Drogheda City

Drogheda’s biggest challenge isn’t the dereliction or the traffic chaos. It’s the simple fact that Drogheda is an urban area fractured by a county boundary - in a country where everything is county. All administration, decision making and funding is operated strictly through a county system. The line which was drawn long ago now shapes everything we struggle with today. We are being governed from Dundalk and Navan. Neither authority has responsibility for the whole urban area. Neither can plan holistically or with ‘joined-up thinking’. Neither has the strategic interest to invest in Drogheda, where a portion of the population is outside their remit. This is not a criticism of Meath or Louth - it’s a criticism of a structural flaw in the system that creates real-world consequences: No single overall vision for Ireland’s ‘largest town’ Weak political voice Fragmented planning Inconsistent investment - funding applied separately by each county Inconsistent public services Poor coordinatio...

It's hard to believe, but 'Ireland's biggest town' has no plan. No vision, no forward planning, no joined-up thinking. Local area plans are critical for future growth and sustainable development in urban areas, covering issues like population, economic growth, housing, facilities, vacancy, water and transportation. Drogheda has had no area plan for the last 15 years, despite dramatic population growth, steep decline of its urban core and degradation of its heritage buildings, and despite both councils being legally bound to produce a Joint Local Area Plan for Drogheda (as directed by the RSES document created by the Eastern Midlands Regional Authority). Drogheda's unique geography means that about 20% of its citizens live in Meath, and the other 80% in Louth, so a Local Area Plan needs to be a joint effort between Meath and Louth. However Louth and Meath county councils are refusing to carry the work out. Drogheda is an oversight, an inconvenience, an afterthought. ...