New Birr Area Plan provides abundant space for private and social building construction

OFFALY County Council has adopted the Local Area Plan (LAP) 2023-2029 for Birr Town which includes Crinkill. The councillors adopted the Plan on the 15th of May during their monthly meeting.
The Local Area Plan sets out a blue-print for the future development of Birr and Crinkill for the next 6 years.
There were a number of stages undertaken in the plan making process, including the Pre-Draft Stage; Draft Stage; Material Alteration Stage; and the formal adoption of the plan.
The new plan was welcomed by the councillors of Birr Municipal District during the County Council meeting. Cllr Eamon Dooley, however, said drafting the plan was a long drawn out process. “Only a civil servant could have come up with such a convoluted process,” he remarked. “To be honest, the hoops we had to jump through were a bit mad. I'm sure that some day in the future it will dawn on the civil service that this can be done more easily.”
Cllr Peter Ormond agreed. “The draft process for this plan was too lengthy. We need to streamline it.”
Cllr John Carroll pointed out that in the past the Local Area Plans came under the remit of the Town Councils, which were abolished in 2014. “This is the first time it wasn't done by the Town Councils, and it is more cumbersome. It was less difficult under the Town Councils. The governmental department should examine the process they set in motion here and streamline it.
“On a positive note I think we now have a Local Area Plan which will benefit Birr over the next six years. It's a plan which provides lots of space in the town for the building of houses, whether they are social or private. The big message is that the plan will meet the town's housing needs; there is no shortage of space to build on.”
Cllr John Leahy said the Plan will be very positive for Birr. “Birr is unique because it is an Irish heritage town,” he remarked. “This plan will preserve the town's heritage, and it will support economic development in the town. Birr is booming at the moment. It's getting a lot of footfall, which is great to see. A lot of people from the hinterland shop in the town. A lot of people love visiting it to enjoy its beauty.”
Director of Services Ann Dillon pointed out that it is unlikely that the drafting of the next Area Plan will be as involved and drawn out. “Following the dissolution of the Town Councils we had to include new zoning maps, which protracted the process. I think it will be easier next time.”
During the meeting the Council Executive recommended a change to the Plan, which the Councillors rejected. This recommendation was a request to change zoning of a section of land on Roscrea Road so that development could not happen there. The executive pointed out that this section of land, which is located near the halting site, could be prone to flooding. Although there has been no flooding there in living memory, the possibility nonetheless exists. The councillors rejected the recommendation because they felt it would be wrong to prevent all development there. The councillors said that while they didn't want to see buildings being constructed there, they nevertheless didn't want to prevent the possibility of a car park in that area.
In her report the Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney said an LAP is “a land-use plan, which details the overall strategy of the council for the proper planning and sustainable development of a town / area over a 6-year period, in this case Birr town and Crinkill Village. Put simply, it has the potential to directly impact on the quality of life of every single person in Birr and Crinkill. A LAP includes a written statement and maps. An LAP is a material consideration in making decisions on planning applications.
“The public consultation stage of the draft Birr Local Area Plan (LAP) took place from the 15th September 2022 to the 28th October 2022.” 36 submissions were received from members of the public.
The Plan sees the “potential” of expanding the popular Mill Island Park in the town.
A “summary” of the part of the Plan known as “Sub. BLP-D-13” states the following: “Potential to extend Mill Island Park; Provide new 'Pocket Park' spaces off Moorpark Street.”
The Plan makes provision for the creation of “lands adjacent to Moorpark Street for pocket parks;” it will allow for “the potential to extend Mill Island Park” and to create pocket parks to the north east of Moorpark Street.
Cllr Peter Ormond told the Tribune that the Council will most likely focus initially on two pocket parks to the northeast of Moorpark Street which will then be incorporated into Mill Island Park. The councillor said there will be funding for this and the councillors are fully behind the concept. “Extending Mill Island by developing the pocket parks is obviously the first thing to do,” he said, “then we will focus on the other pocket parks around the town.”
Birr Tidy Towns made a submission a few months ago calling for the creation of a number of pocket parks and community gardens in the town. The Tidy Towns submission also asked that Mill Island Park and Camcor River Park be designed as “potential areas to provide play facilities for children”.
The Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney said the Council thinks the provision of pocket parks, community gardens and allotments at a number of locations in the town is a good idea. These pocket parks, community gardens and allotments will be located to the east of the Tullamore road at Woodlands; to the south of the Camcor River at Syngefield; to the west of Main Street; adjacent to Mill Street and the Birr Civic Offices at Wilmer road; and to the north east of Moorpark Street.
The Chief Executive said pocket parks, community gardens and allotments utilise small spaces efficiently “to bring biodiversity into urban areas, provide high-quality recreation spaces for residents and improve quality of life for all.” She said the Birr LAP “supports the extension” of Camcor Park and Mill Island Park with the overall aim of creating a park network throughout the town and environs “with high accessibility to the public”. She said the Council will continue to improve the quality of the parks “as resources permit” and will also investigate the feasibility of establishing a Wetlands Park on Little Brosna Flood Plain.
Cllr Mark Hackett said it was encouraging to see this focus on biodiversity in Birr
A possible bypass has also been outlined in the LAP.
The Plan shows the possible route of a bypass running through the countryside surrounding Birr.
The LAP has drawn on some of the recommendations made in the Local Urban Transport Study (LUTS) which was conducted several years ago. LUTS outlined the routes of possible distributor roads in the town as well as the line of a bypass. Cllr John Carroll told the Midland Tribune this week that while traffic in Birr is often heavy and he receives complaints about it, a lot of people also like it, because they feel it brings footfall into the town. “It can bring extra revenue into the town. They might stop for fuel and a sandwich and coffee in the filling stations. Or they might stop in the hotels or stop at the cafés."
The proposed Distributor Roads in the LAP include a Northern Distributor Road between the N52 and the R439 Banagher Road; and a South Eastern Distributor Road between N52/Tesco Roundabout and R440 Syngefield.
The plan also proposes the construction of a Southern Relief Road between N52 / Roscrea Road and N62 / Riverstown.
If constructed, this Southern Relief Road would include both pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and provide an enhanced link between residential zones.
While it's included in the plan, it could be several years before a bypass is constructed; and there's the possibility we may never see it.