Plans for a new riverside city based around the Meath county town of Navan, with a reopened rail link to Dublin, have received support from an economic development strategy to be launched later this month.
The strategy, which is to be published by Navan Chamber of Commerce, is a development blueprint for the years to 2015.
It is wholly supportive of the proposed "city" status of the town , as put forward jointly by Meath County and Navan Urban Councils.
The new city plans are already well advanced and predate the Government's planned growth centre strategy, due at the end of 2001, by more than three-and-a-half years.
Envisaged is a small city of 80,000 people with electronic access to local government services, having its own theatre, water world, city centre, public transport, employment zones, health centres, schools and waterside park.
Meath County and Navan Urban Councils began planning for growth "in a desirable living environment" two-and-a-half years ago with an audit of the social facilities and available public transport.
The original assessment of what was available also addressed the need to develop housing, attract investment for employment and capitalise on the natural environment and heritage of the area.
Also expressed was a need to develop a local "e-democracy" giving electronic access to local government services. In the meantime, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, confirmed that the reopening of the Dublin to Navan rail line would go ahead, at an estimated cost of £95 million.
This will supplement bypasses for Ashbourne, Dunboyne, Navan and Kells, which have been costed at about £300 million.
The core of Meath County Council's plans is the designation of the council as facilitator, a role which takes it beyond the traditional provider of water and sewerage, to developing action plans with other service providers.
In this way plans for the development of services such as transport, health centres, entertainment and recreation can be advanced pro-actively and not left to campaign groups of residents five years after the private housing element has been supplied.
According to the Meath county manager, Mr Joe Horan, some of the best aspects of the plan relate to good urban design. The natural assets of the Blackwater and the Boyne were used, as were tax incentives to refocus parts of the town centre on the river with the aid of a planned linear park.
The council brought in the Fingal county architect, Mr David O'Connor, to design a town park around the existing car-parking area adjacent to the shopping centres.
In a move which reflects European design solutions, parking and the road which currently bisects the shopping area are to be placed underneath the park. In order to encourage industrial investment and employment which would curb the tendency to commute to Dublin, the local authorities have become involved in setting up an enterprise centre.
The local authorities have taken a unit themselves and the other 15 units are also let.
The authorities intend to use their unit to set up an "e-democracy", putting their services and useful information on computers which can be accessed 24 hours a day.
It is intended to make the business of the local authorities more transparent and provide a faster, more informative service for local residents.