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11. Failte Ireland 1 Forward Planning Team, Monaghan County Council, Planning Offices, 1 Dublin Street, Monaghan. By email submission to: devplan@monaghancoco.ie Date: 3rd July 2023 Re: Preparation of Monaghan County Development Plan 2025-2031: Fáilte Ireland Pre- Draft Submission To whom it may concern, Introduction This submission has been prepared by Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, in response to the public notice seeking pre-draft submissions in relation to the preparation of a new Monaghan County Development Plan (‘the Plan’) for the period 2025-2031 by Monaghan County Council (‘the Council’). Fáilte Ireland welcomes the opportunity to engage with Monaghan County Council on the emerging Plan for the County. Fáilte Ireland is seeking to enhance the partnership approach between the Council and the National Authority and ensure that the expertise of both organisations is shared. The preparation of this submission comes at a time when Fáilte Ireland are emphasising the need for land-use plans to manage all land uses and economic drivers – of which tourism is but one, in a more holistic, strategic and spatial manner to maximise the efficient use of resources and the achievement of greater outcomes for society at large. 2 We hope that this submission can represent a first step in a collaborative process that culminates in the adoption of the new Development Plan. We welcome future opportunities to collaborate with the Council and wish to see other meaningful partnerships with stakeholders in future. The submission has been prepared having regard to the tourism profile of the County; the background information in the Issues Paper; the current Development Plan and an established template for sustainable tourism policies being used by Fáilte Ireland to guide Planning Authorities. For ease of reading, we have structured this submission as follows: 1. The Objective of this Submission 2. Commentary on the Current Monaghan Development Plan 3. Background Information Provided: Issues Paper 4. Key Tourism Assets & Challenges in County Monaghan 5. Further Suggestions for the New Development Plan 6. Conclusion 1. The Objective of this Submission Fáilte Ireland has prepared this submission to support and assist the Council in the formulation of planning policies and frameworks for the period 2025-2031. Fáilte Ireland are seeking to enhance the partnership approach between the Council and the Authority and ensure that the expertise of both organisations are shared. The submission seeks to enhance the policy coverage in the new Development Plan to ensure a meaningful framework is established for the enhancement of tourism in the County, and the wider region, during the Plan period. It has been prepared with inputs from professional planners as well as various strands within Fáilte Ireland. It provides the Council with a concise single submission from the Authority dealing with all aspects of tourism – from strategic planning to visitor experience and destination management. Fáilte Ireland has invested in the County such as the Destination and Experience Development Plan and through the Destination Town Funding Scheme. We wish to see these investments acknowledged and further progresses in the new Development Plan. We request an objective supporting continued cooperation between the Council, Fáilte Ireland and other tourism stakeholders in the county. Our vision is to lead the development of a tourism industry that is well on its way to making a more significant and more sustainable contribution to the Monaghan economy, its environment, society, and culture than it has to date. Therefore, it is vital that tourism is at the centre of the Monaghan 3 County Development Plan 2025-2031 and fully supported to develop the tourism amenities in the county and appeal to locals and international visitors alike thus creating a more sustainable industry. A successful tourism sector also creates significant benefits for many other sectors such as agriculture, food and drinks, accommodation providers, transport and retail. For this reason, tourism is a particularly important activity and spatial land use in its own right to be accommodated within the emerging County Development Plan notwithstanding its contribution to enhancement of Quality of Life and the enhancement of places of residence, work and play and can positively affect both physical and mental wellbeing which is a key principle of the Northern and Western Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy (RSES). 2. Commentary on the Current Monaghan Development Plan Fáilte Ireland welcomes the chapter on ‘Economic Development’ contained with the current Development Plan, with a dedicated section on Tourism (Section 4.7). Fáilte Ireland requests that a similar dedicated chapter and focus be carried through in the new Development Plan. This enables decision makers and stakeholders to easily follow guidance in relation to tourism amenities and assets. The vision statement indirectly protects the county’s tourism amenities and assets referring to natural and built environment. We welcome the reference to tourism within one of the strategic aims: SO 5 To protect and nurture the County’s rich natural resources, heritage, tourism assets and amenities along with the environmental quality of the natural and built environment in both the urban and rural areas. Section 4.7 of the current Monaghan Development Plan is the key point of reference for tourism within the Development Plan. This Section does reference key areas such as Fáilte Ireland Strategies, accommodation, key visitor attractions, greenways/blueways, heritage tourism, events and festivals, walking/cycling etc. but in a brief reference only. It is considered that a more robust section could be contained in the forth coming plan with policies and objectives on issues such as those included in this submission addressed. The chapter should (a) encompass all of the policies and objectives relating to this important economic driver, building on the actions and objectives set out in the wider Development Plan and (b) recognise the significant role that tourism plays in the overall operation and development of the County. 4 3. Background Information Provided: Strategic Issues & Options Paper We welcome references to tourism contained within the Strategic Issues & Options Paper (SIOP) in regard to ‘Economic Activity’ and ‘Landscape and Green Infrastructure’. While this stage is early in the process, the Issues Paper is light on details in regard to Tourism with no reference to Fáilte Ireland or its brand initiatives (Ireland’s Ancient East) included. We note the following references to Tourism and tourism related infrastructure within the IP. In relation to ‘Economic Activity’ the SIOP states: Tourism is an emerging sector in County Monaghan providing both economic and social advantages to the area. County Monaghan has an abundance of tourist attractions that should be seen as fundamental assets and should be utilised fully in its future development. The Monaghan County Development Plan 2025-2031 should support tourism and predict the nature of future demands in the County in a sustainable manner. It then asks the question: ‘How can the development plan ensure the sustainable expansion of the tourism offering of County Monaghan?’. In relation to ‘Community Services / Facilities the IP asks the questions ‘Are there enough parks and amenity areas? And ‘Should there be more greenways and safe walking routes provided?’. The Strategic Issues & Options Paper identifies a number of questions or issues for the new plan to address. A number of these influence tourism development. In responding to these areas of interest, Fáilte Ireland would maintain that the appropriate consideration, planning and protection of tourism through forward planning and development management are key to the development of the tourism industry. The questions relating or effecting tourism detailed in the Issues Paper and Fáilte Ireland’s response are as contained within the following sections. 4. Key Tourism Assets & Initiatives in the County County Monaghan possesses a range of tourism amenities as detailed by the current Development Plan, including the following: • Patrick Kavanagh Visitor Centre • Glaslough Heritage & Audio Trail • Castle Leslie Estate • St Peter’s Tin Church • Lough Muckno Leisure Park 5 • Monaghan County Museum • Monaghan Town Greenway • Rossmore Forest Park • Carrickmacross Lace It is considered that there are some over-arching objective and challenges for Monaghan that should be carefully considered in the formulation of the tourism chapter of the forthcoming Development Plan. These are discussed below and further throughout this submission. Ireland's Ancient East Ireland’s Ancient East was launched in 2015 as a mechanism to unify the region as an internationally marketable tourism destination. It also serves as a mechanism to show potential visitors the breadth of experiences available throughout the region and disrupt traditional visitor flow and dispersal. It also was intended to offer the visitor a very different flavour of Ireland relative to Ireland’s other regional experience brands and has delivered well in this regard. The brand seeks to increase the economic contribution of tourism by convincing visitors to stay longer and experience more of what the region has to offer. Internationally, the brand has proven itself to be particularly compelling in the Great Britain, German, French and North American markets. At a consumer level, the brand has proven to be a motivating reason to visit Ireland with 650,000 more visitors visiting the region in 2019 compared to 2017. International consumer testing has shown the brand to be motivating to visit Ireland. Ireland’s Ancient East is a brand in its infancy with an opportunity for growth in adoption by industry and awareness in domestic and international markets. Ireland’s Ancient East Regional Tourism Development Strategy 2023-2027 This Regional Tourism Development Strategy represents a 10-year vision for the sustainable development of tourism in Ireland’s Ancient East, together with a 5-year strategy to guide the activation and delivery of our vision. It identifies the elements required at a strategic level to unlock the commercial potential of the region while exceeding the expectations of our visitors and protecting the environment. The strategy is intended to be the blueprint for sustainable tourism development in the region under which a range of stakeholders and partners can work together towards a shared vision. It provides a guiding strategic framework for other more detailed tourism development plans that will be prepared within the region over the next five years. These include, Destination and Experience Development Plans (DEDPs), County Tourism Strategies and the tourism 6 sections of County Development Plans. The plan will also help identify priorities for available funding in the region, e.g., URDF, RRDF, ORIS, Just Transition etc. We request the inclusion of an objective supporting the implementation of the Ireland’s Ancient East Regional Tourism Strategy in the County Development Plan, to support the continued collaboration with Fáilte Ireland and tourism stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and delivery of the plan. Destination and Experience Development Plans (DEDPs) The key to unlocking the growth potential of an area is the development of experiences that will motivate potential visitors to firstly visit there and secondly to dwell in the area. These new experiences are less concerned with visitors passively seeing or doing things; they encourage visitors to immerse themselves actively in the locale, interacting with people, engaging the senses, and learning the history and stories of the places. Fáilte Ireland’s response to this challenge has been the creation of a framework to develop and deliver Destination and Experience Development Plans along with strengthening Destination towns. This approach identifies the key assets of an area and provides a framework to present the experiences and stories of that area in a way that visitors can readily and easily understand. It clearly identifies tangible actions and a process for businesses to shape their respective tourist experience(s) in line with the overall experience brand proposition and the key motivating themes for their area. Monaghan Destination and Experience Development Plan (MDEDP) The Monaghan Destination and Experience Development Plan (MDEDP) is a five-year commercial destination and experience development plan. The role of the MDEDP is to support the development of unique and compelling destination experiences focused on a number of immediate and strategic destination opportunities. The MDEDP was developed through a consultative process involving tourism industry representatives, members of the local community and Monaghan County Council. We request the inclusion of an objective supporting the Monaghan Destination and Experience Development Plan (MDEDP) and the inclusion of policies and objectives to support its key projects. There should be strong alignment and consistency between the new Monaghan Destination Experience Development Plan and the forthcoming Tourism Chapter of the Monaghan County Development Plan having regard to the parallel timeframe of both plans. The MDEDP will guide tourism development through a roadmap of projects linked to a number of destination development opportunities. Over the course of the plan implementation, success will be measured by achieving 7 growth across a range of indicators from new experience supply, visitor demand patterns, growing the value per visitor and a number of additional destination competitiveness indicators. Destination Towns Monaghan Town was granted investment under Fáilte Ireland’s Destination Towns funding programme in 2019 to prepare the Monaghan Destination Town Plan. Fáilte Ireland has published ‘Development Guidelines for Tourism Destination Towns’ to provide a framework to support communities and Local Authorities and set out the key drivers of what makes a town appealing to the international tourist. These guidelines are intended as a practical aid to Local Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, LEADER Programme Local Action Groups and other business and community groups who consider their town to either be a tourism destination town or have the potential to develop as one. They can also be used by smaller towns and villages with the potential to further develop as day trip destinations. http://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/Publications/Failte- Ireland-Tourism-Destination-Towns-Guidelines.pdf?ext=.pdf With Fáilte Ireland research consistently showing that attractive towns are key motivators for overseas holidaymakers coming to Ireland, the guidelines aim to enhance public spaces such as squares, streetscapes and markets in a way that will engage tourists and enhance their experience in key towns. This could include spaces for food and craft markets, areas for town centre events, public art displays as well as orientation and signage to help visitors explore a town’s local heritage. Furthermore, connectivity which promotes walking and cycling facilities which are linked to historic town trails, blueways etc should be developed. Being more creative in the reimaging of public space and the public realm of our cities and towns will be key to short-term recovery post Covid-19 and will also drive longer-term attractiveness by ensuring more connected places that are more accessible, easier to get around and much more pleasant to experience for visitors and residents alike and encourage people to stay longer. The vitality and vibrancy of a town is a crucial aspect in making it attractive. Monaghan has many handsome towns and villages which are in need of rejuvenation. Tourism initiatives can act as a stimulus attracting further investment to an area creating a vibrancy and vitality. Improved public realms and encouraging the reuse of vacant buildings or unused upper floors in town centres may assist in this regard with providing accommodation and facilities for tourists. The adaptive reuse of existing historic buildings is one of the best ways a community can improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of its village or a town. 8 5. Further Suggestions for the New Development Plan Natural Heritage Fáilte Ireland recognises that there is a strong interdependency between heritage and tourism. Leveraging of our heritage assets can lead to economic, social and cultural benefits for local communities, and the wider area. In 2019 over 91% of overseas holidaymakers across our 4 target markets visited a heritage site in Ireland as part of their holiday. This demonstrates that heritage is an intrinsic element of Ireland’s tourism offering and as such, its economic value cannot be neatly separated from the overall value of overseas tourism to Ireland. It is acknowledged that the built & natural heritage may have different and varying needs and requirements in order to unlock their potential, with the business and operations of attractions, conservation of monuments/ buildings etc, particularly relevant. The formulation of policies which acknowledge and support the positive role that heritage plays within tourism will benefit both heritage and tourism. A strong heritage policy with tourism as a priority sector within it, will help to ensure that the interests of both sectors are recognised. This will also enhance and promote cooperation between stakeholders. Since 2017 Fáilte Ireland has established Strategic Partnerships with four state agencies including the Office of Public Works (OPW), National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), Coillte and Waterways Ireland. As the owners and managers of these assets, Fáilte Ireland works with these agencies to optimise the visitor experience of state-owned lands and assets such as national parks, nature reserves, forest parks and heritage sites. This is key to positioning tourism on the agendas of those who directly manage and deliver the visitor experience but may not have tourism as their main remit. It is also key to note that heritage is not the single remit of any one agency or department and that a whole of government approach will be required, taking key areas and linkages with climate change, environment, to name but a few, into account. Having regard to the sensitive nature and location of many of these sites improving access must be achieved in a sustainable manner. Considerations such as improving cycle and walking trails to sites, information signage, and orientation in all key towns, with accessible parking would facilitate ease of access for all. The development of digital platforms to educate and inform the public as to how best to interact with and protect, sensitive sites and environments should also be considered. Greenways From a tourism perspective, Greenways are key tourism infrastructure and play an important role in Irish tourism. They boost the appeal of Ireland in the travel market, add value to the existing high tourism offering and support the development of rural communities and job creation in the rural economy, as well as the protection and promotion of natural assets and biodiversity. Other key considerations include ensuring that there are linkages to towns, villages and communities; 9 interpretation (telling of local interesting and engaging stories); animation (year-round events, etc which are continuously being refreshed, new elements added); and engaged and proactive communities and industry who utilises the Greenway for their own recreational use but also take pride and encourage their Greenway being enjoyed by others. In addition, we know that globally, activity tourism continues to grow in popularity and cycling in particular has the potential to grow further; but only if suitable infrastructure can be delivered on the ground and in the right location. Initiatives such as the Ulster Canal Greenway, development of the outdoor and activity potential of the Ulster Canal Greenway linked to Monaghan Town will add to the offering of the county. Public Transport, Cycling and Walking It is important to promote and support the integration of land use and transport, public transport accessibility, and to encourage a modal shift to greater use of sustainable modes of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport. Public transport is key to enabling visitor movement and transit to and between tourism and heritage attractions. Neither Fáilte Ireland nor the tourism industry have control over where these are located, yet in order for visitors to experience these, accessibility is key. Ensuring a high degree of policy convergence between the tourism and transport sectors is, therefore, crucial. Accommodation We request the Council support the development of a variety of quality accommodation in key locations in particular in key towns in the County. Providing a more reliable access to accommodation throughout the year would have a positive impact more widely on other businesses in the area by encouraging overnight stays, longer dwell time, and increased spend thus anchoring visitors to an area. More widely there is an absence of choice in accommodation for younger visitors and families and alternative accommodation facilities outside the main towns including holiday homes, motorhome parking, camping and glamping sites. We wish to see alternative and a more diverse offering in accommodation with associated facilities for walkers, cyclists and families which is of a high quality. Small scale accommodation is often locally owned and managed. This results in tourist spending having a direct and immediate benefit to the local economy. The Council should support the development of a wide range of accommodation and other local enterprises through Development Plan policies, objectives and zonings. It is considered that the Development Plan should particularly support the development of tourist accommodation in the county to build on the attractiveness of the tourism offering and the proximity to Dublin. This is a key component of improving the attractiveness to visitors and ensuring economic 10 synergies can occur for local businesses. Increasing the dispersal of visitors throughout the county, supported by accommodation and facility offerings, would support development initiatives. Tourism Amenities and Assets Maps Failte Ireland would also like to see tourism policies and objectives clearly set out where possible through the inclusion of maps. Such a map should illustrate: • Key nodes of tourism activity in the County – both existing and proposed specific tourism centres (major tourism attractions, water access etc.); including the list of key assets identified in Section 2 above. • Existing transport links between nodes and identified routes– whether walking, cycling or road based including greenways and blueways. • Strategic tourism centres (principal towns containing tourist facilities) where key services such as -accommodation etc. are located; Further guidance is available here: https://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/Publicatio ns/Failte-Ireland-Tourism-Destination-Towns-Guidelines.pdf?ext=.pdf • Sensitive environments where the provision of services must be sensitive and appropriate to the robustness / sensitivity of the receiving environment and in particular its existing tourism significance. • Areas of unrealised tourism potential where proactive policies will aim to encourage the development of this sector. • Branding – reference and use of Fáilte Ireland Tourism Brand logos applicable to the county i.e., Ireland’s Ancient East Sustainable Tourism As the National Development Authority for tourism in Ireland, Fáilte Ireland recognises and will continue to ensure that all tourism initiatives it is involved in are planned, developed and managed in a sustainable and integrated manner. For Fáilte Ireland the main objective in working towards a sustainable tourism sector is to protect, enhance and promote both our natural and built heritage for the common benefits of visitor, industry, community and the environment. The VICE (Visitor, Industry, Community and Environment) Model for Sustainable Tourism is an approach that Fáilte Ireland adopts in all of our activities and outputs and this approach should underline the approach to sustainable tourism development in Monaghan. 11 There is a fundamental link between tourism and many other sectors which needs to be acknowledged in the draft plan, which should result in an increase in the level of policy cross compliance and consideration of potential benefits and impacts on tourism in the development of policy. The tourism sector does not directly own or manage the tourism assets which underpin the sector and therefore is reliant on this alignment of policies for the sustainability of the sector. We would welcome the inclusion of an ‘strategic aim’ relating specifically to Tourism in the Core Strategy. Tourism-related activities can be an important source of finance for the capital investment needed to support development and maintenance in areas of low population. It can play a key role in ensuring the continued economic viability in more peripheral rural areas with important consequences for both cultural and social continuity as well as better utilization of capital investment in sparsely populated areas. Tourism can make a key contribution to rural economies and communities. Most tourism facilities in County Monaghan are community or locally owned and managed, meaning spending remains in the local economy and as such should be promoted and safeguarded by the Development Plan. As such support for the internationally recognised VICE model should be identified in the Development Plan. This model identifies sustainable tourism as the interaction between Visitors, the Industry that provides services to them, the Community and culture that hosts them and their collective impact on and response to the Environment where it all takes place. The key to unlocking the growth potential of an area is the development of experiences that will motivate potential tourists to firstly visit there and secondly to dwell in the area. These new experiences are less concerned with visitors passively seeing or doing things; they encourage tourists to immerse themselves actively in the locale, interacting with people, engaging the senses, and learning the history and stories of the places. Fáilte Ireland’s response to this challenge has been the creation of a framework to develop and deliver destination development plans along with strengthening destination towns. This approach identifies the key assets of an area and provides a framework to present the experiences and stories of that area in a way that tourists can readily and easily understand. It clearly identifies tangible actions and a process for businesses to shape their respective tourist experience(s) in line with the overall experience brand proposition and the key motivating themes for their area. Renewable Energy & Landscape Character Assessment: Fáilte Ireland requests the Council develop a dedicated Renewable Energy Strategy. Included within this should be a map, which identifies areas suitable and unsuitable for the siting of wind turbines and sensitive areas such as tourism facilitates or assets. Robust policies will assist the Council in ensuring a continued emphasis on the positive interactions between both the energy and tourism potential of the County. 12 The LCA identified in the current Development Plan was prepared in 2008 and it is considered that this should be reviewed and updated in the forthcoming Development Plan. Fáilte Ireland requests that the National Landscape Strategy 2015-2025 be referenced in the forthcoming Development Plan and that an updated Landscape Character Assessment for Monaghan be incorporated into the Development Plan to achieve a more specific protection for tourism assets, we request an objective protecting the integrity of key tourist amenities from negative visual and landscape impacts. 6. Conclusion Fáilte Ireland would like to thank the Council in advance for their consideration of this submission and encourage the inclusion of the Authority’s recommendations in the preparation of the new County Development Plan. We greatly appreciate this opportunity to take part in shaping the Plan for the County and hope that this submission can represent a first step in a collaborative process that culminates in the preparation and adoption of the new County Development Plan. Should you have any queries on this please do not hesitate to contact Fáilte Ireland, where we would be happy to discuss the matters raised above and will be available throughout the County Development Plan Review process. Yours Sincerely, Environment & Planning Manager, Fáilte Ireland