Major Birr roadworks won't be finished by Vintage Week

THE road works currently taking place in Market Square, Birr will not be finished in time for Vintage Week, the July meeting of Birr Municipal District was told on Monday afternoon.
Cllr Audrey Hennessy Kennedy asked for an update on the works and the date of arrival for the limestone paving stones.
Engineer Pat Dermody told the meeting that the arrival of the paving stones has been delayed and therefore the project won't be finished in time for the festival, which starts on Friday August 1st. The works have stalled for several days while the workers wait for the limestone to arrive.
However, the Engineer promised that the Square will be made “safe and usable” for the festival. “People will be able to stand in that area to watch the Parade,” the meeting was told. “The space will be usable.”
Cllr Seán Maher asked the Engineer if the Council had been engaging with the festival committee and keeping them informed. Mr Dermody said the Council has been in contact with the Chairperson of the festival, Caroline Conway, and they will keep the committee up to date with the project.
Offaly County Council was awarded €250,000 in December 2022 for the “development of a plaza at Market Square in Birr to create an outdoor meeting and recreational space in the town centre that can facilitate outdoor dining and where pedestrian activity will be a priority”.
The funding was awarded by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
The construction work began at the end of May and during the June meeting of Birr MD Engineer Brian Keenaghan told the Councillors that “We expect the completion of the kerbing, paving, landscaping to happen at the end of August, weather permitting. Road surfacing and line marking will follow thereafter.”
The Council says the paving and ramp at William Street, at the new Castle entrance, have been completed. It's expected that the William Street project, including road surfacing and line marking, will be completed during July or August and the new Castle entrance will be opened to the public. The new entrance was due to open in the Summer or Autumn of 2023. Two years later, the opening is now, finally, about to happen. The entrance will be the final stage in a series of upgrading works on Green Street that have taken place over the last few years. These works were inspired by the town's important Public Realm Plan which is a blueprint for physical development in the town.