Part 8 approval for Kildare town project estimated to cost €4 million

Councillors for the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District (MD) have approved of Part 8 proposal for a scheme concerning Kildare town.

The matter was heard at the latest MD meeting, which took place on Wednesday, May 15 last.

The representatives were asked to consider Sonya Kavanagh's (the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, KCC) Part 8 Report for the proposed Public Realm Improvement Works to the Market Square in Kildare town.

A presentation was delivered to the Cllrs by a member of KCC, which listed the following: the objectives of the project being on display back in January of this year; an outline of the proposal; a 'general arrangement' picture; a public consultation and survey which took place back in January and helped inform KCC's design for the project; a breakdown of the Part 8 submission; the main themes and observations involved in the project; proposed amendments to the project (following feedback); and lastly, the Chief Executive's report, which was circulated to the Cllrs on May 3 last.

Following this presentation, the floor was opened up to questions and feedback from the members.

The Mayor of the MD, Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Curran, welcomed the plans, while his party colleague Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer emphasised accessibility for the Market Square.

The presenter told Cllr O'Dwyer that there would be one accessible parking space for every 15 regular parking spaces.

"Voting on the bye-laws will likely run in conjuction with the project," they added.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Suzanne Doyle thanked KCC for the work done on the project so far, and noted that she had submitted two amendments to KCC in relation to the project, which were seconded by Fine Gael Cllr Kevin Duffy.

She added: "Kildare town has low levels of parking, in comparison to Athy and Newbridge, which are also community-strong towns."

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Cllr Doyle also stressed: "If we ignore the reality (in terms of parking), we will never fulfil the final objective."

Despite these comments, she also said that she was still 'overwhelmingly excited' for the project, adding: "This could be a game-changer for the town."

Lastly, she said asked for a rough time frame for the project.

Cllr Doyle's party colleague, Cllr Noel Heavey, also weighed in with his thoughts on the project.

"I'm very impressed by what I saw here today," he said: "I would also like to thank KCC for the work done so far."

The presenter told the Cllrs that a parking survey for Kildare town has been carried out within the last month.

In terms of a time frame, as well as funding for the project, the presenter said: "Hopefully as soon as possible."

They also said: "Back in 2020, the costings were evaluated at around €2.3 million, but now it is probably closer to around €4 million."

After the amendments were put to a vote by the representatives, which passed, the Part 8 proposal was approved.