Kildare County Council Publishes Renewal Master Plans for Ardclough & Leixlip
19th March 2024: Kildare County Council has today published Master Plans for two areas in the Celbridge Leixlip Municipal District – the first, a Rural Settlement Renewal Master Plan for Ardclough, along with a Renewal Master Plan for Leixlip Town.
Members of the Celbridge Leixlip Municipal District joined members of the Kildare County Council executive team to launch the plans for the future development of Ardclough and Leixlip Town, both funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development under the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Ardclough Rural Settlement Renewal Master Plan
The Master Plan for Ardclough aims to increase the attractiveness of the area and as a result increase its sustainability as a place in which to live and work. It also aims to enhance the area’s environment, amenities and biodiversity in the interests of residents, businesses, and visitors. The plan sets out to promote the potential for tourism and as a centre for culture and local heritage, thus enhancing the sense of identity - physically and socially.
Five key local opportunities are identified in the plan:
- Reconsider Ardclough’s green space to establish a stronger identity along the main road, and also to enhance local and pedestrian amenity at its core, including rationalizing vehicular access and parking, higher quality footpaths, provision of street furniture, and landscaping.
- Reduce the size of junction with main road, and introduce legible change in character from main road to settlement core.
- Extend Village Green improvements so as to embrace Ardclough Village Centre facility, and continue to support the community garden.
- Consider pedestrian facilities and safety at and on the approach to Henry Bridge, with connectivity to Grand Canal tow path.
- Create a more legible streetscape, incorporating traffic calming, enhanced pedestrian facilities and safety at school zone area.
Leixlip Town Renewal Master Plan
The Delivery Plan for Leixlip identifies realistic and achievable projects that will enhance existing spaces and assets across Leixlip. Some projects relate to major transformative sites that already have a clear trajectory, but provide additional focus with the aim of accelerating delivery, while others suggest improvements to the town fabric to improve and build upon the existing public realm.
The key delivery projects identified in the plan are:
Main Street & Key Spaces - Creating welcoming entrances to the town through the inclusion of raised tables, addressing the busy nature of the road to highlight pedestrian and cycle priority and in turn help with traffic calming to the length of the main street. Also includes major improvements to key spaces such as; Arthur Guinness Square, Captain’s Hill & Ralph Square, Town Thresholds East & West
Wonderful Barn – Adaptive re-use and restoration of the site as an integrated tourism and amenity destination
Heritage Trail & Play Interventions - Reinforcing the existing river-walk with upgrades to lighting and ground finishes. Punctuating the route with river terraces, to align with main street connections and to provide views to key buildings and along the river. The extension of the pedestrian connection from William Roantree Park to the Liffey Bridge and the inclusion of a new play trail along the river walk
Cycle Infrastructure Improvements - Maintaining existing cycling infrastructure and creating new connections and cycle routes around the town, in particular connecting the wonderful barn to Leixlip.
Metropolitan Workshop and MacCabe Durney Barnes were commissioned by Kildare County Council to preparean urban design analysis and a town renewal plan for Leixlip. Jonny McKenna of Metropolitan Workshop said; “Metropolitan Workshop were delighted to work with such an ambitious client and the Town Renewal Plan demonstrates Kildare County Council’s commitment to delivering a high quality town centre for all. The implementation strategy is based on a series of individual proposals which can be brought forward either together, or separately, with each piece fitting into a larger vision placing pedestrians and cyclists at its heart.”
Speaking about the plans for Leixlip and Ardclough, Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council said; “The publication of plans for Ardclough and Leixlip is the result of detailed consultation and ongoing collaboration between the local community and Kildare County Council. Plans like these are hugely important to guide the sustainable development of these areas and their attractiveness as places to live and work.”
The Ardclough Rural Settlement Master Plan and Leixlip Town Renewal Master Plan are available to view in full on our website, visit
https://kildarecoco.ie/AllServices/Housing/PublicRealm/TownRenewalMasterPlans/
