ENNISCRONE PLANS
PUBLIC MEETING HEARS OF PAVING PLAN FOR THE CENTRE OF THE VILLAGE
AN investment of over €660,000 in Enniscrone has the potential to transform the popular west Sligo village.
That was the key message from a well-attended public meeting last Tuesday in the Ocean Sands Hotel to discuss initial plans on how the money - which has been allocated for the square - will be utilised.
Over 50 locals were in the crowd as Local Enterprise Office Executive Planner Ray O’Grady, along with architect Vincent Coleman outlined the current plans for the centre of the village which will benefit from €500,000 from Fáilte Ireland and a further €160,000 from Sligo County Council under the proposals.
It is planned that a plaza-type centre-of-town will emerge once work in completed, but the exercise of holding a public meeting was to gauge opinion and ideas on the best way forward.
The square in Enniscrone is on the Main Street at the junction with the Cliff Road. The area is a hive of activity in the summer months, with pubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and the beach all in close proximity.
“Very happy with the turn out and the response was generally positive so the whole meeting went well as far as I’m concerned,” Ray O’Grady said afterwards.
“It’s a really good juncture for Enniscrone, we have three major projects happening in the next year to 18 months here so it could be a new juncture where we actually come up with some transformative projects for the town, so it’s a really good time.”
It is a period of significant progress for Enniscrone. Along with the investment of €660000 for the town centre, there are also plans in the pipeline for an extended footpath towards the Pier, while there are hopes to upgrade the area to the western end of the beach including the iconic old Cliff Bathouse, the promenade and the old Amusement arcade pavilion.
The meeting heard of an intention to bring Enniscrone to a standard where it is one of the premier destinations along the Wild Atlantic Way.
It is understood that the seaside resort is second only to Sligo town in terms of tourism importance to the county.
Architect Vincent Coleman, who was charged with designing a sample of how the square in the village may look once work is complete, addressed the meeting and used a powerpoint presentation to portray how the square may look once the construction process is complete, based on initial plans.
It is envisaged at present that the centre of the town will have paving along the main street and on a small portion at the start of the Cliff Road.
The meeting heard that a similar material to that used in other towns, such as on Pearse Street in nearby Ballina, could also fit the requirement for Enniscrone.
The project and design process, Mr Coleman advised, also had to be mindful that traffic would continue to pass through the village, so the square would become an outdoor urban pedestrian area with traffic passing through.
Paving of the area, using cobbles or material to that effect, would go right up to the wall of the existing premises in the centre of the village, such as Gilroy’s Pub and The Pilot Bar. The cobbles used would be as “pedestrian friendly as possible”.
The impact of traffic, road signage and seating would all be considered further on in the process, Mr Coleman concluded.
The meeting also heard concerns from the floor in relation to other aspects of the village, including the entrance to Enniscrone from the Easkey side which needs improvement according to some of those in attendance.
It was also stated that a one-way traffic system around the village is an ‘active consideration’ and plans in this regard are underway.
The Cliff Road has been under a one-way system since 2015 and this initiative was described as a success by local councillor Joe Queenan.
Cllr Queenan added: “I would welcome the funding, it’s a vote of confidence in Enniscrone. Hopefully the teething problems can be solved and early in 2021 this can be done.”
Welcoming the investment, local community council chairperson David Tuffy stressed the need for agreement amongst locals to ensure this funding does not slip away.
“We need consensus. This is a lot of money and we can’t afford to let it go. It can’t be diverted elsewhere.” In terms of a start date for construction, it is anticipated that work could begin before the end of the year, but Ray O’Grady concluded that such a timeframe is subject to a number of variables.
“We have a Part 8 process to go through in terms of planning and then we’ve to go through the procurement process so that can take varying amounts of time depending on the intricacies of the process. But, I would hope that we would be under construction with this particular project towards the end of the year or at the start of 2021.”