The first steps taken to regenerate Killeshandra

Over 60 people attended a meeting in the Killeshandra Community Hall last Thursday night (September 5) to discuss project ideas to develop the town.

The initiative is part of the Killeshandra Town Centre First Plan being delivered by Cavan County Council. It’s being co-ordinated by the council’s Regeneration Officer Caroline Brady in consultation with architecture and urbanism specialists, Studio Myco and local people in the town who want to see it thrive.

Also in attendance on the night were Deputy Brendan Smith (FF), Cllr Aine Smith (FF), Cllr Niamh Brady (FG), Cllr Damien Brady (SF), Cllr John Paul Feeley (FF) and Cllr Brendan Fay (Ind).

The meeting took a community collaboration workshop approach to generating the new projects for the town.

While the night consisted of suggestions and possibilities, with the future unknown, one thing for certain is the vibrant community spirit in the town, the willingness of people to get involved and the well-established community groups, which leaves no doubt that the best ideas will become reality.

Thérèse Teevan has been on the Town Centre First Team since the beginning. She described how this regeneration project has been in the pipeline for years.

“We’re a team but we’re representing a lot of people from different groups,” she outlined.

A lot took place in the run up to Thursday night’s meeting, as Thérèse explained.

“It all started from a Leader funded programme ‘Rejuvenate Killeshandra’, which was a few years ago in the middle of Covid so a lot of our meetings were on zoom.”

Having grown up in the town, left and then returned, Thérèse is passionate about representing the town’s positive aspects making it a place for people to “come back” to.

“It’s good to get away and live in another county but some people want to come back, and what have we to offer [in] Killeshandra?”

“The main street doesn’t show the real picture, there’s a lot of dereliction on mainstreet but it’s quite a wealthy town.

“There’s a lot of industry, there’s a lot of jobs, beautiful surroundings, lovely walks and yet there’s empty and underused buildings on main street. It would just be much nicer if we had a thriving town centre like we used to have,” she reminisced.

Thursday night’s meeting identified what the townspeople believe will make the town vibrant again. Split into groups of around five or six, they were asked to note down the town’s opportunities and weaknesses. Among the opportunities were the strand lake amenity and walkways, which are positive for tourism, the old railway line, the green spaces, the community groups, the various festivals, fleadhs and the St Patrick’s Day parade to name a few. On the challenges side, vacancy and dereliction were widely discussed, with unanimous agreement at one table that the post office was a massive loss to the town. Also on this list was a lack of bus shelters and a call for more Local Link stops and increased frequency. More parking and amenities were also on the wishlist.

The two-hour workshop then moved to the project ideation stage, whereby groups came up with ideas for the town under different headings. Some examples given in the ‘Unlimited Budget’ category ranged from a post office, more seating and spaces for people to meet, an ice-cream shop and a campsite in the vicinity with camping facilities available. When asked to tailor the town to evening use, complaints about the darkness of the streets at night time were voice, which makes for a dreary main street. Under the evening activities banner, suggestions ranged from yoga along the strand to a boat cruise along the river and turning the old Rath Church into a luxurious wedding venue.

Despite the size of the multi-use community centre ideas continued to burst from the walls; a bike rental facility, bakeries, pop-up markets, cycle lanes and footpaths leading out of the town with appropriate street lighting, public toilets, sensory gardens, electric vehicle charging points, a heavy lorry bypass route, a teen cafe, among many others. After the session, all ideas were displayed on the table for other group members to view.

“I think they’re great,” said Thérèse, who walked from “table to table” after the event finished to look at the possible town projects.

“You could see a trend and there’s lots of manageable projects there that with the support from Cavan County Council for the Town First Plan, we will look at those projects and then focus in on those that are high impact and manageable.”

Regeneration Officer Caroline along with members from Studio Myco are now tasked with making these dreams a reality, no mean feat. However, Caroline is in no doubt about the potential of the town.

“There’s a really good community spirit around here, a very good local development group, tidy towns, and even the hall here, we nearly found it difficult to get a night that there wasn’t something on so that’s indicative of the type of community here.”

The Regeneration Officer said it’s important that “community is at the heart” of the regeneration.

“They know what’s best for the town,” she said.

“Killeshandra is no different to any other town, it has the same problems with vacancy, elements of dereliction.

“Back to the community here, I have absolutely no doubt that whatever is put into the plan will be implemented.

“I have no doubt it will be a success.”

Gavin Campbell from Studio Myco gave a rough timescale for when the town could see some of the projects come to fruition. In collaboration with Ms Brady, they will draw up a report, which they hope to make available in early to mid November. At this stage, the community will have a chance to give a final say on the project.

“Being realistic the longer term regeneration projects that need things like planning, funding, land ownership, all that comes into it so they can take five years, 10 years, 15 years but what we’re trying to do is have a series of larger projects and smaller projects.

“Some of the quick ones could be really small projects that make a big difference,” said Mr Campbell, with Ms Brady giving examples of a mural or planting around the town. Based on his few hours spent with the community, the architect also has a positive outlook for the town’s future.

“You can tell that people are genuinely interested, they really took the bull by the horns in some way and dived into it.

“It can be difficult doing these sorts of events and workshops,” Gavin expressed.

“It was a joy to do this one because everyone really did jump in.”