Advancing Portlaoise into a low carbon town

Much commentary across the globe has been made about the need to decarbonise our local communities, as well as rural and urban areas. Still, there are very few instances where the process of decarbonisation has genuinely taken place. Many individual projects can be found, and a lot have been covered by previous LGIU briefings. However, we can say that there is now at least one comprehensive example of a town regeneration process underpinned by a substantive decarbonisation process, a model for others across the globe to focus on. LGIU are happy to have collaborated with Laois County Council in Ireland to bring our readers, in Ireland and across the globe, up to date on the advances being made in Portlaoise, the County Town and location of the headquarters of Laois County Council. This case study will be of interest to elected members, management and staff, especially local planning staff across local government in the OECD.

Portlaoise had for many years faced a number of challenges, such as depopulation of the town centre in favour of living in the Suburbs or the “one-off house” and rural living, large numbers commuting from the County on a daily basis, with around 11,000 people leaving the County for jobs elsewhere, primarily by car. The Town Centre was also dominated by a dual carriageway, which divided the old and New Town. Dereliction and vacancy were prevalent in the old centre and along the main street. Portlaoise Town Centre has the advantage in that it is compact, well served by public transport, has a train station within a two-minute walk of the main street, and is located on national bus routes.

The formation of a Decarbonisation Zone for the town of Portlaoise was initiated in 2016 during the course of preparation of the “2040 & Beyond: a vision for Portlaoise, a strategy for a better town centre”. This strategy developed a planning framework for the town of Portlaoise, one which was embedded with objectives aligned to creating a low-carbon town, such as:

• The creation of a low-carbon Town Centre.
• The delivery of a walkable Town Centre.
• The greening of Portlaoise Town Centre.
• The exposure of Portlaoise’s cultural heritage.
• The exposure of the River Triogue.
• The reconnection of the Old and New Town.
• Accommodating living in Portlaoise Town Centre.
• Provision for working in Portlaoise Town Centre.

These aspects were further strengthened in 2019 when action 165 of the Irish Climate Action Plan was taken to extend flagship low-carbon projects to towns and villages across the State. The Council’s thinking further developed in 2021, when action 80 of the Climate Action Plan 2021 called on all Local Authorities to nominate a Decarbonisation Zone and include it in their Local Authority Climate Action Plans.

Alongside the national policy context, the Council itself has developed and adopted a local climate action plan. Emerging funding opportunities based upon an urban regeneration process have allowed the Council, together with stakeholders, to address challenging issues as noted above. Laois County Council secured funding under the national Urban Regeneration Development Fund in 2019 to develop initiatives enabling Portlaoise to become Ireland’s first low-carbon town.

The aim of the Low Carbon Town Initiative is to:

• Remove the dominance of cars within the Portlaoise town centre.
• Address the poor pedestrian experience of the area.
• To adapt to lower-emission vehicles.
• Retrofit homes and businesses.
• Investing several million euros over a three-year cycle of council and national exchequer funds.

The movement towards creating a low-carbon town that would bring environmental, health, and wellbeing benefits commenced with establishing local community structures — the Portlaoise Town Team, for example, which included representatives from voluntary bodies such as the Portlaoise Tidy Towns/ Downtown Portlaoise / Laois Chamber Alliance, as well as local elected members and Council staff.

In order to ensure successful implementation, the Council needed to show leadership and to change behaviours.

Four main themes were developed in relation to the changes in behaviour:

1. Communications and engagement
2.  Greening of Portlaoise
3. Active travel & sustainable mobility
4. Decarbonisation pathways & circular economy

Communication and engagement

The low-carbon town implementation team commenced engagement in 2019 through several initiatives to get the message out, such as:

• Systems innovation for sustainable enterprise and communities.
• Systems thinking at the local level.
• Deep consultation and network building
• Exhibition in the new Portlaoise Library.
• Graduates formed the Portlaoise Climate Alliance.
• Greener Together Newsletter.
• Extensive communications training.

Laois County Council

Laois County Council

Laois County Council hosted and implemented a pioneering course called Systems Innovation for Sustainable Enterprise and Communities (SISEC). Participants came from a wide range of organisations and businesses. The course aimed to equip communities with the skills to tackle climate change challenges. In partnership with Laois County Council, Ireland’s Knowledge Centre for Carbon, Climate, and Community Action (IKC3) has conducted a pilot course focusing on the Portlaoise Low Carbon Town Project.

The course, delivered over three months, focused on empowering local participants as challenge owners with the skills and knowledge necessary to address sustainability challenges within their communities. Participants engaged actively and collaboratively, applying systems thinking to tackle climate change issues locally.

Greening our town

Several initiatives have been developed that have had a visible positive impact on the town. An enhanced amenity value and resulting contribution to placemaking were a central feature of the approach. For example, the “Town in a garden” concept, which was driven by the local Tidy Towns Committee, has planted:

• 300,000 bulbs.
• 30,000 trees.
• Nine pollinator-friendly roundabouts.
• Urban orchards.
• Four “An Choill Beag” or little woodlands.
• Converted grasslands and roadside verges to meadow.
• Delivered a school biodiversity demonstration garden.

In addition, a biodiversity action plan has been implemented in partnership with agencies and organisations such as the Health Services Executive, the Gaelic Athletic Association, and the Rugby Club in Portlaoise.

 Active travel and sustainable mobility

In recent years, active travel and sustainable transport have come to the forefront of planning for our town. To inform future proposals, several studies were carried out in relation to cycling behaviour, including;

South East Technical University (SETU): Cycling and adults

The ‘Cultivating a cycling culture in Portlaoise’ study was carried out by the Centre for Health Behaviour Research at SETU, which concluded that 29% of cyclists would like to cycle more, 50% would cycle more, but 29% feel unsafe cycling because of traffic. Some 70% believed road space should be reallocated.

An Taisce (National Heritage Body): Cycling to our schools

An Taisce carried out a study on Schools from 2020 to 2021,  with 56%  of the school population in the town seeing themselves as living too far from their schools to cycle.

The Council consequently developed cycle routes to school based on the principles of the playful city concept, particularly for the Summerhill campus in Portlaoise, where five to six mainstream schools are located within the same area. This has encouraged children to cycle to school through parkland following a waymarked way. Other initiatives include:

• Triogue Way – Phase Two
• Mobility hub- railway station
• Cycle learning zone
• A bike library
• New bike stands and repair stations
• Bike hire- Bolt – 40 locations
• A new bus route- 70 stops.

Decarbonisation pathways & circular economy

As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Portlaoise, under the Council’s leadership, has been actively pursuing decarbonization pathways and embracing the circular economy. Key initiatives include carbon footprint studies conducted by Siemens in 2020 and KPMG in 2023, with an Energy master plan scheduled by KRA in 2024.

The establishment of The CUBE, a low-carbon centre of excellence, further promotes the development of eco-friendly technologies. The council itself has retrofitted 2,500 streetlights with LED lighting and increased the number of solar-powered compactor litter bins from 30 to 50. The development of The Cube required the transformation of a building at Tower Hill in the town.

In relation to the circular economy, the following have been developed and implemented;

• Pilot reusable coffee cups
• Green your festival kit
• Plan to install water bottle refill units
• Waste characterisation study on litter bins.

Urban regeneration: addressing dereliction and compact growth

One of the key principles of decarbonising the town of Portlaoise was investing in repopulating the town centre through repurposing derelict buildings and brownfield sites, and promoting compact growth. Key opportunity sites within 15 minutes of the town centre have been developed or are in development, together with repurposed buildings for amenities such as library function and enterprise development, such as:

• A new library in the heart of the main street.
• The refurbishment of the old Presentation Convent on Church Avenue for residential use.
• The provision of new homes on a brownfield site, the former derelict Maltings site.
• The provision of homes and commuter facilities near Portlaoise railway station. (Goldencroft)
• The reimagining of the old Fort Protector site to cater for music tuition and outdoor festivals.

Within the Laois Climate Plan 2024-2029, there are 59 actions in relation to the decarbonisation zone across the four areas of:

• Communications
• Greening
• Active Travel
• Decarbonisation and Circular Economy

The implementation report prepared in March 2025 indicates that 55% of the actions were completed by the end of 2024, and 32% commenced in 2024. The progress so far has achieved the following

• Retrofitted 2,500 existing streetlights in Portlaoise with energy-saving LED lighting.
• Solar-powered compactor litter bins increased from 30 to 50.
• Six new EV charging points at County Hall.
• 20 EV chargers at a new mobility hub at Portlaoise Railway Station.
• Phase one cross-town off-road cycle way: “Triogue Way.”
• Two new cross-town bus routes opened in 2025 with the National Transport Authority.
• Compact growth and reuse of town centre brownfield sites, with approx. 250 new energy-efficient residential units constructed.

Comment

The transformation of Portlaoise is very advanced and apparent to both residents and visitors alike. Using the principles underpinning decarbonisation, the Council has succeeded in reversing decades of dereliction and flight from its County Town, and is a model well worth examining. Laois County Council is rightly focused on continuing the success of the processes they have applied in Portlaoise, across the County. As such, LGIU would commend the Council and highlight its example to other Councils in Ireland and across the Globe. It is an outstanding example of the integration of placemaking, pride of place and sustainable economic regeneration.