Chapter 7: Community Development
We fully support the inclusion and recognition of Swimming in the Wicklow County Development Plan as an inclusive sport which has many benefits for all ages and the role that swimming plays in improving health and safety for communities based near large bodies of water.
We welcome the commitment from Wicklow County Council to support the expansion and improvement of swimming facilities both outdoors and indoors.
We are delighted to see the inclusion of the need for a Social Infrastructure Audit to be carried out and accompany any new significant residential or mixed use development proposals to establish if social and community facilities in an area are sufficient to provide for the needs of the future residents. We are also pleased to see the inclusion of access to sports facilities included in the list of amenities and facilities covered by the Accessibility Report required to be carried out by developers in relation to proposed developments.
We fully support the recognition of the need for schools to have access to local sports facilities and swimming pools and that this will be taken into account when the development of such facilities are being considered.
We are delighted to see a committment to engaging with and consulting National Goverming Bodies of Sport as well as community led groups during the local plan-making process for towns and villages to determine community / social infrastructure deficiencies and needs. This is especially welcome as Community Pool for West Wicklow and Swim Ireland are currently working to bring a Pop-Up Pool to West Wicklow this September and Wicklow County Council would be a very welcome partner on this project.
We welcome the committement from Wicklow County Council to support the National Sports Policy.
We are very excited to see the inclusion of the following paragraph;
To prioritise, facilitate and support the development of a community swimming pool facility and a sports complex within the western region of the County, so located to achieve maximum accessibility to the residents of West Wicklow.
These facilities are badly needed here in West Wicklow and the development of a swimming pool and sports complex would have far reaching benefits for our community. People here have been campaigning for the development of a swimming pool for over 50 years, our children's sports clubs either have no pitches of their own or have to travel long distances to acces facilities and local groups such as the Scouts have no base for their activities. The prioritisiation of the development of these facilities in West Wicklow is very welcome and has our full support. We look forward to continuing to work with Wicklow County Council and our community to ensure the development of a pool for West Wicklow.