PICTURES: Community gathers to discuss future for busy local street

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Pictured above at the Castle Street public consultation event in the Black Mills are Tom Bradford (TBLA), Tom Jonson (LUC), Aoife Cahill (TCC), Fionn Wandelc (MKO), Rebecca Moore (Tús), Gerard O'Meara, Mohib Hajar (TUS) and Joanna Hughes (AMS). Photo: PJ Wright

Roscrea's Castle Street will undergo a transformation in the coming years, aimed at refreshing the streetscape and creating a public space that is safer and more inviting.

The plans are part of Roscrea's Town First Plan - Roscrea was one of the first towns in the country and only town in North Tipperary chosen for the roll out of this new format for town planning.

Public consultation and reflecting the wishes of the community living and working in the town is at the core of the Town First method and several public consultation events, which run alongside online surveys, have been held to record the opinions and ideas of the public and offer them an opportunity to shape how the designs evolve.

Several areas of Roscrea are part of the ambitious plans - with a focus on Main Street and a project aimed at creating a fully fledged town street from Gantly Road part of them, but last week the focus was on Castle Street and an event to enable the public to participate in creating a blueprint for redesigning this crucial central avenue of the heritage town.

Three proposed options were on display and members of Roscrea's Town Team and designers greeted the public and engaged in thought provoking discussions about what would be best for Castle Street and potential alterations to the three proposals.

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Two of the proposals suggest a one-way taffic system, where vehicles would travel uphill towards Market Square and enter Castle Street from the N62 route along the Mall and Church Street.

The third option retains two-way traffic, and all proposals include a loss of parking spaces to create space for paved areas and improved safety for pedesrtrians and cyclists.

Roscrea features an abundance of parking spaces in the large carparks all within a short walk of the town centre and the plans highlight their lack of use - particularly the large Lourdes Road carpark adjacent to the Tesco supermarket.

Castle Street currently has capacity of 66 unmarked parking spaces with Church Street offering 10 spaces.

The plans explore enable 'rebalancing' the space given to parking and possibly creating more space for people and activity.
A significant volume of positive and thoughtful feedback was received at the consultation, along with a number of valuable suggestions and ideas.

This input will play an important role in shaping and refining the proposals as the project moves to the next stage of development.

Previous consultation sessions indicated broad support for enhancing the public realm along Castle Street — including wider footpaths, improved urban greening, landscaping, and better pedestrian and visitor experiences.

Vacant buildings and dereliction at prominent locations were highlighted (e.g., the former Grants Hotel), which residents see as detracting from the heritage assets and overall vibrancy.

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Desire for better lighting, street furniture, and passive surveillance on Castle Street to improve safety (especially at night) and the quality of the public realm were also highlighted by local people.

Better promotion of Roscrea's wealth of historic sites of significance were also put forward and a civic space capable of accommodating festivals and events was a popular suggestion put forward by the community in Roscrea.

To ensure that those who were unable to attend in person still have an opportunity to participate, the consultation process remains open online. The consultation boards can be viewed digitally, and an online survey is available to gather further public feedback.

The online survey will remain open until Thursday, January 29th 2026, and members of the public are encouraged to review the material and share their views.

Consultation boards and survey access are available via QR codes, and further information or feedback can also be submitted by email to castlestroscrea@tbla.eu