Major plan unveiled for Kildare village with sports campus, schools and new homes
The 13th lock of the Grand Canal, in Sallins, County Kildare, Ireland, with canal houseboats berthed on either side.
A NEW strategic plan for Sallins has been launched by Kildare County Council this week, which will guide housing, transport, community and recreational development in the town.
Among its key provisions, the plan makes provision for a new multi-use sports campus, including GAA, soccer and general-purpose pitches — alongside a new, custom-built community clubhouse on land between SuperValu and the M7. The same lands are earmarked for new housing within easy reach of the train station and local facilities.
The plan also provides for a new bridge across the M7, connecting the new development lands to the Monread Road in Naas, and proposes lands along the link road near Lidl for a new primary school and secondary school. This is a vital step that will allow the Department of Education to plan for these facilities in the years ahead.
In addition, lands adjacent to Sallins Celtic's current home, and of equal size, are to be zoned as amenity. Giving the club security of access and amenity zoning into the future.
The community park will also continue to be developed down the canal past Millbank, with Government funding now guaranteed.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Kildare North TD, James Lawless, welcomed the plan, describing it as an ambitious and sustainable roadmap for the growth of the town over the coming decade.
He noted that, while the plan is binding in terms of land use, several of the private elements remain subject to the ownership and intentions of the various landowners. Most, he said, had been arrived at in partnership, and are now expected to be worked through to implementation.
Minister Lawless said the plan reflected years of local demand for joined-up investment in Sallins.
"This is a really positive week for Sallins. For a long time people have wanted to see the town grow in a planned, sustainable way. With the pitches, the community facilities, the school places and the homes all thought through together.
"Throughout this process I have worked closely with local community groups and council officials to make sure the needs of Sallins were heard and reflected in the plan. I am pleased to see that engagement bear fruit.
"I particularly welcome the provision for a multi-use sports campus and a new community clubhouse, the amenity zoning that gives Sallins Celtic certainty into the future, and the earmarking of lands near Lidl for a primary and secondary school, which puts the sites in place so the Department of Education can plan ahead for the school places our growing town will need.
"Full credit must go to Councillor Carmel Kelly, who engaged intensively with local groups and the council's planners to ensure a good, sustainable roadmap for Sallins into the next decade. I want to thank her, the elected members and the planning team in Kildare County Council for all the work that has gone into this. My focus now is on working with all partners to see these provisions move from the page to reality for the people of Sallins."
