New call on Market Square car park

Kildare County Council is being asked to engage with the owners of the surface-level car park attached to the Market Square apartments, with a view to having it open for public parking, writes Brian Byrne. The apartments property is owned by Comer Group Ireland, which bought it from the family of the late Pat Dunlea.

Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer’s motion to the next meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge MD refers to the original planning conditions for the development, which stipulated that the surface car park should be open for public parking.

The issue was previously raised during discussions about the proposed pedestrianisation of the square. At the time, it was acknowledged that the planning condition had not been enforced, and too much time had passed to do so. Cllr O’Dwyer believes there is currently space for a dialogue between the council and the car park owners on the matter.

The parking issue has been live since the redevelopment of Market Square was first proposed in 2017 and subsequently approved through a Part 8 process in 2022. A key part of the plan is the pedestrianisation of the square, but that €1.4 million project is on hold indefinitely due to insufficient funding. The proposed loss of 14 car parking spaces in the existing square, as well as a reduction in on-street spaces in the downtown Kilcullen area, remain major points of contention.

In 2020, the council said it was 'actively pursuing' alternative parking solutions in the vicinity of Market Square, and a 'number of definite options' were being pursued. A proposal for additional public parking in Fallons car park, at the time hailed as a 'breakthrough' and for which planning permission was granted in 2021, has not been pursued by the Council. 

In June 2022, Kildare County Council said it was committed to exploring and developing alternative parking options within reasonable walking distance of Market Square and Main Street, but in April 2024, the council said it has 'no current plans to purchase land' in Kilcullen for a public car park, and that the need for additional car parking will be considered "in the context of the shift towards increased access to retail by public transport, cycling, and walking." 

Throughout the process, many local businesses have expressed their concerns about the parking plans, or lack of them. 

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