Banbridge Newry & Mourne Plan 2015

Strategic Plan Framework: Education, Health, Community and Cultural Uses

Education, health, community and cultural uses play an important role in maintaining and creating sustainable and cohesive communities. There are a wide range of facilities spread throughout the Plan Area including schools, further education campuses, libraries, hospitals, surgeries, community centres and arts venues.

Regional Policy Context

The RDS provides the strategic context for the delivery of community services including education and health care and includes the following SPGs:

• facilitate a programme of infrastructure improvements essential to business needs (SPG-ECON 5); and
• to improve employability through lifelong learning and personal development and meet the educational and training needs of the region (SPG-ECON 6).

The RDS identifies both Banbridge and Newry as main hubs to be developed as major locations providing employment, services and a range of cultural and leisure amenities. Decisions on the future location of new public sector development for a variety of functions, including health and education, will take into account the strategic role of Banbridge and Newry.

The Department's regional planning policies for community needs are currently set out in PSRNI.

Supplementary Planning Guidance is contained in DCAN 9: Residential and Nursing Homes and DCAN 13: Crèches, Day Nurseries and Pre-school Playgroups.

Education

The Department of Education, the Department of Employment and Learning and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) retain overall authority for education policy and finance.

Responsibility for the provision of primary and post primary educational facilities in the Banbridge/Newry and Mourne areas rests mainly with the following providers:

• the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB);
• the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS);
• the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education; and
• Comhairle na Gaelscolaoichta (Council for Irish-Medium Education).

The Upper Bann Institute campus in Banbridge and the Newry Institute campuses in Newry and Kilkeel offer further and higher education. These three campuses will all come under the control of a single further education institute upon reorganisation in September 2007.

Sites for new schools have been zoned in Dromore, Newry, Ballymartin, Burren, Forkhill, Rostrevor and Drumintee as defined in Volumes 2 and 3 of the Plan. Additionally, further new educational facilities are proposed at various locations within the Plan Area. Some of these developments will be accommodated within existing campuses, in other cases sites have yet to be identified.

The Independent Review Body on Post Primary Education reported to the Minister of Education in 2001, and there is the possibility that the long-term outcome of this review may influence the number and type of post primary schools across Northern Ireland.

Details of existing and proposed education provision can be found in the Education, Health, Community and Cultural Uses Technical Supplement.

Youth Services

The Department of Education has overall responsibility for youth services including policy and finance. SELB secures the provision of facilities for recreational, social, physical, cultural and youth service activities and for services ancillary to education within the Plan Area. SELB operates Outdoor Education Centres at Killowen and at Shannaghmore near Newcastle.

Health and Social Services

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has overall responsibility for policy and funding. The Southern Health and Social Services Board assesses the health and social care needs within the Plan Area and secures the care to meet those needs.

The Craigavon & Banbridge Community Health and Social Services Trust provides community health and social care services in Banbridge District. The Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust provides a hospital outreach facility at Banbridge Polyclinic. The Newry and Mourne Health and Social Services Trust is fully integrated and provides combined hospital and community health and social care services in Newry and Mourne District including the acute hospital at Daisy Hill in Newry.

There are GP surgeries, dentists and pharmacies providing additional healthcare services in the towns, villages and rural communities throughout the Plan Area.

Details of existing and proposed health and social services provision can be found in the Education, Health, Community and Cultural Uses Technical Supplement.

Community and Cultural Facilities

Both Banbridge District Council and Newry and Mourne District Council provide community and cultural facilities in numerous locations within their respective areas. There are performance/theatre venues located in Banbridge, Newry, Kilkeel and Warrenpoint while both Banbridge and Newry have multi-screen cinema complexes. There are also many other community centres and halls scattered throughout the Plan Area that provide facilities for a wide range of user groups and organisations.

Libraries

The Library Service within the Plan Area is funded by DCAL and administered by SELB. There are public libraries in Banbridge, Dromore, Gilford, Rathfriland, Newry, Crossmaglen, Kilkeel, Warrenpoint and Bessbrook.

Policy for Education, Health, Community and Cultural Uses

Applications for planning permission for community related facilities will be considered in the context of prevailing regional planning policy and the Plan Proposals. Unforeseen demands for new community facilities may arise over the lifetime of the Plan. Accordingly, a flexible approach is required in considering such development within settlement development limits in order to make the most effective use of existing facilities, infrastructure, utilities and resources. For the purposes of interpreting this policy, Community Use refers to those uses specified in Classes D1 and D2 of the Planning (Use Classes) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004.

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