Plan to regenerate town centres

A PLAN is being implemented by Tipperary County Council to regenerate the core urban centres of nine towns in the county, including Nenagh, Newport, Roscrea and Thurles.

Speaking at the March meeting of in the Civic Offices in Nenagh, Sharon Kennedy, the council’s Director of Planning and Development, said the ‘Town Centre First Plans’ to be implemented in the nine towns would tackle vacant and derelict buildings and bring new life to the urban cores.

Council official Shane Grogan informed councillors that special teams had been set up in the towns that were now focusing on regeneration.

STAFF APPOINTED

He said the council had also appointed a number of staff to drive the plan, including a town regeneration officer, two vacant homes officers and a derelict sites officer.

“What we are trying to do is make the centre of our towns more attractive for everybody to work, live and visit,” said Mr Grogan.

He said the regeneration plan for town centres was prompted by trends that pose challenges for the future of urban cores, such as multinational retail developments on the edges of towns.

Mr Grogan said council teams were working hard on the ground in the towns and were receiving great engagement from local stakeholders, who were very dedicated to making sure the plans were successfully implemented.

FUNDING

Mr Grogan said the implementation of Town Centre Frist Plan for Nenagh was well underway. He said there were lots of central funding schemes in areas such as regeneration that could be availed of to bring new life to town centres.

There were 84 derelict sites in Tipperary and the council was actively engaging with the owners to have them improved.

Derelict site notices would be issued shortly to non-compliant owners across the county.

The notices would inform offenders of their obligations under the Derelict Sites Act of works they needed to undertake to make their sites compliant with legislation.

Penalties, Mr Grogan added, could potentially include fines or prison sentences.

Cllr Fiona Bonfield welcomed the aims of the project in setting out to effectively tackle dereliction and vacancy in town centres.

In reply to Ms Bonfield, Ms Kennedy said the council could resort to compulsory purchase orders for buildings in cases where owners failed to act.

Cllr Michael O’ Meara said it was a pity that some smaller towns, such as Borrisokane, were not part of the plan. He hoped they would be incorporated at some future stage.

Cllr Michael Smith said Roscrea was one of the first towns to secure “town centre first status”. He said the plan was being implemented in a very coordinated fashion. As a result there were now many people applying for government funding to transform old buildings into living spaces in the town centre in Roscrea.

FEES QUESTIONED

Cllr Séamie Morris questioned the fees being paid to private consultants for some projects in Nenagh’s town centre.

He said consultants’ fees paid by the council for transforming Nenagh’s Historical Quarter had already amounted to a sum in excess of €538,000.

A separate sum of over €468,000 had already been paid to consultants who had worked on setting out a plan for the future use of the old Rialto Cinema site in Banba Square.

Cllr Morris added that the council need to progress these schemes rather than coming up with new ones.

Ms Kennedy said the regeneration plans would include efforts to create living spaces over shops in town centres.

A trained staff member on the council was available to give property owners advice in this aspect.