Key Planning Arguments in Favour of Material Alteration No.

20 of the
Sallins Local Area Plan 2016-2022 (from Sallins Community Council)
1. The new Sallins by-pass has been approved and will terminate with a roundabout
junction at the Clane Road lands in question, thus facilitating easy access to the lands.
This is very significant, as current residents would be anxious not to add to traffic
congestion in the town.
2. The future population growth of Sallins should reflect that it has a centrally located
train station and is close to the motorway; it has the capacity to cope with a reasonable
level of increased growth.
3. The proposed sports/educational/residential model is a firmly established and
successful practice in Co. Kildare, creating sustainable neighbourhoods where
community infrastructure is close to housing e.g. Tomard in Athy, Moyglare Road in
Maynooth and Sarsfields in Newbridge.
4. The sports/educational campus would be the most significant planning gain for the
town in a generation, delivering GAA pitches, soccer pitches, a primary school, a
small public park, and encouraging the establishment of new community-based
clubs/groups. This would accord with the KCDP 2011-2017 core strategy (RA 6: To
encourage the clustering of sport and community facilities and to encourage them to
be multi-functional and not used exclusively by any one group).
5. The Educational/Community zoning to the north west of the town envisaged by the
CEO is on privately owned lands. However, there is no plan for any state or patronage
body to acquire these lands.
The provision of a new primary school on the Clane Road (MA20) site would remedy
the current situation whereby primary school children are bussed to outlying schools,
due to the primary school in Sallins not being able to cope with demand. It would also
provide the opportunity for greater pluralism in provision, as patronage of the new
school would presumably offer an alternative to the existing Catholic school.
6. The residential element of the zoning objective is beside two established residential
developments and therefore represents sequential development in accordance with
proper planning and sustainable development.
7. There are no significant constraints associated with the future development of the
subject lands (archaeology, environmental, built heritage, flooding etc.).

Finally, the residents of Sallins are all too aware of the problems caused by bad planning
we have been living with the consequences of it. Material Alteration No. 20, in the view of
the vast bulk of Sallins residents, represents good planning (in the 168 submissions, all
groups/clubs supported MA20, only one resident objected). We live here, most of our
children will live here; we are acutely conscious of the importance of getting this right.