Community Youth Centre among proposals for Laois town under new plan

A Community Youth Centre and a reinvigorated town market square are among the central suggestions in the Sustainable Communities Plan for Mountrath launched last Tuesday evening in St. Fintan’s Hall.

The plan was presented by the project team of UrbanARQ (Architects) Connect the Dots (Community Engagement) RealSim (Visualisation & Mapping) and DM Planning. An online 3D map of town was also launched.   

The plan identifies a town centre site as being suitable for the proposed youth centre.

The criteria for the location of the centre is that it should add value to the town and enhance the surrounding areas. The connection of the site to the town square and other facilities and amenities, such as the GAA Club, the river is considered an important factor.

It was noted at the presentation that the proposed site is one that the town square leads directly to and it’s envisaged that it would be a multi use space.

A SWOT analysis by consultant architects urbanARQ found that “good permeability already exists within the town, albeit these routes are not fully developed nor signalled adequately.” It’s envisaged that the Youth Centre would be a community driven project.

The provision of a Youth Centre is seen as addressing what is seen as a shortage of activities for local youth and teenagers, particularly those uninterested in sport.

A reimagined Town Square is another central plank of the plan.

Architect Eugene Mulcaire, of urbanARQ spoke of a civic space in the Market Square and reactivating the square. Putting a central building back into the square, such as a market house is not an option.

The options here include a broad public space with a canopy for markets and events, with the existing roundabout removed.

A greenway would link the town centre to the river. Another option is a building for indoor events, if desired. A new town square connecting to a new street, opening up the backlands is also an option.

The consultation feedback also suggest a Philip Casey Handball Alley and a need for a hotel in the town centre to accommodate visitors and business travellers.

Mr Mulcaire noted that activity was needed at ground level and that some roads might have to be reengineered.

He noted the large volume of HGVs passing through the town. 

The challenges here are ones of re-establishing a village square, an accommodation and calming of traffic and giving people back a public space.

In total the town centre comprises an area of ten hectares. Of this 18 per cent was buildings while 7.5 acres was what was termed backlands, that is land behind buildings. Although zoned, the development of these backlands is problematic as they are only accessible through the main buildings and cannot therefore be liberated.

Gavin Veeran of urbanARQ noted that the retail vacancy rate in Mountrath was high, at 42 per cent. “The town is not doing well on retail levels,” he noted. There were, however, opportunities for expansion and development. 

There was a building stock at the core of the town. The total number of buildings in the town is 1,142.

Of these 61 are commercial buildings, 971 residential, 13 are unknown usage, 86 are commercial and residential and 73 are vacant.

It was noted in the presentation that there were some great building frontages in the town and that generally Mountrath was a place that people would like to explore.

The High Level Vision for Mountrath, expounded in the presentation includes the following actions:

- A response to traffic through the town centre

- A response to dereliction in the town centre

- A response to transportation and accessibility challenges

- Improving activities and facilities for youth and the elderly

- An identity for Mountrath and plan for increased tourism