail development in advance of substantial residential/mixed use development would be difficult to defend against Sequential Test arguments
• The District Centre could provide the catalyst to get people and investment to locate north of the River Suir.
It is the policy of the Council to engage with Waterford Borough Council, Waterford County Council and Wexford County Council in the preparation and adoption of a joint retail strategy for the greater Waterford area.
6.8.14 Kilkenny City Environs
It is important to distinguish between two types of retailing that could occur in the Kilkenny City Environs over the development plan period:
• Neighbourhood Centre
• Bulky goods retail parks.

The centre at Poulgour Townland is the only Neighbourhood Centre identified in the retail strategy. Other neighbourhood centres in Kilkenny City and Environs are Loughboy(existing) and Newpark (proposed). As has been noted earlier in this section, the scale and range of services that should be provided in these centres will be consistent with the definition of a Neighbourhood Centre in the RPGs. The objective of the plan should not be to inhibit the expansion of the Neighbourhood Centre but to meet the needs of the local community if residential development occurs at a faster pace than envisaged. It is recognised that, set against the current settlement structure of the County, Poulgour Townland will in time be a new large urban area in the City and County. The development plan should recognise this and as such ensure land is available for the expansion of its functions and role beyond the period of the plan. The zoning proposed in the draft development plan protects this.

Based on experience elsewhere, spend on bulky goods/retail parks is some 15% of total comparison spend. This is in fact largely reflected in the amount of out of City Centre bulky good/retail park floorspace in our floorspace survey. Using that guideline, there is capacity for some 2,428 – 2,771 m2 of bulky good retail park floorspace over the plan period. This noted, we would highlight the following that should be considered when addressing this distinct sector of the retail market:

• The RPGs cap for retail parks is 8,000 – 15,000m2
• At this size, the RPGs state that there should be no adverse affect on important town centres but there could be on smaller centres
• The turnover of a park within the RPGs cap size range would be between £28 – 52.5m – some 49%-80% of available comparison spend to 2007 depending on which scenario comes true
• A large scale retail warehouse park combined with large edge of centre comparison floorspace development could have an adverse cumulative effect on the City Centre, although it could be argued that the three locations would offer a very different kind of shopping
• To achieve the quality and critical mass of retail warehousing, the amount of potential available spend would be enhanced if there were relocations of existing retailers/operators from around the City’s industrial estates/other locations.
To these add the following important factors for consideration:

i To ensure the “efficient, equitable and sustainable” distribution of retail warehousing floorspace a strategic approach is required founded on accessibility and potential linkage of journeys and land uses;
ii The quality of the existing retail warehousing/bulky goods floorspace is overall poor and dispersed;
iii Some 25% of the County’s residents are travelling to other locations outside the County to meet their needs in this sector;
iv To secure the attraction of leading multiples requires a critical mass of floorspace – such as the range identified in the RPGs; and
v The RPGs require retail strategies to provide a broad assessment of the requirement for additional floorspace.

Taking these and preceding factors into consideration, the following will guide the location for bulky goods/retail warehousing parks:

• Over time, but beyond the timescale of the development plan, retail warehousing parks should be located in all quarters of the City’s Environs
• Provision of infrastructure with capacity to ensure traffic impacts and congestion are minimised will be a key determining factor in the selection of appropriate sites, with public transport and other modes of access also being achievable
• The need to provide a quality, purpose built retail warehouse park to capture expenditure leakage and improve the offer and attraction of the City and its Environs – the capacity assessment would not enable this and thus a more substantial development within the RPG’s parameters is required
• Relocation and upgrading of existing operations will be encouraged – this will contribute to addressing broad capacity factors
• Whilst Kilkenny City Centre is a strong centre, it is also a small centre. The combination of the IAP Site and a retail warehouse park will significantly increase the comparison floorspace in the City and its Environs. To protect the vitality and viability of the City Centre, it is recommended that over the development plan period the lower figure in the RPGs cap (8,000m2) is adopted as the maximum size for the retail warehousing for Kilkenny City and Environs as defined in the Development Plan for Kilkenny City and Environs.

To provide the framework for progressing and implementing the City and County Retail Strategy, the following retail policies and initiatives are itemised below.

Retail Hierarchy
The principles underpinning the retail hierarchy and the retail hierarchy are set out above in section 6.8.1 and 6.8.2.

District Centre: to meet the needs of both a major growth in population and the clear existing underprovision of modern retail floorspace in the Waterford City Environs, a site for a District Centre should be designated in the County Development Plan. The site that best meets the RPGs tests and the assessment criteria detailed in the following sub-section is that adjacent to Abbeylands on the N25. To ensure a range of community needs are met within easy travelling distance by foot, bicycle, car and public transport, this District Centre should be multi-functional and provide both convenience and comparison floorspace with the greater balance being towards the former.

Neighbourhood Centre: A Neighbourhood Centre at Poulgour Townland is an adopted objective in this County Development Plan. The range of functions and services appropriate to such a designation are as those set down in the RPGs definition. To ensure that the needs of the growing population continue to be met over time, the nature and function of this new centre should be kept under review over the plan period.

Edge of Centre Development: as there are no suitable or available sites for major retail development in Kilkenny City Centre, in accordance with the Sequential Test, the edge of the City Centre was looked to. Taking full consideration of capacity, cumulative impacts and the proposed criteria, the Integrated Area Plan Site adjacent to Kilkenny Railway Station should be the priority location for major town centre retail development in the County Development Plan.
The site should serve to enable expansion of the roles and functions of the City Centre and provide the catalyst to regenerate John Street. It would be appropriate for both convenience and comparison floorspace, with the balance being towards the latter. To assure expansion of the range and quality of the City Centre’s retail offer, the emphasis should be on high and middle order high street retail floorspace. As locations are scarce for the expansion of the City Centre and City Centre uses, the development of a retail warehouse park on this site would not be appropriate.

Retail Warehouse Park: to meet the bulky goods needs of the City and County and improve its competitiveness in this sector over the development plan period, it is an objective of the Council and the Borough Council therefore, to secure the development of quality purpose built retail warehouse parks in order to capture expenditure leakage and improve the retail offer and attraction of Kilkenny City and County.

Over the Development Plan period, the maximum gross floor area for retail warehousing will be 12,000m2 for Kilkenny City and County and 8,000m2 will be the maximum floor area for retail warehousing in Kilkenny City and Environs as defined by the Kilkenny City and Environs Development Plan zoning objectives map. No one park is to be in excess of 7,000 m2. No more than one park will be permitted on any one individual block of land zoned for Industrial/Business park in the Kilkenny City and Environs Development Plan.

Core Retail Area: is defined as Parliament Street/Market Cross, High Street, Rose Inn Street and St Kieran’s Street and is illustrated in Figure Map 3.4. It will be the policy of the Council and the Borough Council to promote and reinforce the Core Retail Area as the primary shopping area and to protect the retail function of the area.

To ensure that the strategy and its policies remain valid and up to date, the following is recommended:

i There is annual monitoring of expenditure and population forecasts;
ii The floorspace data should be kept up to date through planning consent monitoring of both new retail floorspace and change of use. It could be adopted as a Development Control/Planning Office procedure;
iii The retail strategy and its recommended zonings and objectives should be reviewed after 3 years; and
iv The household and shopper survey data should be up dated every five years.

The current quality and attraction of retail floorspace in Kilkenny City Centre and the four scheduled towns is evidenced by the range of retailing, high spend retention and overall satisfaction of both residents and visitors. To maintain competitiveness, the County Development Plan’s policies must be forward looking and responsive to issues and opportunities. We would identify the following for consideration:

• Traffic management
• Environmental improvement
• Heritage and interpretation.

Traffic management is an issue facing all of the key centres in the County and priority must be given to the preparation of traffic management plans if these centres are to remain attractive and competitive. Whilst implementation of the proposed Ring Road Extension/Inner Relief Road will greatly relieve the congestion in Kilkenny City Centre, full completion of the works is beyond the timescale of the development plan. Action is needed in the short term in addressing issues, and in particular:

i. Car parking provision and signage with a focus on measures to deal with peak season demand; and
ii. Congestion along John Street – unless this is tackled then the regeneration of the street, even with development of the IAP Site, will be curtailed.

At Bateman’s Quay, there is a real opportunity with the proposed civic and cultural centre to create a waterfront environment and civic space that is an attraction in itself – there are numerous examples around the country and the UK that bear witness to this. The emphasis at The Parade will be creating a high quality designed gateway to the City Centre.

The County and its towns have a wealth of history. This is an important asset in the national and international visitor market that is drawn to Kilkenny City in particular. In common with other centres around the country, the story is there but it is not being told as well as it could or creatively. To do this well would further distinguish the City and enhance its appeal. A heritage and interpretation strategy is required which is linked to the environmental improvement/enhancement proposals to ensure an integrated approach is adopted.

All applications for significant retail development should be assessed against a range of criteria. What is significant will vary between Kilkenny City and its Environs and the four scheduled towns and thus different thresholds require to be set. Noting the characteristics of each and the general size of existing outlets, we recommend the following:

Kilkenny City and its Environs/Waterford City Environs: developments of 1,000m2(gross) convenience and 2,000m2 (gross) comparison should be tested by the criteria
Scheduled towns/other settlements: proposals for 500m2 (gross) convenience and comparison developments should be considered against the criteria.

The criteria to be considered in the assessment of significant applications will include:

i The expenditure capacity within the relevant catchment area, taking account of all extant planning permissions and development proposals/opportunities identified in the Development Plan;
ii The impact on the designated town centres, including cumulative impact;
iii There is demonstrable need for development;
iv The relationship of the application to any development plan allocation;
v Its contribution to town centre improvement;
vi Its contribution to site and/or area regeneration;
vii The quality of access by all modes of transport and by foot and bicycle;
viii Its role in improving the competitiveness of the County, in particular Kilkenny City Centre;
ix The extent to which it is relevant to consider the imposition of restrictions on the range of goods permitted for sale; and
x That the development would support the long term strategy for the town centre.
xi Can the development link effectively with the existing town centre so that there is likely to be commercial synergy.
xii Any other relevant development plan policies.

All significant development should also be subject to assessment through the Sequential Test. The Sequential Approach to development has a number of objectives which have been summarised previously. The following should be added to that summary:

• In all cases, to select the site which offers the optimum accessibility options by all transport modes, including walking and cycling

• Particularly if a town centre site is not being promoted, to demonstrate that all town centre development options have been fully evaluated and that flexibility has been adopted in regard to the retail format. If the application, whether significant or not, accords with a Development Plan allocation, it should expect to meet with approval.

If the application, whether significant or not, accords with development plan policies and proposals in all material respects it should expect to meet with approval. The RPGs also state that, in such instances, it should not be necessary for the applicant to provide additional supporting background studies. The RPGs also importantly go on to advise:
“However, the onus is on an applicant to demonstrate convincingly that his/her proposal does comply closely with the development plan. Where there is doubt on any aspect of a planning application, local authorities should require a detailed justification related to the matter that is questionable.”

Kilkenny is an important administrative, professional and commercial centre for its hinterland. Most of its office units are concentrated within the core of the city centre. In recent years there has been pressure to change residential units to office use on some of the secondary streets such as Upper Patrick Street, Friary Street and Upper John Street. While the growth of the service sector is an indicator of increased prosperity, this trend has had a detrimental impact on the social fabric and life of the town.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to discourage office use at ground floor level in the main shopping areas: Parliament Street, High Street, Patrick Street, Rose Inn Street and John Street.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council to restrict the conversion of residential units to office use and to prohibit the establishment of offices in existing residential areas where they may be injurious to the character of these areas.

The decentralisation of office based activities can be accommodated by locating these uses on lands zoned for industry, commercial use, educational scientific/ technological/ research and development outside of the central area.

It is the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council to promote and facilitate the development of the office sector in appropriate locations in order to assist the development of the city’s role as an administrative, professional and commercial centre by accommodating office based industry in appropriately zoned areas of the City and Environs.

The Integrated Area Plan approved in 1999 has outlined 24 acres of prime property for incentives in the eastern side of the city. The designated areas – all located within walking distance of the city centre. Developments in this area of the City during the period of the last plan include the Government offices on the Hebron Road and County Hall on John Street.

The areas designated in the IAP are:

John Street (upper and Lower) - McDonagh Railway Station and Environs, - John’s Green, - Wolf Tone Street.

The objective of the IAP is to stimulate the economic, social, cultural and environmental development of this area of Kilkenny City

The IAP is a vital part of a wider strategic plan which encompasses planning, roads, environment, housing, and community development. It is imperative therefore that the IAP is a commercial success in order to drive the regeneration of the areas identified.

It is an objective of the Borough Council and the Kilkenny County Council to support the implementation of the IAP through the policies and objectives contained in this development plan.