CHAPTER 9 Economic Development
Sustainable living means a detailed employment/job plan is needed for the areas of housing expansion in County Wicklow. This is particularly noticeable in the Greystones/ Delgany area in recent years where within a radius of two miles of Delgany village there has been a huge increase in urbanisation from a semi-rural area. The population within this two kilometre radius has increased dramatically within the last three years. As a result, we have significant and ever-increasing infrastructural deficits in Delgany/Greystones in relation to key services such as education, health, public transport and road infrastructure. Given permission for housing and residential units alone does not constitute planning, a more holistic approach is urgently needed. Planning needs to be joined-up and integrated and the draft County Development Plan would benefit hugely from the evidence of joint plans with the Departments of Education, Health. Transport,,Environment, Climate and Communications and Housing. Local Government and Heritage. There also needs to be strong contacts established with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA in order to attract more sustainable high quality employment into the area. This Report would also benefit from more up-to-date information and data in relation to the population forecasts and projections as these are crucial for all stakeholders to understand the future planning needs in this area (the widespread use of and reliance on the 2016 Census data does not accurately reflect the current population in Delgany and Greystones). While it can be difficult to get up-to-date data, the use of forecasting and econometric methods and tools would help to ensure that the most accurate projections are made and this would help to ensure that all services, amenities and infrastructure can be planned for.
Employment
There is a need for high value-added jobs (i.e. high quality employment) in the Delgany/Greystones area. The majority of new residents in Greystones/Delgany will need to commute to Dublin for their work when offices open again (using the 2016 Census data means that the number of commuters and their commuting times does not accurately reflect the current situation). Increasing the number of cycle and pedestrian path will not be useful unless residents can choose to work locally, which is currently not the case. Wicklow,as a county, needs a detailed strategyand plan to attract high value-added employment opportunities (e.g. ICT/financial services office/data hubs in Bray and Greystones). A number of financial companies are also now looking to find suitable locations for satellite offices outside Dublin and Wicklow should be pro-active in seeking to attract these companies. To make the area attractive to these type of industries and companies – there is need for a third level satellite hub/centre of excellence – most likely from one of the major universities in Dublin such as UCD, Trinity or DCU. By locating a satellite centre in the county, this will act as an anchor and would be a suitable collaborator with the new industry partners.. This would help to encourage clustering of these new industries in the county. Clermont in Rathnew will not be sufficient.The Media/Filmsite in Greystones is welcome, but we recognise that while some high paid employment is available in this sector, it may not lead to high value, secure employment for all its employees.