Kilcullen Diary: Design Statement launched, 'the hard work starts now'

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Design Statement launched, 'the hard work starts now'

There was a very good turnout last evening for the launch of the Kilcullen Design Statement commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action, writes Brian Byrne.

The initiative was developed with a view to having a document to provide a locally-produced blueprint for how Kilcullen might develop over the next two decades, and was funded with the help of the Kildare Leader Partnership.

Outlining the results of the various public consultations which had led to the production of the report, James Hennessy of The Paul Hogarth Company consultants said 'the hard work starts now' in making sure that the Design Statement 'gets to the right people' so that it will influence future development of Kilcullen.

"All of what we have here has come through a consultative process, and there's now a table of priorities and actions," he said, emphasising that it is now necessary to engage in a partnership manner with the local authorities, and the private and business communities, to see how these can be delivered.

Opening the event earlier, KCA's Eoin Houlihan referenced the many people who had, over the last 50 or 60 years, been instrumental in getting Kilcullen to what it is today. He then gave a short outline of the current activities being undertaken within the community to enhance the town for all.

Noel Clare illustrated these with a series of some 150 photographs taken over recent years, showing the breadth of the various KCA and community initiatives. "This Design Statement offers lots of things going forward," he said. "But they will only happen if everyone gets involved and puts their shoulder to the wheel."

Closing the meeting, KCA chair Ann Cashman also appealed for a wider involvement in making use of the Design Statement. "This is a community plan, not a Tidy Towns to-do list," she said. "We now have a document that can potentially feed into the next Local Area Plan."

She thanked all involved in developing the Design Statement, in a partnership between the community and the consultants through the project committee who had demonstrated their 'pride and passion' for Kilcullen.

The Diary will be examining various elements of the Design Statement in future reports. THE FULL DOCUMENT CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.