Welcome for €6m in funds
WICKLOW will be provided with over €6m as part of three projects under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
€3,450,000 has been allocated for a public transport bridge in Bray which will go across the River Dargle, linking Bray golf lands to the town centre.
€1,645,000 has been allocated to Arklow Historic Town Core and will go toward the transformation of the existing streetscape. The funding will also be used to renovate Arklow Courthouse to provide a remodelled court service area and a digital hub/hot desk space. Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2019.
€1,626,000 will be provided for the upgrade and regeneration of Fitzwilliam Square and the surrounding areas in Wicklow town. The funding allocated will also cover the relocation of Wicklow Town Library to the old Ulster Bank and the enhancement of the public realm.
Senior Engineer Margaret Hartnett addressed Monday’s council meeting and compared neighbouring counties and their allocation with the Garden County. Kildare received €3.5m, Carlow €945,000, Wexford €2m and Meath €6.8m.
Construction works for the new library are expected to take around ten months to complete and the project should be finished by February of 2020.
It is hoped to commence work on Fitzwilliam Square in September of 2019, with a finish date of March 2020.
Cllr Gail Dunne said Wicklow town was in bad need of a new library.
‘When the building was for the library was first purchased it was a huge leap of faith. Now it looks like it will come to fruition. Hopefully it will bring the library service in Wicklow up to the standard of other towns. In the past there have been issues with Fitzwilliam Square but we reorganised the plan and now the people of the town are very excited to see this project go ahead’.
Cllr Shay Cullen said: ‘This will be great for Wicklow town, which has endured a lot of issues recently, not least over the past few weeks with the Grand shutting as a hotel. Fitzwilliam Square has had a chequered history, but thankfully agreement was reached and this funding is very welcome. Wicklow town needs an overhaul and this is a start’.