Masterplan for Athy's Dominican lands 'on hold'
“Anyway we could do a phased design around that space?”
IT has emerged that the plan for the development of the Dominican lands in Athy could be on hold for the foreseeable future, with it also being outlined that there is currently no plan to develop and revamp the car park on lands near Athy library.
At the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District, Cllr Brian Dooley brought forward a motion requesting “that the council commence the master plan for development of the Dominican lands and car park, Athy.”
A report issued in response by Pamela Pender, senior executive officer of strategic project and public realm at Kildare County Council (KCC), struck a somewhat sobering tone. It stated: “The Masterplan for the Dominican lands is currently on hold subject to the selection of a preferred option for the proposed Athy Flood Relief Scheme. The area is currently within a flood zone where development is prohibited as per the Local Area Plan and OPW guidelines.”
The report went into further detail on the matter: “Any future development constructed within this flood zone, other than flood resilient structures, will be contingent on the level of protection offered by the proposed flood defences. The decision on the location, scope and protection offered by the flood relief scheme is dependent upon ongoing design being carried out by RPS Consultants on behalf of KCC.”
On the matter of the car park, the report added: “The project proposal is to develop a Masterplan for the Dominican Lands site, there is no additional car park assessment/provision included in the project.”
Cllr Dooley thanked the council executive for the response. He struck a slightly frustrated tone whilst discussing the current state of play with regards to the car park, saying that “at the moment it’s not a proper car park at all”.
He went on to ask if there is “anyway we could do a phased design around that space?”
Cllr Veralouise Behan spoke on the benefits that would come and the necessity of developing the Dominican lands and car park, noting that tourists attracted to Athy because of the Shackleton museum would also be attracted to the Dominican area because of the unique architecture of the library which is located in a renovated Dominican church.
A council representative at the meeting said that the five elected members and council executive will need to come together to discuss the matter further.
It emerged early last year that construction was expected to commence on housing units for the elderly on the Dominican lands in the first quarter of 2026. The timeline on commencement of construction is now unclear.
