With no local area plan since 2011, Drogheda has become a planning 'free-for-all'

The failure of Louth County Council and Meath County Council to formulate and publish a Joint Local Area Plan (JLAP) for Drogheda is a clear indication of how the county-based administration of Drogheda is failing Ireland’s newest city, Drogheda City Status Group (DCSG) says.

No local area plan for Drogheda has been published since 2011. That plan expired in 2017. Local area plans provide a detailed framework for the future development of a specific area within the jurisdiction of a local authority. LAPs (or in the case of Drogheda, a JLAP because Drogheda straddles two counties and therefore requires a joint plan formulated by both Louth and Meath County Councils) deal with matters like housing, transport, infrastructure, community facilities, retail, employment and the protection of natural and built heritage.

Once adopted, an LAP/JLAP is part of the statutory planning framework, meaning planning applications within the area must comply with it. It provides certainty for developers, residents and investors about what types of development are encouraged or restricted.

Lots of housing

It is DCSG’s view that without a JLAP, Drogheda has become a planning “free-for-all”, with massive amounts of housing being built but little in the way of infrastructure, education facilities and much of what is required for a developing city to become a sustainable urban area providing good living spaces, but also suitable education and employment opportunities, and proper community and recreation/sports facilities.

During 2025, DCSG received mixed signals from council executives and public representatives alike in relation to why the JLAP for Drogheda was not completed, despite the public consultation phase of the plan having been completed. A total of 153 submissions were made to the draft JLAP, including a comprehensive submission from DCSG.

DCSG was told that the plan was not completed due to a lack of resources. Later, we were told that progression to the next stage of preparation of the JLAP was “impeded by a judicial review taken against Meath County Council’s current County Development Plan” and the JLAP would not progress any further. Instead, the preparatory work carried out for the JLAP would be incorporated into the new County Development Plan for Louth.

Clearly there was no lack of resources in Louth County Council when it came to the preparation and publication of a Local Area Plan for Dundalk. The Dundalk LAP was adopted by members in March 2025 and came into effect on 17^th April last.

So why, in the same year that the comprehensive new Dundalk LAP was published, was it being claimed that Louth County Council did not have the resources to formulate a JLAP for Drogheda?

Vast housing estate

The absence of a JLAP for Drogheda leaves the burgeoning city in a planning no-man’s land. All someone needs to do is to walk along the partially completed Port Access Northern Cross Route (PANCR) to see the evidence that Drogheda is becoming a vast housing estate. But where are the parks and playgrounds? And the factories? And the extra schools? And the much-vaunted railway station for Drogheda north?

Enormous debate has been stoked in Drogheda around the construction or planned construction of “high-rise” developments in sensitive areas of the city. The 11-storey Friary Place development beside the Bridge of Peace has aroused a mix of praise and criticism. Whether you agree with its location or not, the presence of a JLAP for Drogheda would dictate where such high-rise structures can and cannot be built. The absence of a JLAP means the people of Drogheda have no certainty about what types of development could take place close to them in the near future.

DCSG has long argued that the old county-based system of administration is not just outdated, but is clearly not serving Drogheda. Since the 2022 census, Drogheda’s urban population has grown from 44,000 to 50,000 residents, and at this moment in time is likely to be somewhere around the 51,000-52,000 mark. The EU definition of a city has been reached by population benchmarks. And yet there is no local area plan for what is now no longer “Ireland’s largest town”, but in fact “Ireland’s newest city”.

Drogheda has clearly and demonstrably “fallen between two stools” (i.e. Louth and Meath county councils) and has suffered as a result. Efforts to improve cooperation between the two county councils, particularly in relation to Drogheda, seem to have largely failed.

City administration

DCSG has consistently campaigned for the creation of a new city administration for Drogheda, a governing authority that would administer ALL of Drogheda, incorporating those parts of the city that lie in Louth and those in Meath. We have been particularly clear that such an administration would not require anybody to change their county address. If you fly a red and white flag for your county team, or green and gold, you would not have to worry about changing that.

Such a metropolitan administration would not require a JLAP, and could formulate its own, single local area plan. But much more than that, it would require substantial funding and investment from the Government, in a similar fashion to the likes of Waterford and Limerick, and secure a bright future for Drogheda. DCSG is insistent that we will not settle for anything else. Nor should the people of this bright and ancient city.