Huge need for community centre in Laois Electric Picnic town Stradbally

Claudine Leonard, designer, Cllr Aisling Moran, John Mahon, Emer Liston, Jillian Brennan, Nuala Monaghan, Cllr Paschal McEvoy, Shane Kilcoyne at the launch in Stradbally Library

placeholder image — Claudine Leonard, designer, Cllr Aisling Moran, John Mahon, Emer Liston, Jillian Brennan, Nuala Monaghan, Cllr Paschal McEvoy, Shane Kilcoyne at the launch in Stradbally Library

Centre tops needs identifed in Stradbally Health Check which is first step to get town on investment map

Diagnosis comes before treatment in medicine and the new Stradbally health check represents something similar for what is arguably one of the best-known towns in Laois.

The Electric Picnic has put Stradbally near the top of the list of towns in Laois in terms of having instant recognition inside and outside the county.

However, it is not near the top of the list in terms of facilities and services. Nor is it at the top of the list for attention. The frustration local people feel about being left behind was fiercely expressed in September 2023 when it emerged that Ukrainian refugees would be accommodated in tents after the Electric Picnic.

Not long after the camp opened in Stradbally Hall, Cllr Aisling Moran proposed the idea that some form of needs assessment be carried out to identify more accurately what the town needs in the eyes of local people. This led to doing a Health Check which is an analysis that gets Heritage Council support.

The idea was handed over to Dr Sharon Harris-Byrne of the Southeast Technological University (SETU) at the Carlow campus who along with Dr Andrea McNamara and international students conducted the survey. The process was carried out in collaboration with Stradbally Tidy Towns.

The research gauged the views of the public as consumers and also surveyed local businesses.

The findings have already been presented to Laois County Council. Local people have got their first chance to see the results following the launch of what's called the Stradbally Town Centre Health Check in the Library last week.

There is no doubt that the findings offer plenty of food for thought. Crucially, it is also a document that is a first significant step in getting services for the town which local people clearly feel are needed, deserved and long overdue.

The need for a community centre isn't a new demand and was identified in 2020 by the Stradbally Community Development Association. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Nuala Monaghan of Stradbally Tidy Towns speaks at the launch of the plan in the library.

While a committee is working on advancing the project and some funding is committed, this survey showed that such a centre is the top 'key improvements' that the town centre could benefit from. Just over 80% of people believed 'other recreational facilities' would be good for Stradbally.

While the planned facility is not being designed with sports at the top of the needs that it would address, the survey found that almost 70% of people want sports facilities improved.

The Health Check concluded the response from the community to the need for a centre was 'huge'. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Cllr Aisling Moran addressed the meeting and encouraged the community to set a Town Team.

Traffic and transport were also issues. With the N80 going through the town, traffic is heavy. The survey found that 800 vehicles pass through per hour.

Residents also want public transport improvements. It found that 71% of people used the car to get to the town centre and nobody cycles. The lack of alternative appropriate transport to cars was seen as a reason for so much through and local traffic.

The survey said there is no taxi service while public transport demand is also high. Just over a quarter of people identified a petrol station as a key store that is missing from the town.

Despite being on the map by the Electric Picnic, locals don't believe this fame has been capitalised upon to develop Stradbally as a place people might visit. Just 46% of people believe tourism is not represented well in Stradbally. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Cllr Paschal McEvoy said he would work with the community to advance projects.

Business in the town faces stiff opposition from Portlaoise. The survey found that 94% of business people said Portlaoise is the main competition to them. However, they are optimistic with 94% expecting trading to improve in the next two years. Three quarters have invested in their operations in the past five years.

Traffic appears to be an issue for traders with 67% saying traffic management needs to be improved.

Business people say a petrol station, evening restaurant, butcher and tech shop would do well.

About 60% say the Electric Picnic has had a benefit. but 29% see it as negative. The need for a community centre was also identified as needed by 67% of businesses.

The survey found that there were 20 vacant residential and 3 vacant retail buildings in the town centre. Just over two thirds of business people agreed that there are buildings that could be repurposed for community use.

Nuala Monaghan of the Tidy Towns officially launched the report on Tuesday, October 22. She thanked all who have been involved in producing the survey and the public for taking part. She encouraged the public to see the findings for themselves and engage with the process to address the needs. MORE BELOW PICTURE OF THE FIRST PAGE OF THE DOCUMENT.

A digital copy of the report is available if you go to SuperValu Stradbally and check out the noticeboard which advises on how to download the brochure.

Just scan the QR code with your phone and it will bring you to the brochure which you can save to your phone. If someone else in your household has a phone they can scan the QR code from the Tidy Town's Facebook page.

Some hard copies available from the Tidy Towns if you contact them via Facebook.