Ref: Chapter 6: City Hinterland Landscape 6.34 I agree fully with this that there are Large areas of High Value Landscape that are required to be protected. It is vital that we develop the city centre vacant sites, accommodation above retail and business, brownfield sites and tackle dereliction before we look to develop in these areas. Any future development in these areas should be planned with suitable transport links with city centre, schools, community hubs, retail etc.
Ref: Chapter 6: Green & Blue infrastructure Study 2021. An observation from figure 4.5 Demography -Age section is the low percentage in the age range of ‘under 18’ and Over 65. It is hugely important that suitable diverse housing is created in the centre to allow the city to thrive. Bad housing stock in the city centre is creating areas not suitable for single females, families, people with mobility issues and older people in general. Hence, we see ‘run down’ areas are dominated by accommodation for single men, fast food takeaways and sometimes betting shops. There are some interesting ideas covering this in Chapter 11.
In general, the content of ‘Green and Blue Infrastructure, Open Space and Biodiversity is very welcome and the site objectives are good. There are many fantastic open spaces in the city. I welcome the proposed enhancements at O’Mahony’s Ave and Bells Field etc.