Council on course to appoint contractor next month to start Carrick-on-Suir Regeneration Scheme

Tipperary County Council is on course to appoint a contractor next month to begin work on the first phase of Carrick-on-Suir’s ambitious €18m Regeneration Scheme.

The council expects construction work to start on the upgrade of Sean Healy Park, Castle Park and part of Castle Street shortly after the contractor’s appointment.

In the meantime, the council is also busy getting all its ducks in a row to commence work on the Regeneration Scheme’s next two phases at the end of this year and next year.

Carrick Municipal District’s monthly meeting heard that Friday, June 16 is the deadline for submission of tenders for the contract for the regeneration scheme’s first phase. “We hope to have the contractor appointed in July,” said District Administrator Marie O’Gorman.

The plans for Sean Healy Park include the upgrade of footpaths and hard paving areas, widening of the Blueway and associated landscaping and services work.

The facelift planned for Castle Park aims to turn it into a paradise for pollinators with the planting of a wildflower meadow, more native trees and hedging. New public lighting, resurfacing and widening of the park’s footpaths and a new looped footpath providing a continuous circuit around the park are also proposed.

In relation to Castle Street, it’s proposed to upgrade the parking area on the section of next to Ormond Castle.
Brian Beck, Carrick MD’s Director of Services, added that the council hopes to have a contractor later this year to start the redevelopment of the old Post Office on Main Street into an Enterprise & Digital Hub for remote workers and small firms.

He told The Nationalist, a design team is also working on the third phase projects, which are the upgrade of the streetscape of the rest of Castle Street and Chapel Street. The council expects to tender for the contractor for the third phase by the end of the year with the objective of starting it early next year.

Once the design work on phase three is completed, the council will turn its attention to rolling out phases four and five, which are the upgrades of the lanes off Main Street and upgrade of Main Street.

He indicated the council wished to discuss with councillors the possibility of doing the Main Street project ahead of the phase four revamp of the lanes.

“There will be a lot of benefit to doing Main Street before doing the lanes off it,” he said.

Mr Beck estimates the regeneration scheme works on Main Street and the lanes will be ready to begin during the summer of 2024.

Carrick-on-Suir Cllr Kieran Bourke welcomed the progress on delivering the regeneration scheme.

It was all great news for Carrick-on-Suir and he looked forward to the work commencing.