Kildare Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) 

What is the LECP?

Kildare Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) is a statutory plan provided for in the Local Government Act 2014. The purpose of the LECP is to outline the priorities to promote and support economic and community development in Kildare. The LECP doesn’t replace other plans but complements them. It informs resource allocation and aims to maximise priorities. While Local Authorities are responsible for developing the LECP, it is not solely a council plan. It is a plan for the county, where local people, community groups, business and farming representative bodies, state agencies and elected representatives agree on priorities and work together to progress action.

Kildare LCDC is responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the community aspects of the plan. The Economic Development, Enterprise and Planning Strategic Policy Committee is responsible for the economic aspects.

The first LECP 2016-2021

All counties developed their first LECP 2016-2021. Kildare LECP identified twelve priority high level goals with supporting actions. This plan was approved in December 2015, and was based on extensive analysis, consultation and agreement.

Our second LECP 2024-2029

Work commenced in February 2023 to develop our second LECP. It was approved by KCC elected members at their full council meeting on 29th April 2024. The plan followed six stages outlined in National Guidelines:

The LECP was approved by the elected members of Kildare County Council on the recommendation of the Economic Development, Enterprise and Planning SPC (Economic Element) and Local Community Development Committee (Community Element). 

Stage One- Preparation

The Preparation Stage focussed on gathering data, reviewing key policy documents, the first LECP and liaising with key groups. This resulted in the following documents: 

1) Kildare Data Profile June 2023_ AIRO                                 

2) Kildare LECP 2016-2021 Review

3) Co Kildare LECP Policy Review

4) Co Kildare LECP Socio Economic Statement 

Stage Two- Consultation

Consultation with local communities, local businesses, voluntary sector organisations, statutory bodies, elected representatives and other key bodies took place from July – November 2023. We also reviewed consultations held recently as part of other planning processes to ensure that the views and ideas that you expressed are captured.

Over 1,300 people were directly involved in the consultation for the LECP 2024-2029.

A full report on the consultation progress can be found here:

5) LECP Consultation Report April 2024

Stage Three - Developing Objectives and Outcomes

The February meetings of the LCDC and Economic Development, Enterprise and Planning SPC approved the draft plan. The Eastern Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA) and Kildare elected members reviewed the draft plan. The EMRA review is available below:

6) EMRA Submission on Kildare LECP 2024

As part of the finalisation of the LECP; Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) screening took place. It was determined that the LECP will not give rise to likely significant effects on the environment. The SEA and AA reports and letters of determination can be found below:

7) SEA Screening Kildare LECP 

8) AA Screening Kildare LECP

9) SEA LECP Determination Letter, AA LECP Determination Letter

Kildare County Council works on an ongoing basis with the All Island Research Observatory (AIRO) in Maynooth University. They are currently updating the profile of Kildare using Census 2022 datasets. A snapshot of the current profile is available below. The Census 2022 datasets are available here:

10) Ten Census 2022 dataset reports are available here 

Stage Four - Finalising the Plan

The Kildare LECP 2024 - 2029 was approved by the KCC elected members at the full council meeting on 29th April 2024. The final plan is available here:

11) County Kildare LECP 2024 - 2029

12) LECP As Gaeilge 

Stage Five - Implementation

The guidelines outline that all LECPs should be accompanied by a two-year Implementation Plan to prioritise the community and economic development actions for Kildare. The LECP Implementation Plan 2024-2026 outlines these deliverable actions and is available here:

13) County Kildare LECP 2024 - 2026 Implementation Plan

Contact Us

For further information please email lecp@kildarecoco.ie