Tender submitted for west Wicklow town’s long-awaited public realm improvements
The Wicklow PeopleWicklow County Council have submitted tender documents to finally bring to life a long-awaited public realm improvement project in Baltinglass.
€3.56 million in funding was allocated to the project in 2019 from the Department’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund with Wicklow County Council to provide €891,742 in match funding for the project.
The scheme includes improvements to accessibility, enhancements to the public realm and upgrades to the town park.
The project will involve the re-allocation of road space, the laying of new high-quality paving and kerbs along the footpaths, enhanced lighting provision, tree planting and landscaping as well as associated drainage works, installation of ducting and the undergrounding of overhead cables.
The works within the town will be undertaken in a phased manner, starting with exploratory works at key locations on the footpaths and carriageway to identify the existing services.
The second phase will involve the installation of a new surface water drainage line and followed by the installation of ducting to underground the overhead cables and to future proof the ESB and telecoms network.
The original application included the cost of works. The costings for Baltinglass Gateway to Southwest Wicklow came in over budget on both the public realm and the courthouse refurbishment.
Application for further funding on this project was made to the Department in February 2024. However, the submission was not successful.
Raising the issue during the November monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Pat Mahon said works need to commence as soon as possible.
“The RRDF in Baltinglass was one of the first things I raised in the chamber when I came on to the council and that's a year ago and it is still not advanced. All the people involved are asking when this project is going to get finished up and get delivered.
“I also want to know who is responsible for delivering the project and who is delivering the budget. We just need to get it off the ground.”
“It seems to be gone dead in the water. There's report after report after report. Engineers' report, costings. People need to know when this is going to take place.” he added.
His district colleague Cllr Patsy Glennon also expressed the need for the project to move forward.
“I bear the frustration expressed by Cllr Mahon because me and my other colleagues from Baltinglass have been mentioning the RRDF for considerably longer than a year.”
In response, director of services Helena Dennehy outlined her expectation that an update will be provided shortly.
“The Town Centre First Town Regeneration team are the primary vehicle for delivering the project, notwithstanding that it has significant support from the Baltinglass MD as well in terms of the expertise on the ground.”
“We have completed the tender documents in relation to the public realm element of the project. The detailed design has been submitted to the Department and we're just waiting for clarification and confirmation to move to the next step.” she added.
A report compiled by town regeneration officer Stephen Clarke in June of this year, indicated that once tender documents have been approved by the Department of Rural and Community Development, works on the project could last up to a year.