Cautious optimism surrounds €6m project to regenerate ‘forgotten’ part of Enniscorthy

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Just three months on from being presented with plans for a €6m project which will completely regenerate the Templeshannon part of the town, Enniscorthy councillors are keeping their expectations firmly in check. A presentation on the Templeshannon Hub and Link Package was made at the April meeting of the municipal district by council engineer David Whitty, and it outlined plans to “counteract the worrying decline” of the area and address its “disconnection” from the town centre.

As part of the plan Wexford County Council (WCC) aims to develop a leisure and recreation hub around the Waterfront Pool and Leisure Centre, a new state of the art playground, including a much sought-after skatepark, and a riverside pocket park. This will also include a continuation of the riverside promenade walk and an upgraded entranceway from Templeshannon.

However, despite assurances from Mr Whitty that the plan was progressing as intended, some councillors remain unconvinced.

“My father was a councillor here in 1979 and Templeshannon was on the table then, nothing has been done there, it’s being left behind,” said Councillor Jackser Owens at the July meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD). “The only way anything will get done there is if we get funding for it. There’s a sense that Templeshannon has been forgotten by the council, that’s the first thing they say when you go across there, ‘you don’t want to know us’.”

While not quite so downbeat in her assessment of the scheme, cathaoirleach of the EMD, Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy said she and her colleagues needed to see the finalised design for the project “as soon as possible”.

“We are seeking to advance the Templeshannon Hub and Link Package and get it ready for an application to the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF),” replied Mr Whitty.