Big interest in Roscrea’s masterplan

Large attendance at public consultation session

The public consultations that are taking place throughout the month of March for the Roscrea Masterplan kicked off earlier this month with the circulation of surveys for businesses and community members. The surveys allow individuals, groups, businesses, etc, to have their say on the future of Roscrea following a funding allocation last year to prepare a new Town Centre First Plan for Roscrea. The plan is being prepared by the Roscrea Town Team and Tipperary County Council with the support of O’ Mahony Pike Architects.

As well as the surveys that are online and can be completed up until March 22, there are in-person and online consultations taking place to provide all members of the public the opportunity to have an input. The first of these took place in the Black Mills last Saturday and was well attended by people from Roscrea. The sessions were organised by the Town Team and facilitated by Liam Mannix from KPMG. Welcoming everyone to the workshop, Brian King, Town Champion for Roscrea, commented that it was “heartening to see the high attendance at the workshop, which shows the commitment the public have in directing the future of Roscrea.”

He added: “We believe that the Town Centre First Masterplan can map out future development making the town centre a more attractive place to live, work, socialise and run a business by identifying projects and objectives for the short, medium and long term that are driven by the Town Team.”

Áine Mc Carthy, Town Regeneration Officer for Tipperary County Council with responsibility for facilitating the delivery of the project with the Town Team and the consultants commented: “The public consultations taking place are a key part of the process in preparing the plan as they allow members of the public to be part of it. We are undertaking focus groups with primary and secondary school students in Roscrea to involve children and young people in the decision making process. We also have Age Friendly Roscrea, retailers, Tidy Towns, sports clubs, CAP, PPN and more as part of the Town Team, therefore we are trying to reach as wide and varied an audience as possible for the Town Centre First Plan.”

Last Saturday councillors from the Thurles Municipal District were invited to attend a workshop in the Black Mills on the Roscrea Masterplan in advance of the public workshop and they also contributed to the process. Cllr Shane Lee, Cllr Michael Smith, Cllr Noel Coonan and Cllr Peggy Ryan attended and there will be more opportunities for the local councillors to contribute to the plan as it is developed.

FURTHER DETAILS

The surveys are available online along with more information on the Town Team and the Town Centre First Plan, and members of the public are invited to visit www.tipperarycoco.ie/roscreatowncentrefirstplan to find out more.