Market Square project gets €200,000 grant

Market Square project workshop meeting.

Kilcullen's Market Square redevelopment project has been successful in getting a €200,000 grant from the Town & Village Renewal Scheme 2018, writes Brian Byrne.

The application was submitted in June following the completion of a 'conceptual' design for the area, prepared with the help of Kildare County Council, designer James Hennessy of Hogarth Urban Design, and members of the KCA Market Square Redevelopment Committee.

It's estimated that the project will cost €500,000 for phase one, with a further €100,000 needed for a phase two element involving the construction of a footbridge across the Liffey near the Canoe Club. Councillors of the Naas Municipal District allocated €10,000 from the LPT towards the design costs.

The success in getting the Town & Village Renewal grant has been welcomed by Deputy Martin Heydon, who has worked closely with the relevant stakeholders since the project was initiated. As part of this, he brought Michael Ring TD, Minister for Rural & Community Development, to see the square some months ago. "The Kilcullen Community Action (KCA) Group have been working on this for a number of years and the allocation of €200,000 will be a large contribution towards the overall project," he says.

In an initial local response, Antoinette Buckley of the Market Square Redevelopment Committee said it is 'fantastic'. "I'm so excited that we've got to this stage," she told the Diary. "I would like to thank the businesses and the community, and our committee for their hard work on this project over the past 14 months. The committee is a sub-committee of Kilcullen Community Action and comprises Noel Clare, Laura Bowen, Eoin Houlihan and Gareth Landy. Thanks also for the huge support from Kildare County Council, Council officials, local TDs and our elected MD Councillors. A special thanks to Joe Boland KCC, Mairead Hunt KCC, David Reel KCC, and Murphy Surveys Kilcullen."

A Public Consultation Day was held in September 2017 to gather suggestions and opinions from residents and business people about the redevelopment, which will involve pedestrianisation of the area as well as opening up the Liffey bank area as part of the amenity.

A workshop held last March (top picture) to progress the project was attended by KCC Director of Services Joe Boland and officials of the Council with expertise in Roads, Urban Planning, Parks, and Engineering.

The conceptual plan was presented to councillors of the Naas Municipal District in June, and the next stage is a Part 8 process under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 required for a local authority to undertake public developments. The draft plan will be part of the public consultation for this.

Concerns have been raised about an impact on businesses from the loss of parking spaces in the square.

Rathangan also got a €200,000 grant towards a redevelopment of its market square in the 2018 round of grants. And allocations of €20,000 each to Athgarvan, Derrinturn, Castledermot, Straffan and Ardclough will help these towns to develop projects for future town and village applications. Monasaterevin has also received €20,000 to repair and upgrade two woodland walks.



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