New school needed for proposed Tullamore housing: Department

By Rebekah O'Reilly

The need for a new primary school in Tullamore to accommodate proposed residential growth has been highlighted by the Department of Education.

It comes as Offaly County Council approved a variation to the County Development Plan, which will see over 4,000 new homes theoretically delivered following a major rezoning of land in the county.

Officials told councillors that the revised National Planning Framework requires local authorities to plan for significantly increased housing delivery, with a national target of approximately 50,000 additional households per year up to 2040.

The variation incorporates approximately 22% additional provision of zoned lands across 17 settlements within Offaly, and reflects an increase in the annual housing requirement from 663 units, as set out in the existing County Development Plan 2021-2027, to 891 units per annum from 2025 to 2030.

This represents an increase of 228 units per year to be delivered over the period 2025-2027 and a new annual requirement of 891 units for the period 2028-2030, and means an additional 3,357 housing units are required in Offaly to meet the targets though the amount of land zoned residential could yield 4,102 units.

In a submission made to Offaly County Council, the Department of Education said if the above housing growth figures materialise, the demand for school places arising from the resulting population growth would increase "substantially", placing "significant pressure" on existing schools across Offaly.

The Department said an additional primary school would be needed in Tullamore to cater for the growth.

It said that the projected housing growth up to 2030, based on the average number per household, would could see a population growth of over 5,300 people within the town.

“If a population of 5,300 materialises, it will generate a potential future requirement for one additional primary school. These figures could see an increase in post-primary school place demand which potentially could be met by the possible expansion of the existing facilities, if required."

The department recommended a land buffer around schools to enable them expand further if required in areas such as Birr, Crinkill, Edenderry, Portarlington, Banagher, Clara, Daingean, Ferbane, and Kilcormac.

"It is generally considered that schools are enabling infrastructure for housing and as such, schools should be positioned in the heart of new and expanding sustainable communities, allowing for the maximum benefit to the community inside and outside school hours," the submission by the Department of Education read.

The Department also anticipates that additional Special Education Needs (SEN) provision at both Primary and Post Primary level will be required in the future throughout the country, which may result in schools requiring additional accommodation or space to meet this growing need.

Responding to the submission, Chief Executive Eoghan Ryan acknowledged the identification of future school requirements arising from population growth, noting that existing provisions of the County Development Plan facilitate the provision of educational infrastructure and facilitate the expansion of existing schools in line with projected demand.

"The Tullamore zoning map includes a number of land parcels zoned as ‘Strategic Community Services/Facilities Reserve’, which is a land use zoning objective that is unique to Tullamore to support community facilities, in line with future population growth. The emphasis on the location of schools as integral to sustainable communities, including their co-location with other community facilities, aligns with the strategic planning objectives of the council," the Chief Executive's report stated.

"The existing County Development Plan supports the development and expansion of educational facilities, and accordingly, it is considered that sufficient local policy support already exists in regard to providing for increasing demand for Special Educational Needs (SEN) accommodation. The need for flexibility in school planning to respond to changing demographic circumstances is accepted."