‘Brighter days ahead’ for Kerry town as trust is rebuilt through co-operative planning

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry town has “brighter days ahead” according to a local councillor as a draft masterplan is set to be finalised for the rapidly expanding settlement.

Kerry County Council have pledged to prioritise basic infrastructure as part of Milltown’s town centre plan, following feedback from residents and local businesses.

The recent development of Milltown’s masterplan brought into the open feelings of mistrust between local stakeholders and the council last year, according to Councillor Tommy Griffin.

However, following assurances given by the council’s senior executive team to Milltown’s town team – a group of local stakeholders - in November, wounds are beginning to heal.

“It’s been a difficult road because of the council’s perceived lack of investment in Milltown,” said Cllr Griffin.

“Over the years there’s been an overdevelopment and a lack of development of infrastructure…last meeting there was a pact made to improve communication between the council and the town team and to include them more in planning for the town.”

A major point of departure was the focus on basic infrastructure, which the town team highlighted as their top priority. This included improving traffic management of the main junction in the centre of town, and the congestion around local schools during mornings and evenings.

“The town team feel the traffic management plan needs to be completed before any infrastructure changes are made,” said Cllr Griffin.

“We need to have a proper consultancy-led assessment of the difficulties in Milltown.”

Cllr Griffin said there was a “huge problem” with traffic at Bridge Street and Church Street junction and at Nagle Rice National School at school rush hours. It is hoped the advancement of the N70 bypass and relief roads to the east and south of the town will help ease congestion.

“The focus on public realm seems to be a priority of KCC in every town but what the town team is saying is that there’s other priorities that need to be addressed before that,” he said.

Concerns were also raised by the town team over the development of the town’s two squares, as proposed in the masterplan. This included removing parking spaces from each square to make way for greater pedestrianisation, with no alternative parking places specified.

“What was felt was that the council was pushing ahead with the redevelopment of both squares without really engaging properly with the town team and the businesses,” said Cllr Griffin.

While dereliction remains an issue in Milltown, with 22pc of resident buildings in the town centre vacant, Cllr Griffin reports that there are signs of improvement.

On Castlemaine Road, two sites have been refurbished as well as Cosgrove’s Bar undergoing conversion into apartments.

“Vacancy and dereliction in Milltown are a problem but I’m glad to report there is ongoing works to address that,” said Cllr Griffin.

“Kerry County Council themselves have a boarded-up house in the town, and I’ve raised it twice with them now over a 12-month period. I’m anxious they address that too.”

“If you’re telling everyone else to fix their derelict and vacant buildings, you need to lead by example too…but it’s not all bad news in Milltown.”

The town hall, Muintir na Tire, has received nearly €270,000 for refurbishment, while the Nagle Rice Community Centre extension is moving forward with a grant of €110,000.

The Kilderry to Milltown Amenity Walk is also due to be completed this summer, the result of a €500,000 investment in the area.

A further outdoor offering is proposed in the masterplan, floating the idea of a heritage trail around the nearby historic sites. This would include landmarks such as The Abbey, the Demesne lands, White Church, mass rock and sea dykes, and the potential for a trail App, which would give users an interactive guided tour experience.

The town’s inaugural Milltown History and Heritage Weekend was launched in August last year, with the local group, Milltown History and Heritage Society, at the centre of preparations.

“Milltown has a significant historic offering and there’s significant opportunities to harness that. They have a very proactive heritage society who are doing some excellent work,” said Cllr Griffin.

Other aspirations in the masterplan include engagement with the National Transport Authority to acquire bus stops for the town, as well as improvements to bus connectivity and frequency.

Active travel will be encouraged by developing a network of cycle lanes around the town and a safer traffic environment for walkers will be pursued.

“We have a plan, but we need to see things happening in the town,” said Cllr Griffin.

“I’m hoping with improved communication between the council and town team that the masterplan will be signed off all going well.”

“The council have put an enormous amount of time into the town plan, and the senior management team have made themselves available to listen to their concerns so I have to complement the council on that too.”