Plan unveiled for revamp of historic Offaly square
MORE details about the proposed revamping of Market Square in Birr were unveiled during the January monthly meeting of Birr Municipal District.
The Town Regeneration Officer for Offaly County Council, Olwen Cummins, told the meeting that €250,000 has been granted to the project.
She said the project will develop the historic Square into a plaza, “an outdoor meeting and recreational space in the town centre that can facilitate outdoor dining and where pedestrian activity will be a priority.”
The works proposed under this scheme include:
• realigning road levels
• building out kerb lines
• the installation of a high quality paved area
• provision of landscaping and street furniture
• providing recessed on street parking and removal of some existing parking spaces
• improved setting for the historic Manchester Martyrs monument.
Ms Cummins told the meeting that “a great design” has been prepared for the area, and the project will create “a lovely outdoor space which will give a considerable lift to that part of the town.”
Cllr John Carroll, Cathaoirleach, warmly welcomed the news. He said it will compliment the works which are currently taking place on Green Street and are nearly finished. He said it was great to see Market Square and five other projects in the Municipal District recently receive substantial funding. “We rightly criticise the lack of funding and supports for rural Ireland,” he remarked, “but this was a very good news story for our part of rural Ireland. It's a real shot in the arm.”
The Green St works included widening the footpaths, paved with natural stone, and planting a number of street trees. The only remaining work is the creation of a new entrance to Birr Castle, at the top of the street. Planning permission has been granted for this new entrance and construction work is due to commence during the first quarter of 2023.
The new entrance to the castle will replace the current modest pedestrian gate on William Street.
When completed, the Green St works will form a strengthened link between Emmet Square and the castle.
Area Engineer John Mitchell told the meeting that eight new trees were installed in Green Street just before Christmas.
“One interesting thing of note is we cleaned up an old weigh bridge while we were upgrading Green Street. This weigh bridge is located beside Gleeson's steel works and some locals would have known about it, but many would be unaware of it. It was covered over for years by a planter box containing a tree. It's located beside the former weigh bridge house.”
Cllr John Carroll said the weigh bridge was possibly used during the first half of the 20th Century and maybe even during the 19th Century. “It weighed farm produce during market days on the Green,” said Cllr Carroll, “probably vegetables, and maybe small animals. The market moved eventually out of The Green and took place instead on Castle Street. I remember the markets on Castle Street and Market Square during the 1950s, where turkeys, piglets, hens, vegetables were sold.”
The Area Engineer said a lot of local people are very interested in the weigh bridge. “Gleeson's helped us clean it up by sanding it. The weigh bridge was a weighing scale. Beneath it is a small chamber with an arm which measured the weight. This arm extends into the weigh bridge house. This weigh bridge house still exists. There's a similar weigh bridge, in good condition, beside Giltrap's Pub in Kinnitty. The Green St weigh bridge is a nice feature and would be a nice thing to put on the town's tourist trail.”
He said the upgrading work on Green Street started in July 2021. “Now it's a really nice space which will lend itself nicely to festival events. With that in mind we will be interested in working with festival groups during the year.”
In other business, the Engineer pointed out that consultants have been appointed to create a Distributor road in the northern end of Birr between the Tullamore Road and the Banagher road.
Cllr John Carroll, Cathaoirleach, praised the Birr Christmas Lights Group for their excellent work on the Christmas Lights. He said it was great to see a huge turnout of people for the switching on of the lights in Emmet Square.
Chief Executive of Offaly County Council Anna Marie Delaney was also present for the Birr MD January meeting. She said she had visited a number of sites in the town earlier in the day, including Green Street. “The work on Green Street is of a high standard,” she remarked. “I want to thank the local residents and local businesses for their patience during the months of works.”
The Chief Executive also wished Ann Dillon plenty of success in her new role as Director of Services of the Birr MD area in the years to come.
Cllr Carroll also wished her success in her new role. He promised her that the Councillors will never get personal in their more critical remarks, but will remain professional and focussed on the task at hand which will usually be something to do with trying to improve the town and district.
The meeting also discussed the Local Area Plan. The draft LAP was put on public consultation from September 15 to October 28. 36 submissions from members of the public were received, and a summary of the submissions had been distributed to all the councillors.
The consultation period presented people with an opportunity to shape Birr into the future and to have a say when it comes to important issues such as climate action, energy, biodiversity, heritage, housing, transportation, environmental protection, employment & enterprise, community, tourism, recreation, regeneration, and retail.
The councillors discussed any amendments to the LAP following the County Council meeting in Tullamore on Monday January 16th, and the amendments stage will be completed before the end of this month.
In other business, the Area Engineer said that one of his aspirations for the year to come is to complete the Concept Masterplan for the Rectory Lands in Birr.