Mera.ie

Regional Analysis

Meath

Meath contains major transportation and economic corridors radiating from Dublin, including the M1/N1 and rail line connecting Dublin and Belfast in a north/south corridor, and the M4/N4 and rail line connecting the west and north-west with Dublin on an east/west corridor.

1. Navan is the county capital and the administrative, retail/commercial and transportation hub of the county. Along with Trim and Kells, this core area of the county is the natural area for the concentration of future investment and development.
2. Large areas of north Meath are in rural usage, with continuing development pressure for individual housing in these areas.
3. The south of the county bordering Dublin is referred to as the "South Meath Fringe". This area includes Ashbourne, Rathoath, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne/Clonee, and parts of Kilcock and Enfield. These centres are the most closely linked to Dublin in terms of employment with accompanying development pressures.

Kildare

Kildare is a county which embraces all levels of land usage from agricultural, rural, urban, industrial, commercial and residential.

A spatial analysis of the county would generally divide it into three "functional areas".

1. The urban areas and towns in the north-east of the county around the edge of Dublin, including Celbridge, Maynooth and Leixlip. The challenge for this area is to maintain separate identities for the towns, while restricting further development to sustainable levels.
2. The Naas/Newbridge/Kilcullen triangle. This group of towns was originally identified in the 1960's Myles Wright Report as a potential development area. They have a good base in manufacturing, and service sector employment, and are well located strategically in the centre of the county. This area is identified as the Primary Development Centre for the county in the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area.
3. Rural areas - Kildare is primarily an agricultural county with special emphasis on the bloodstock industry. The southern part of the county is almost exclusively in rural usage, with Athy as the only medium sized town servicing a wide hinterland. This portion of the county looks towards counties Laois, Carlow and Wicklow.

Wicklow

Wicklow is dominated by the central presence of the Wicklow Mountains. This mountain range, not only provides a physical barrier to transportation systems, but also separates the "functional areas" of Wicklow into a north/south divide. The upland environment rises to an altitude of over 900M, and forms one of the most extensive areas of continuous upland terrain in Ireland. Due to the expanse of this upland area, approximately 25% of county Wicklow's land surface is above 300M. Development in the county is accordingly concentrated northwards towards Dublin and eastwards along the N11 corridor. The western corridor is focused on the N81 road from Dublin through Blessington on towards Baltinglass. These two development corridors are under intense pressure from residential and other sporadic development.

For the purposes of spatial analysis, the county can be divided into three sub regions based on the sphere of influence of large settlements, both within and without the county.

1. The North Wicklow/South Dublin region, which is the most populated sector of the county and comes within the direct sphere of influence of the Dublin Metropolitan Area. This area includes Blessington, Enniskerry, and the N11 commuting areas of Bray, Greystones, Kilcoole and Newtownmountkennedy.
2. The South Eastern Sector of the county stretches from Wicklow town southwards towards Arklow. This N11 corridor area has seen extensive residential development in the past six years, mostly related to the spiralling cost of affordable housing in the Dublin Region.
3. The Southern and Western Sector. This sub region stretches from the Rathdrum/Aughrim area westwards towards Baltinglass and southwards to Tinahely and the Wexford border. This area looks towards Carlow and Wexford, and generally does not see itself as being linked to any major urban centre. Consequently, this area is the least developed in the county, and will require specific attention in the future if it is to realise its development potential.