Consultants appointed to develop Public Realm Plan for Vision Rathvilly 2040

Carlow County Council with the support of Rural Regeneration & Development Fund have appointed the consultancy company?Vincent Hannon Architects (VHA) to develop a plan for the most effective presentation, management and enhancement of the town’s public realm.

The aim of the project is to develop a strategy for the town’s public realm, which can be used to identify and provide guidance for individual detail design projects. The plan will be visual and identify both short term and longer-term projects.

It is intended that the strategy will stimulate interest and activity among all the community in carrying out activity to enhance the town of Rathvilly, and that all stakeholders will be involved in developing a shared vision for the development of Rathvilly.?VHA has gathered a team with general expertise in urban design and regeneration, road design, traffic management and planning who will work in partnership with a cross functional departmental team of Carlow County Council to delivery the plan for Rathvilly.?

Speaking about the plan , Chairperson of the Tullow Municipal District Cllr. Brian O’Donoghue said “I welcome the appointment of VHA as part of our Vision Rathvilly 2040 project who will spearhead the development of the Public Realm Plan under Project Rathvilly 2040. The chairperson explained that “Project Rathvilly 2040?has two parts , part 1 the development of the public realm plan and part 2 the development of a project plan and permissions for the redevelopment of the Phoenix Centre”. The chairperson concluded by saying ““This is the biggest project in the history of the village of Rathvilly and it’s crucial that every voice is heard”?

Speaking about the project , Kieran Comerford , Head of Economic Development & Enterprise with the Local Enterprise Office in Carlow County Council said “we are delighted to receive funding under the Rural Regeneration & Development fund for this project and in our view a?public realm plan will offer solutions to enhance all the public spaces in Rathvilly, including street layout and how best to create a functional and pleasant environment in which to live, shop and interact for everyone”.

VHA are the appointed contractors for the public realm plan , and Aisling Leahy from VHA said “we are delighted to be working with Carlow County Council and look forward to our engagement with the local community and key stakeholders in the development of this plan”. Aisling continued to say that in VHA their focus was?“to design sustainable places for people, that enrich daily lives and enable communities where work, learning, living, growing and life happens”.

An initial consultation has been launched for anybody interested in the plan which can be viewed on Vision Rathvilly 2040 - Have your say ? | Carlow County Council's Online Consultation Portal Further information on the plan contact the Local Enterprise Office on 059-9129783 or e-mail [email protected]