LUC has recently completed the Thurles Town Centre Renewal Strategy for Tipperary County Council – an informed, evidence-based 10-year vision.

With local authority and community collaboration as its core, the work is grounded on an appreciation of the key characteristics and issues within the Town Centre. Building on existing initiatives and regeneration work, we developed a plan to create a thriving and vibrant town centre that supports the future growth of the town and the needs of its residents.

Community consultation was fundamental to our evidence-based approach. Effective, creative, and dynamic consultation is critical to obtaining detailed information and opinion, bolstering engagement, and achieving buy-in to proposals. We saw a high turn-out rate with over 680 responses to our online questionnaires and over 100 attendees at a series of face-to-face workshops from a town with just under 8,000 residents.

Engagement began pre-Covid and LUC facilitated a series of stakeholder and community workshops. Post-Covid, we developed an online consultation hub, and offered virtual consultation appointments, to continue the process.

The final Strategy comprises 25 Thurles-specific renewal projects, each grouped under one of the following vision objectives:

• The Creation of a Compact, Low-Carbon Climate-Resilient Town
• The Creation of a Vibrant and Living Town Centre
• The Delivery of a Connected Town & Enhanced Public Realm
• The Creation of a Destination Town
• The Exposure and Showcasing of Thurles’ Historic & Natural Heritage

Thurles MD Manager Eamon Lonergan said: “The pride and passion for the town that people have shown throughout this process really jumped out of this document.”

Learn more about Landscape Design at LUC.