Proposed public park in Offaly town gets green light

A significant renewal scheme in Ferbane has been given the green light.

Ann Dillon, Director of Services, told the December meeting of Offaly County Council that planning permission has been granted for the development of Fair Green in Ferbane.

She pointed out that this work will include the construction of an attractive public park space with hard and soft landscaping including stone paving, gravel paths, grassed area, trees and hedging. It will entail the partial demolition of the redundant fire station (leaving the facade intact which will be used as a gateway to the public park). Four parking spaces will be available in the area, for residents only. An at-gate crossing will be created which will link to the existing mass path. A new pedestrian opening will be created in the boundary wall of the community centre car park, and new public lighting will be installed.

Cllr Eamon Dooley congratulated landscape architect Feargus McGarvey and the Ferbane Tidy Towns team for their great work on this project.

Cllr Dooley said he hoped the project won't be left hanging like the Ferbane Bog project. “The Ferbane Bog project is 95% complete and it's very frustrating that it's taking so long to finish it off.”

The Fair Green Public Park -project will be granted €200,000 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

Proposed by Ferbane Tidy Towns, the aim is to provide an open space that incorporates a plaza, terraced lawn, orchard, rain garden and re-organised parking. It is intended as a town park, linking with the mass path as a sensory route.

Aoibhinn Molloy Roche of Ferbane Tidy Towns said the group was really happy to get the news.

She explained that the plan for Fairgreen was put on display in February 2019, and the Tidy Towns committee has been working at different aspects of the Green Infrastructure Strategy for a long time now.

“Fairgreen used to be a meeting area in Ferbane, so we’d like to bring that back,” she explained. “We hope to include a plaza, a terraced lawn, an orchard, and the parking will be re-organised slightly so as not to impact the residents nearby. We already have a lovely playground, but this can be another place where the rest of the community can gather and enjoy.”

She said the Fairgreen project began as part of Green Infrastructure Strategy, which aims to make a network of corridors with commitments to health and well-being, natural heritage, water quality and sustainable drainage and cultural heritage.

“Green Infrastructure is a way of looking at the natural heritage of a place, and how to use it to the benefit of the population which includes the people of Ferbane, but also hopefully the economy," Aoibhinn continued. "Fairgreen is part of our overarching strategy for the town. For the strategy to work, it is important that these areas are connected as much as possible.

“It also encompasses projects such as Ferbane bog, the river, any wooded areas and the canal.”