Indo article on Athy highlights need for regeneration
Athy’s rich architectural heritage should be explored and exploited for the benefit of visitors and locals alike
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This headline to a three-page article on exploring Athy appeared on the Irish Independent’s weekend magazine on Saturday 11 April.
Reporter Pol O’Conghaile noted:
It is a dream we can all share. But as we dream we must acknowledge what the reporter also noted in Athy .
Looking back to the recent past there have been at least two attempts to establish a strategic vision for the future of the town of Athy.
The first such attempt was initiated by the local Lions Club some years ago and secondly by the local Enterprise Centre as part of a local area plan for 2019 – 2025. The purpose of the latter plan was how to achieve different elements of our shared vision for Athy.
In this article, I propose to concentrate on three elements of that plan, economic development and tourism, town centre retail and heritage.
On 17 April 2018, I filed a three-page submission with Kildare County Council as part of the pre-draft consultation process for the local area plan. As regards economic development, I pressed the need for the development of the outer relief road. This has now been done.
The availability of land for industrial development off the outer relief road was, in my view, essential as was improvement in broadband services.
I am not aware if anything has been done to zone land for industrial development in and around Athy.
As regards commercial/retail development in Athy I asked Kildare County Council to review its pap parking policy and in more recent times I devoted one of my weekly columns to the same topic.
I have consistently asked Kildare County Council to allow two-hour free parking for shoppers to help revitalise Athy’s independent shops.
The development of over shop living accommodation was another element of the town’s necessarily revitalisation.
The tourism potential of the once medieval town has been helped enormously by the opening of the Shackleton Museum. I understand that more than 13,000 visitors have visited the museum to date, with enormous benefit to local restaurants and some of the nearby independent shops.
Athy’s rich architectural heritage should be explored and exploited for the benefit of visitors and locals alike.
Amongst the local buildings of extreme importance is White’s Castle which because of its history and prominent position in the town's centre should be developed as a Fitzgerald Museum to complement the existing Shackleton Museum.
The involvement of Kildare County Council in facilitating the acquisition, the protection, the preservation and the development of White’s Castle as a museum is vitally important.
As regards the town’s centre retail the Irish Independent report referenced the ‘layers of dereliction, vacant shops and peeling paint’.
There is an urgent need for the various shop owners, with the encouragement of Kildare County Council, to present a better streetscape to shoppers and visitors alike.
Would it not be possible to engage a colour consultant to advise on colour schemes for different parts of the main street to give a more pleasant view of the stores which have been part of our town for so long.
The lead in all of this must come from Kildare County Council but assisted by local groups, all of whom must work together as one cohesive unit.
Ideally, we should all come together as one to agree on action necessary to achieve success in making Athy a better place in which to live, to work and to shop.
We must without delay address the economic regeneration of Athy by seeking to improve employment opportunities, both industrial and commercial.
I see in today’s newspaper an advertisement by Kildare County Council seeking a business adviser/local entrepreneur Officer and also a senior economic development officer.
Will this, I wonder, be the first-time people of this nature and skill have been employed by the county council.
If so, it might indicate that the council is accepting the importance of its role as it leads the bounce back for Athy which has shown a remarkable increase in population in the last 20 years or more.
But I repeat the businesspeople of Athy must come together and lead on action to be taken to improve the industrial and commercial life of our town which was once described as the best business town in Leinster.
The next lecture in the Athy’s Historical Society series will be given in the Library on Thursday 23 April, commencing at 6.45pm.
The lecture ‘Modern Prison Breaks’ will be given by Kildare Historian and Author, James Durney. Admission is free.
