New blueprint for Roscrea's future

ROSCREA'S new Local Area Plan came into effect this week and is a blueprint for a future Heritage Town which is a better place to live, work and have a family.

In effect since Monday and created with strong engagement from the community living and working in Roscrea, the very detailed new Local Area Plan (LAP) is multi-faceted and focuses on education and employment, accommodation, recreation and business and builds on past experience to future proof Roscrea for anticipated shifts in demographics, the environment and essential services.

The LAP is underpinned by a detailed assessment of infrastructure and services currently available in Roscrea, a plan for sustainable travel and movement, a schedule of underused and vacant sites suitable for regeneration and in due course, the forthcoming Roscrea Town Centre First Plan will form part of the LAP.

The Town Centre First Plan will be launched in Damer House this week and is a core pillar of the overall project and includes large-scale changes, such as creating Gantly Street and a new age friendly accommodation neighbourhood, unlocking the town's tourism potential and more.

Situated in a valley between the Slieve Bloom and the Devil’s Bit mountains through which Ireland's main economic thoroughfare called Sli Dala once ran in ancient times, the new LAP plan highlights how the town is situated on the old Dublin-Limerick national primary route, the R445, at its junction with the N62 connecting Athlone, Birr and Thurles. The M7 motorway is located to the south offering good road connectivity to Dublin, Nenagh and Limerick and the Limerick to Ballybrophy rail line travels through the town. 

Roscrea is built on a number of steep hills, leading to an undulated topography with the picturesque Moneen River flowing through the centre of the town - an aspect of the town which the Plan says has great untapped potential. 

Roscrea is rich in architectural and historical heritage, and has a proud history going back many centuries, represented by landmark buildings including Roscrea Castle and Damer House. The Castle consists of a gate tower, curtain walls and two corner towers dating from the 1280s and is situated in the centre of town and could become one of the region's most attractive tourist sites, the Plan notes.

Roscrea has a relatively young population with a third of the population aged 24 and under in 2016. In addition, nearly half of all the families in the town in 2016 were actively rearing children from the pre-school stage through to adolescent age. Notwithstanding this, in line with the county pattern, one-person and two-person households were the largest household composition group, reflecting a need to provide for smaller housing units for this household type.

People classified as ‘skilled manual’ make up the biggest social class. The percentage of the most highly skilled workers grades is lower in Roscrea (2.9% and 16.3% - Professional Workers and Managerial and Technical workers respectively) than for the State and County.   

Of the 26 ‘Small Areas’ that make up Roscrea Electoral Division, four of them fall into the ‘very disadvantaged’ category' and a further six small areas fall into the ‘disadvantaged category’. Translated in terms of population, there are a total of 2,349 people, or 40% of the population of Roscrea, living in either ‘very disadvantaged’ or ‘disadvantaged’ areas. One in every four families with a child aged under 15 were headed by a lone parent (County figure 20.5% in 2016). 17.1% of the population said they had a disability in 2016 (County figure 14.6%).  

The key employment areas in Roscrea are in ‘manufacturing’, ‘professional services’ and ‘commerce and trade’ - reflecting the town's strong manufacturing base. There are 2,324 people residing in the settlement area who are classed as being ‘At Work’. Of these workers, a total of 49% (1,139) are employed in Roscrea, 8.3% (194) are employed elsewhere in Tipperary, 19% (441) commute out of the county for employment. 

An additional 1,485 workers commute into Roscrea for employment every day. Of these, 62.9% (934) commute from elsewhere in Tipperary and the remaining 37.1% (551) commute from outside the county.

The population of Roscrea in 2016 was 5,446, a population increase of only 0.8% over Census 2011 figures. It is planned to deliver a population growth of 20% by 2031 and it is projected that by 2029 (the LAP lifespan), it will be necessary to cater for a population of approximately 6,293 persons - an additional 847 persons over 2016 population. This projected population growth would result in an estimated requirement for approximately 315 additional housing units, the Plan notes.

235 applicants for social housing support have identified Roscrea as their first choice. Since 2016, there has been little social housing construction in the town, however, there has been a number of purchases and refurbishments by the housing authority as part of its social housing programmes. 

There are construction projects underway, and it is expected that by 2029 an additional 100 – 150 new social homes will be constructed in Roscrea through local authority own development and through turnkey social housing developments delivered by private contractors.

The Plan predicts approximately 315 new units are needed in Roscrea. There is a need for 235 social and affordable units (with 107 already accommodated in the town as supported by the Housing Assistance Payment programme). The Council is seeking to deliver between 100 - 150 new units by 2029. Therefore, there is a short fall of between 165 - 215 new units in projected delivery that will need to be delivered by private development (including for 20% social and affordable units).

The Plan also identifies a number of underused and poorly consolidated sites and areas that could provide opportunities for residential and town centre development, allowing people to "live, work and socialise in the town thereby reducing the need for reliance on the private car for short journeys".

The very detailed LAP is available for the public to view online on Tipperary County Council's website and offers a very informative breakdown of the exciting plans for Roscrea and the efforts of the local authority to reimagine Roscrea as a vibrant epicentre of business, tourism and community.