Reimagining our towns and villages

Historically, towns and villages in Ireland have been places for people to congregate in order to purchase goods, trade and access services. Beyond the commercial realm, our urban centres also have a major social significance, being places where people can meet, socialise, share ideas and participate in political discourse.

Many of Ireland’s urban centres boast buildings and public spaces that represent the best of our built heritage. The concept of the ‘market square’ is common in many towns and villages throughout the country. Monaghan town and Carrickmacross are fine examples of Irish market towns with a rich cultural and built heritage.

What has changed?

The rise of online retail and the emergence of new consumer and work patterns, accelerated during the Covid pandemic, has contributed to an economic decline in our towns and villages. The desire for people to live outside of town centres and pressure from out-of-town retail outlets has also created difficulties, particularly for regional towns, leading to a hollowing-out effect in many town centres.

The need to climate-proof our towns and villages is also critical as we look to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt our environment and infrastructure to increasing levels of rainfall, higher risk of flooding and rising temperatures. This means reducing vehicle traffic and reallocating road space to provide more people-friendly public spaces and facilitate public transport, walking and cycling as the preeminent modes of transport. It also means adding more trees and greening to our town centres to provide more shade and help manage increased water run-off.

Collaboration is key

While it is clear that the challenges facing our towns and villages are many and varied, it is through the purposeful reimagining of our urban centres that we will ensure we can address future challenges and benefit from the opportunities that positive change can bring.

The key to addressing all of these challenges is ensuring that our towns and villages are vibrant, accessible and socially and economically active, creating a positive experience for residents, businesses and visitors alike. Achieving this will require a collaborative effort between residents, businesses and the wider community, led by local authorities.

Encouraging more people to return to residing in our town centres is also crucial as this not only creates vibrancy but also brings more vacant properties back into use, lowers emissions by reusing existing buildings and materials, and reduces the need for private vehicle journeys and the ensuing car dependency and traffic issues.

Monaghan reimagined

These challenges are very much relevant in County Monaghan and indeed in all cities and counties in Ireland. On starting in my role as Chief Executive of Monaghan County Council over a year ago I identified town and village regeneration as one of the top priorities. One of my first actions was to set up a multi-disciplinary Town Regeneration Team made up of staff with a range of skills encompassing town planning, urban design, engineering, heritage conservation and community engagement. This built on the work that had already been done around regeneration in the Council. I am glad to report that this strategic change is bearing fruit.

The Council’s newest regeneration project, Reimagining Monaghan, will see the development of a heritage-focused plan for Monaghan town, that aims to shape the future of the county town in partnership with residents, businesses and the wider community, ensuring the town is an attractive, engaging and inviting space that serves the needs of residents, businesses and visitors.

Monaghan County Council, in partnership with John McLaughlin Architects and the Monaghan Town Team, have developed an ambitious heritage-led regeneration plan for Monaghan town and St. Louis Convent lands. The project is funded by the Heritage Council and through the first strand of the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme (THRIVE), which is a focused regeneration scheme under the European Regional Development Programme and administered by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly.

This adds to the work already done by the Council within the recently completed Town Centres First Plan for Carrickmacross, as well as the Town Centres First Plan for Ballybay, which is now well underway. The intention is to complete comprehensive town plans for each of the County’s five main towns, which includes the towns already mentioned along with Clones and Castleblayney.

There are also a wide range of discrete regeneration projects currently in planning or progressing across the County, such as the restoration of the Market House in Castleblayney; the conversion of the former Lennard Arms Hotel in Clones to a tourism facility; and the adaptation of the historic Market House in Ballybay to a new library and civic space.

From reimagining to regenerating

Over time, this approach will lead to enriched network of vibrant, future-proofed towns and villages – a Monaghan equipped to embrace opportunities.

It is those local authorities that tackle vacancy and dereliction in an imaginative, effective and collaborative way that will be ones who will see a rebirth of towns and villages as vibrant centres of social, economic and cultural life in their communities.