Improvement works

The seaward wall in the village’s lower car park is undergoing refurbishment to tie in with the major upgrade carried out to the main promenade wall, and provide a more pleasant linked walk way with the Priest’s Beach beyond the Swimming Pool apartments.

Funding from the Town and Village Renewal scheme has enabled the Tidy Towns to extend the refurbishment of the main promenade.

This entails facing the car park wall with the same stone as on the promenade, building a new pier at the slip way that also matches the Main Street, and the already finished raising of the height of the wall by six inches with concrete capping.

The work is part of an upgrade of the lower car park that has been taking place over the last five years, and was included in the Tidy Towns plans since the extensive refurbishment of the main street 15 years ago.

Only at the end of last year did the funding become available from the Town and Renewal scheme which provides substantial grants for projects of this nature to improve the presentation of towns and villages.

The total cost will come to £19,000 of which 85% will be provided by the renewal scheme, following a successful application by the Tidy Towns. The committee will make up the balance through fund raising and other sources.

The work is due to be completed by the end of the month. The contractor is Owen Byrne Construction who by coincidence also carried out the refurbishment of the main street.

Among other benefits the raising of the height of the wall will afford is increased protection from flooding from over the top wave splash.

Cosmetic improvements to the car park and the area commenced first with the development of the Village Centre on the site of the village’s former skating hall, and subsequently where the Brand Store was located.

A footpath along the length of the seawall was laid and public lighting was installed and signage and posters and slogans provided at the Bring Bank facility, the ideas for which were supplied by local school children.

It formed part of a whole facelift for the area, which included also the painting of the boundary wall of the former swimming pool and other works, including the mounting of old black and white photographs of the swimming pool and other parts of the village along the pathway at the back of the apartment complex.