UPDATE: Plans to make this Tipperary area a '10 minute town' progressing

Roscrea is the first town in Tipperary to benefit from the new Town Centre First planning approach, which aims to introduce the new concept of the '10 minute town' and unlock Roscrea's potential to be a better place to work, live and visit.  

The members of the Municipal Council for the Roscrea area received a progress update on Monday about how Roscrea's Town First Masterplan is progressing - which aims to rejuvenate the Heritage Town's centre and stimulate tourism and business.

The ambitious Masterplan, which will see major investment in creating a more welcoming town to live and work in, is guided by the concept of the 10 minute town, where all services and community amenities are within a 10-minute walk or cycle from homes and easily accessible by public transport.

Capitalising on the Moneen River, restoring Grants Hotel to business as part of rejuvenating Castle Street and reimagining Rosemary Square and Glebe Park are parts of the Plan which have been widely welcomed in Roscrea; while the loss of some on-street parking on Main Street and concerns about how vehicle traffic will be managed have been flagged as areas of concern by some town centre based traders.

The process is already underway for almost three years and has seen strong public participation in workshops and online portals for contributions from interested stakeholders and of the the 26 towns selected from around the country to pilot the new Town First approach, Roscrea is reportedly the furthest advanced in terms of applying for government funding to start implementing the plan.

A Town Regeneration Officer was appointed to oversee the project in Roscrea - Áine McCarthy - who attended the monthly meeting of the Municipal Council for the Roscrea area on Monday to provide a progress update and hear input from the elected members.

She said Roscrea has a very strong Town Team, led by local man Brian King and that the new plan will be officially launched in September. The plan works alongside the Roscrea Local Area Plan and "is all based on the 10 minute town concept where everything can be reached by walking within 10 minutes".

She said the project coordinators have approached the owners of the former Antigen site on Lourdes Road and owners of the hotel on Castle Street. Ms. McCarthy said the local authority have recently engaged with the owner of the hotel and there were some positive discussions and that the matter will be further pursued as it is a crucial aspect of Castle Street and the town centre's regeneration. 

She said the plans to create the Roscrea Riverrooms, which sees build outs from the current walkway along the Moneen beside Tesco create small recreational areas, are very imaginative and popular and that plans to restore the community square aspect to Rosemary Square have been very welcome.

One of the most significant aspects of the plan is the creation of new age friendly accommodation at the junction of Gantly Road and Chapel Lane - where Gantly Road itself will also be upgraded to a fully fledged town centre street replete with new housing and retail units and modern pedestrian and cycleways.

Voicing some observations following the presentation, Cllr. Noel Coonan said concerns remain among traders about decreasing the number of on-street parking spaces on Main Street and accessibility to the carparks on Gantly Road from Main Street.
Cllr. Coonan said the plan is "admirable" but questioned how it will lead to job creation and attracting business - which is what

"Roscrea really needs", he said. Connectivity between Gantly Road and Main Street is only available through private property and open during business hours, he pointed out.

"There will be a major impact on parking and businesses are worried about that - most of the development seems to be towards the south and southeast of the town, while the northern areas towards Offaly have great potential, but are not included", Cllr. Coonan added.

Local Councillor, Shane Lee, was more positive and described the project as "the people's plan," adding that "massive things are happening in Roscrea and the feedback has been very positive".

"Sometimes change can be hard, but this is a positive change and it is important that all the businesses and people contribute because we need to bring the people with us. The Town Team and Áine have done Trojan work", Cllr. Lee said.

Responding to the members' points, Ms. McCarthy said the changes will help attract new businesses and industry to Roscrea, because they want to locate somewhere that is dynamic and modern. She said the IDA has spoken with the local authority about the plan and that experience has shown the need to create a vibrant town centre to stimulate economic activity.

"It's been a very long time since the IDA had any business in Roscrea", Cllr. Coonan quipped, while also reiterating the importance of restoring activity at Grant's Hotel to the success of the plan.

Director of Services, Eamonn Lonergan, told the meeting "the plan is the key to unlocking the potential of the town" and that local volunteers "stepped up to create the vision of this plan". Mr. Lonergan said everyone involved looks forward to the official launch in September, afterwhich the local authority will start pursuing government funding.

"We will go back out and listen to everybody's concerns about parking and any other issues", Ms. McCarthy said, thanking the councillors for their input.