Progress on Roscrea's Town First Plan towards redesigned Castle Street and new Gantly Street

Progress on Roscrea's Town First Plan, which features several projects in the centre of the heritage town including the redesign of Castle Street and creation of Gantly Street, is progressing with contsruction expected to start in several areas this year.

The Town Centre First Plan for Roscrea, developed by Tipperary County Council in collaboration with the Roscrea Town Team, aims to transform Roscrea into a vibrant, dynamic, and economically strong town centre and the members of the Municipal Council for the area received an update at their monthly meeting last week.

The plan focuses on attracting residents, businesses, and visitors, creating a more appealing place to live, work, socialise, and invest, while also aiming to addresses dereliction and vacant properties to make the town centre more attractive.

The plan involved community consultations through surveys and workshops to gather input from residents and businesses and the next phase will see property owners and utility providers be consulted.

The ambitious plan envisions a unified Roscrea that leverages its strengths, including its people, buildings, and infrastructure and capitalising on unique benefits such as the untapped beauty of the Moneen River.

The plan includes proposals for new spaces, such as a new plaza, reimagined Main Street, and a redeveloped Rosemary Square.

This focus on enhancing the public realm, including pedestrian connections and improvements to Castle Street and Rosemary Street, will be integrated with work already carried out to redesign Market Square.
The plan is aligned with the Roscrea Local Area Plan 2023-2029.

The Municipal Council heard there has been progression on the redesign of Castle Street project and a funding application has been submitted for a new design of Roscrea town park, Glebe Park, was also confirmed.

The next phase will see the ppointment of consultants for Castle Street's redesign.

The Town First Plan also includes the development of Gantly Street from the current Gantly Road replete with retail outlets and walking and cycling paths and the development of an Age Friendly Neighbourhood adjacent to Chapel Lane.

A request for tenders for the engagement of a design team was advertised on e- Tenders and closed in December 2024. Several applications were received and assessed and the most economically advantageous tender was identified.

A design team will be appointed to the Gantly Street project later this year and the Town Team will engage with property owners and utility providers before commencing work on a detailed design.

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Tipperary County Council was awarded funding last year of €100,000 to deliver a Town Centre First Plan for Roscrea. The funding was awarded under the Department of Rural and Community Affair’s 'Our Rural Future', Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025.

A Town Regeneration Officer was appointed in November by Tipperary County Council and the Town Team, Chaired by local man Brian King, was appointed with Roscrea as the first pilot town in the County to have a TCF plan developed.