‘Kilkenny People’ articles: Rural Areas
As outlined in the last post, a series of Development Plan articles from the ‘Kilkenny People’ are being reproduced on this blog, courtesy of Tess Felder, over the next few weeks. Today’s article is about the issues being faced in rural areas. The articles were intended to provoke interest and stimulate debate. Please feel free to comment on any issue or question raised by the posts. The Draft Plan is being prepared at the moment, and will be published in June. In the meantime, anyone can make a comment or continue the debate on this site. All comments made will be considered in the next (Draft) phase of the process.
Council seeks input on rural areas (First published in Kilkenny People 29th June 2012)
Kilkenny County Council wants to hear from members of the public about how rural areas should be developed in the coming years as it puts together its next County Development Plan. For example, the agri-food sector contributes a value of €24 billion to the Irish economy, generates almost 10% of Ireland’s exports and provides 7.7% of national employment, according to the Department of Agriculture. When employment in inputs, processing and marketing is included, the agri-food sector accounts for almost 10% of employment.
In 2006, 8.1% of Co. Kilkenny’s workforce was employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing. So sustaining rural areas is critical to the county’s economy and well-being.
Rural areas face a challenge to protect their unique character and heritage whilst providing sustainable working and living environments for the community. Protection of prime agricultural land is essential to ensure viable farms for the future.
The move towards processing of produce at source can result in higher returns for producers. In particular, local food specialty enterprises such as Knockdrinna and Lavistown have been very successful. The Taste of Kilkenny Food Trail combines the promotion of participating businesses with a tourism product as a tourist trail based around local food producers.
Other rural employment sources such as extractive industries, renewable technologies and forestry need to be carefully managed. Are there areas in the county which should be no-go for enterprises/industries other than agriculture?
Another issue being considered is the demand for new ‘one off’ rural housing. Different policies apply for planning applications for one-off rural houses in places closer to urban areas and areas with declining populations, for example. With villages and smaller towns serving as centres for their hinterlands, the Council is seeking input on how these can be made more attractive, as a more sustainable alternative for one-off housing.
Tourism continues to offer employment creation opportunities. Scenic areas attract the greatest interest, and consequentially are most at pressure from development. So the question is how to balance the need to cater for the infrastructural demands of tourism whilst ensuring the resource itself is not compromised. How can we make sure Kilkenny remains as one of the top tourist destinations in the country? Perhaps there are areas, or hidden gems, which are not given the prominence they deserve.
Rising fuel prices also have an impact on the community network and isolation in rural areas, and the role of rural transport initiatives such as Ring a Link become more significant. Local services have been hit by the recession so the question is how to ensure that rural services can continue in times of fewer resources.
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