The Sallins Development Plan was finally released last Thursday, 26th June. The plan has been a work in progress for at least a year and was long awaited. The plan sets out a vision for the village over the next five years and forms a blueprint for development and planning in the village as per the planners’ vision.

Zoning map if the plan is adopted

The document is binding in the sense that all development must conform to it; however it is aspirational in the sense that few of these things will happen without private funding. In the current economic climate it is likely development will progress at a reduced rate, if at all. However the plan is good for five years and all economies are cyclical. Also the developers who own the land banks around the village will presumably want to utilise some of that real estate at some stage and the area plan specifies exactly how and what can be done as part of that process.

There are a huge amount of positives for Sallins contained within this draft, in my opinion. The bypass question is finally concluded, after years of uncertainty for residents (including myself) who lived literally in the line of fire from the orginal route. While everyone wants a piece of it now, I fought the case when not one public representative was interested, with the honourable exception of (then councillor, now Deputy) Michael Fitzpatrick.

The community council will be happy to see the long standing vision of a linear park alongside the Liffey and Grand Canal green belt has been formally acknowledged. The old factory site which many considered an eye sore in recent times has been suggested for a plaza style town centre development, with aesthetic features such as ‘street furniture’ accompanying retail and amenity outlets in a new town square. The land beside the school has been zoned ‘Educational’ which should give scope for future expansion whilst the parking problem around the village may be addressed through pay parking ; a good idea in principle but would need some form of permit system for residents to avoid estates forming spillover and be guaraunteed parking outside their own homes/premises.

Street safety is improved for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike as a number of footpath and road improvements including widening of canal bridge. Also some interesting features such as footbridges across the canal on both sides would enhance pedestrian safety and amenity use.

Many of these items I’ve previously campaigned on, from the bypass, to traffic flows, to recycling bays. I am pleased to see they have made their way into this plan.

The plan is still in draft form and remains so for six weeks. All Sallins residents or in fact any stakeholder has the right to study the plan and make submissions during that period. All the relevant documents are available here. If people want a say in the future or their village, this is the time to do it.