Louth County Council announce launch of Dunleer Town Centre First Plan

The Dunleer Town Centre First plan will be officially unveiled by Louth County Council at the Market House, Dunleer, on Tuesday 28th May 2024. 

Following Louth County Council’s success in securing funding under the Government’s Town Centre First policy initiative, Dunleer is one of 26 towns in Ireland to develop a Town Centre First Plan, an ambitious strategy which aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into town centres, creating towns that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit.

The plan has been developed following a collaborative approach between the Dunleer Town Team, local stakeholders, elected members, Louth County Council, urban designers Building Design Partnership Ltd (BDP) and feedback from the local community. 

It covers the importance of ‘place-making’, town centre living, the social and economic purpose of the town, and responds to emerging opportunities such as those linked to remote working, climate action and digitalisation. It also sets out a vision that is intended to stimulate investment from the private sector. 

A series of actions have been identified in the Dunleer Town Centre First Plan, including:

• Creating better links to the White River, an underutilised asset running parallel to the Main Street.
• Establishing biodiverse links, a network of pedestrian loops linking Dunleer's public open spaces and improving connectivity between different areas of the town.
• In a bid to target vacancy, the reuse of a vacant building on the main street as a new public library is proposed.
• The revitalization of the Main Street itself to create an enhanced pedestrian experience, along with a suite of smaller scale enhancement initiatives to increase vibrancy and attractiveness in the heart of the town.

Joan Martin, Chief Executive, Louth County Council said:

“The development of a Town Centre First Plan for Dunleer is a unique opportunity to explore the perceptions the local community has of its town, and to get a shared ambition of shaping its future growth.  The plan is a framework for revitalisation and adaptation. It has a multi-layered approach that brings together development strategies, town wide proposals and actions, projects for buildings and open spaces and community-led initiatives.”

The Town Centre First Plan will rely on a phased delivery in which each intervention will unlock the development of further projects and will rely on collaboration between Louth County Council’s ‘Town Team’, public agencies and bodies and private stakeholders.

The local community are invited to attend the official launch of this ambitious plan for Dunleer, on Tuesday 28th May from 3pm to 4pm in the Market House.