Plans for development in popular Wicklow village

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Enniskerry’s Bog Meadow Management Company have further outlined future plans for facilities in the centre of the village.

Following the granting of a lease by Wicklow County Council in late 2021, the company has been engaged in an extensive exercise to determine how the public amenity facilities could be improved.

The plan was formed on the information that consultants Repucon produced in 2022, having created an independent masterplan for the group after consulting with the local community.

At a recent public meeting where over 70 people attended, the board presented an update on their development plan for the area, which includes a new sports and community hall, multi-use games area, drainage works to the grass pitch, improved tennis facilities and a padel court.

The site currently hosts the Enniskerry Football club with over 450 children, the tennis club with over 350 members and the Enniskerry/Kilmacanougue community games.

Playground equipment installation is due to commence shortly.

The company was formed to provide a formal, structured organisation to manage and improve the facilities.

It also advocates for community-focused organisations that need to apply for funding, enter contracts, and have a formal corporate framework for managing community assets.

The meadow is an environmentally sensitive site, sitting between two Special areas of Conservation and beside a river.

An extensive range of ecological assessments have been carried out in the planning, and the development is to stay within the constraints of the current layout.

Speaking after the event, Cllr Melanie Corrigan who is a member of the board welcomed the progress that has been made.

“The meeting was a great success; it was wonderful to see the interest in what is being proposed and to be able to share all the work that has been undertaken over the last few years.”

“There were some great suggestions from the community on the night including adding in bicycle storage, and to increase walking access to the site, and we are really pleased to be working closely with the local tidy towns and biodiversity group to move forward with this important project.”