Market Square public consultation launch 'before end of November'

The public consultation for the Market Square redevelopment Part 8 Planning Process will launch by the end of the month, according to Minister of State Martin Heydon TD, writes Brian Byrne.

Minister Heydon says the consultation will represent the reaching of a 'key milestone' in the process of pedestrianising the square, which was first proposed in July 2017 following a public meeting organised by Kilcullen Community Action.

A Concept Plan produced by the Paul Hogarth Company on commission from Kildare County Council was shown to the project committee in April 2018. Following an application supported by Kildare County Council, the redevelopment project was awarded an initial €200,000 from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2018 towards the then estimated cost of €500,000.

In January 2021, the cost estimate had grown to €1.3m, of which €1.1m was expected to be provided out of the Council's LPT funds. According to the Council's Strategic Projects & Public Realm Team, the timeline then for completion of the project is Quarter 2 2022, 'subject to funding'.

A full public consultation period under the Part 8 process was originally expected before Christmas 2019, but was again deferred, pending completion of the documents. The pandemic situation in 2020 resulted in further deferrals.

Minister Heydon says it is important that everyone feeds into the consultation process and has their say into the final design that will shape the look and function of the plans for Kilcullen square. "It is a real benefit for any town to have a central location where people can meet and the Square in Kilcullen lends itself perfectly to this use."

A key issue of concern to traders is the plan to remove 14 car parking spaces from the square, a matter which may have been alleviated by this week's news that a public car park will be available behind Fallon's Restaurant.

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