Abbeylands development will ‘open up’ town – Walsh
Cathaoirleach of the Cavan Belturbet MD, Cllr Patricia Walsh, enjoyed this campaign trail more than any other and is thrilled with the result of last month's local elections that saw her retain her seat on the local authority.
“I’ve a great team around me, they were rearing to go 24/7,” Cllr Walsh reported.
The Fianna Fáil rep said is it a “great honour” to be nominated as Cathaoirleach, a role she hopes to use to improve the county town.
She looks forward to the realisation of the Abbeylands development, which will see a ‘Changing Places' public toilet facility, which offers larger supported facilities for people with complex care needs, giving individuals the proper space and equipment to take care of their personal hygiene.
The project will also include an outdoor performance space for the town.
The ambitious plans were sanctioned in 2022 having attracted half a million euro in funding, and a further €250,000 from the Outdoor Space fund.
The work was in tandem with the council's Abbeylands redevelopment plans, for which Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien, awarded almost €14.5M.
A new Remote Working Hub and a Community Services Centre are to be developed at the former McIntyre's building on Abbey Street and Donohoe's Foodfare respectively; while new streets will link to Main Street and Bridge Street, creating over 4,500m² of new pedestrianised public space.
A new toilet facility will also be added to the project, in addition to a full planned renovation of the existing public toilet facility located opposite Tesco at Townparks.
“Hopefully it will make a huge difference to the town,” Cllr Walsh said, adding that it will “open up” Cavan Town.
“It’s great to see some works being done and it progressing,” she said, adding that she is looking forward to the project getting underway this year. She praised the “tremendous work” of the Town Team and the Tidy Towns Committee who look after the upkeep of the town, providing seating and walkways.
Something Cllr Walsh is hoping to improve this term is the length of time it is taking for children with complex needs to be assessed.
“There were a lot of parents, that was a major concern,” she said, referring to her time out canvassing.
“Housing is another issue,” she said, adding that “we have come a long way” since 2019 when houses were boarded up around the town.
“Thankfully they are all homes, people are living in them.”
“There’s a lot of good stuff happening but there is a lot more work to be done,” concluded Cllr Walsh.