Wicklow Town Team projects update
Chair of the Wicklow Town Team, Dave Shannon, covers all aspects and ongoing projects of the Wicklow Town Team.
While being affected like many others by the pandemic, the voluntary group has a number of projects and ideas on the go. Things are starting to open back up, and the team should hopefully see a lot of projects accelerate.
Wicklow Town Team’s purpose is to make the town a better place to live, work and play. We make this happen though applications for grants and funding where the local authority cannot.
The Wicklow Town Team is a completely voluntary group that works very much in partnership with the Wicklow Municipal District and Wicklow County Council.
Some of our projects would simply not be possible without their support and help. We don’t always agree, but we have the one aim – to make Wicklow town a better place to live, work and play.
We’re eager for new volunteers to participate in the working groups as well as greatly welcome new faces and new ideas.
Without further ado, here are the ongoing and past projects each group has undertaken:
East Coast Greenway
A project many will be familiar with, the East Coast Greenway Committee has been pushing hard to see this project come to fruition, which would see a greenway built connecting Wicklow Town to Greystones.
Recent positive news came with the publication of the Coastal Protection Strategy Study commissioned by Irish Rail in conjunction with Wicklow County Council. Implementation of works recommended in the report would be advantageous to the greenway by offering protection. The next step for the project is the commissioning of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) that will cost circa €500k.
The Town Team has not requested any public representative to endorse the greenway but to do everything in their power to press for funding from the Department of the Environment. Without this report an informed decision cannot be made.
Park & Ride
This group has been busy working on the possibility of building a park and ride location near the M11 exit.
The Town Team and Wicklow County Council met with representatives from the National Transport Authority (NTA) about a year ago with a proposal to set up a park and ride with an express bus service directly from the location to the city centre.
In order for this to be feasible, a bus lane would need to be put in place from the park and ride north and southbound.
When we outlined our plans, the NTA were very positive. They were already conducting surveys and feasibility work on the N11/M11 area. In conjunction with these surveys an additional feasibility study for a bus lane would be conducted.
WTT are confident that an announcement on this project could be made by Wicklow County Council this year.
Public Realm
This group works very closely with Wicklow Tidy Towns. This group’s ambition is to make the town visually pleasing and improve the outdoor areas and spaces within the town. Projects that have been completed are the placements of historical storyboards at the Black Castle and Abbey Grounds.
Funding has been secured by the team for the backlighting of the historical sites of the town – Abbey grounds, Wicklow Gaol, Black Castle etc. Completion of this project is expected by early June this year.
While discussing the backlighting of the Abbey grounds, a plan for the redevelopment of the grounds by the parish was shared with the team. The team felt this was a worthwhile project and they shared the plan with Wicklow County Council, who has been successful in securing funding for this proposal from Fáilte Ireland. We look forward to this exciting project coming to fruition.
The Public Realm team are also looking at improving the ‘gateways’ into the town, such as Ashtown Lane, the Glen Turn, Whitegates etc. Sculptures of Viking ships and St. Patricks are a couple of themes being considered.
Also being examined is the connections between the main street and the quays. Wall murals and light installations are being considered for ‘The Doctor’s Steps’, Salthouse Lane and Quarantine Hill, to make them more vibrant and inviting.
Tourism
This group has an extremely exciting project near completion; a 24-location historical walk that will span from one end of the town to the other. It will cover many historical stories and landmarks, bringing locals and tourists on a journey through time with interactive visual retelling at various stops.
This should be in place and ready to launch by the end of the June.
Some other projects which are in their infancy are the possibility of promoting and developing a ‘provenance’ of St Patrick with Wicklow Town.
Digital
On the back of this committee’s successful launch of Wicklowtown.ie, the group is now working in tandem with the Wicklow Enterprise Park on the possibility of a local Digital Hub.
The Enterprise Park have kindly agreed to fund a feasibility study and this has now gone to tender.
Retail
This group sets out to improve the retail experience in Wicklow Town. A survey was completed and the team are working on the findings of the survey which include the retail offering, parking considerations, pedestrianisation, and meeting with experts such as Retail Excellence etc.
The team produced a report which included parking and traffic flow recommendations. This report was presented to the Municipal District and the report is being considered.
The town has seen several welcome additions implemented by the Municipal District and Wicklow County Council including the new pedestrianised zone and one-way system at Fitzwilliam Square.
The retail group were very active over the Christmas period with the trial of a one-way system aimed at improving the local shopping experience
The goal is to make Wicklow town a shopping centre of choice.
The town is very unique, with most businesses independently-owned. We want to further promote that for the future.
In co-operation with Wicklow Municipal District, the Retail Committee secured funding through the Town & Village Renewal Scheme for seating and overhead awnings for Market Square, which will be welcome additions with the continued trend towards outdoor dining.
Fáílte Ireland has made further funding available for weatherproofing and outdoor dining. The team have put in some suggestions to Wicklow County Council and the Municipal District, who we are working closely with on this. Further solutions to improve seating areas are being looked at, such as overhead covering for the new seating area on the quays put in by the Lions Club and Wicklow Tidy Towns.
Commercial
Our commercial team are looking for ways to encourage the development of a hotel, identifying commercial space to attract new investment, and developing amenities around port area.
One such project is the installation of pontoons at the back of the Scout Hall to attract smaller boats to come onto the quays. Funding has been secured for this project by Wicklow County Council.
This group has also been lobbying strongly for movement on Wicklow Courthouse. This building has been idle for 13 years and a decision is required.
The Town Team was informed two years ago that demolition work would begin in order to facilitate refurbishment. The government is giving out money for town centre and village renewals, which is very worthwhile, and Wicklow Town has benefited from this funding.
However, we have one of the most prominent buildings in Wicklow Town – owned by the state – that is being allowed deteriorate into a derelict site.
Theatre
The most recently formed group on the Town Team consists of people in their teens, 20’s and 30’s. The steering Committee felt that these age groups should have a voice on the Town team. A variety of ideas were considered by the group who decided to focus on the provision of a theatre/community space.
This group successfully applied for funding to LEADER to fund a feasibility study and business plan for a theatre. This study has just commenced looking at potential sites, as well as the economic viability which needs to be thoroughly investigated. A survey will be circulated shortly to the public as part of the study.
Wicklow Town Team Steering Committee
Chairperson: Dave Shannon
Vice Chairperson: Rosemary Kavanagh
Financial Officer: Fiona Doyle
Current Wicklow Municipal District Cathaoirleach: John Snell
Outgoing Wicklow Municipal District Cathaoirleach: Shay Cullen
Secretary: David Porter
Wicklow Municipal District Administrator: Joan Sinnott
Chairpersons of Working Groups: John Slattery, Ciáran Lally, Enda Luddy, Leonora Earls, Pascal Burke, Robin Bradley & Ciarán Olohan.
A representative from Wicklow County Council is also in attendance at our meetings to offer advice and assistance from a local authority point of view.
Each Working Group consists of volunteers, so the Town Team is made up of about 50 volunteers.
Like the sound of one of the projects and want to get involved or contribute to the efforts of the town team? Or have you an idea that could improve an aspect of the town? We’d love to hear from you – get in touch at wicklowtownteam@gmail.com.