Kildare Co Council secures four nominations at national awards

Kildare County Council has been shortlisted in four categories at the Irish Planning Institute’s Planning Awards 2025.

The national winners of this prestigious competition will be revealed at a gala ceremony in Dublin’s Clontarf Castle Hotel on Thursday 25 September.

In the ‘Heritage and Culture’ category the revival of Naas Town Centre, particularly the reimagining of the Potato Market has involved the complete restoration and reinvention of the historic market of medieval origin located on Church Lane, Naas.

The restored marketplace reaffirms its historic function in the town centre, within the Castle Quarter of Naas.

This reuse of a long-standing derelict and underutilised site is recognised as a catalyst for change, reanimating the town centre, by supporting heritage, culture, creativity and tradition while promoting living and trading in the town centre.

The coordinating of the low carbon future of Maynooth’ has been shortlisted in the Plan Making category and showcases the collaborative efforts of Kildare County Council and Meath County Council.

Together, they have prepared, adopted and implemented the Maynooth and environs Joint Local Area Plan for 2025 – 2031.

This joint plan represents the culmination of a number of years of sustained and dedicated efforts of both authorities and demonstrates the potential for local authorities to work together to ensure the sustainable growth of settlements divided by administrative boundaries.

In the ‘Climate Action’ category Kildare County Council are tackling climate change through a series of actions including three transformative planning-led projects.

These projects include the Kildare County Council Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) Guidance Document, Kildare County Council Permeability Guidelines, and Kildare County Council Allotments and Community Gardens Strategy.

And finally, Kildare County Council has been nominated for best Planning Authority.

Over the past two years, Kildare County Council say it has transformed its function, operations and approach “to creating sustainable communities, in creating a progressive, dynamic and solution-focused work environment”.

Kildare County Council has expanded its team to include 32 dedicated planners and new multi-disciplinary teams including an ecologist, urban designer and biodiversity officer.

This expansion is bolstered by a graduate planner recruitment programme, addressing the significant volume of plans and projects in the local authority.