Laois council to invest €23 million in growing big town

Laois County Council is to invest some €23 million into one growing town over the coming three years.

Portarlington is earmarked for multiple projects to improve tourism and business and to prevent floods.

€1.386m will be spent on the regeneration of Portarlington Market House and Square, a project already underway.

There will be €2m spent on the Portarlington Regeneration Project.

Another €1.5m will go to develop a new business park, on part of the site of the former Avon factory on Canal Road, recently bought by Laois County Council.

Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland said they are looking for the maximum grant possible under the Just Transition funding for the Avon site.

"We made an application for Just Transition funding. We plan to move some concrete off site. We spent €0.5m on the purchase and will spend €1m on other works. There is a cap of €1 so we said we'd try and gain as much as we can," he said.

Some €15m will be invested to build the town's Flood Relief Scheme, to prevent further floods from the River Barrow which forms the border of Laois and Offaly cutting through the town centre.

Portarlington is also set to share in a €3.5m pot of money along with Donaghmore workhouse, and the Rock of Dunamase. In Port the money will be spent on a new walkway linking the Derryounce Lakes amenity into Market Square.

It will get a further €1m for traffic management.

The leisure centre along with Portlaoise will share in €1.325m of investments in the coming three years. 

The library is planned to get an extension, expected to cost €250,000.

The Director of Services for libraries is Donal Brennan.

"Portarlington is expanding, and the library with it. For a library of its size we would love to have a better closed off space instead of using partitions. We hope to apply this to build an extension, given how the town is growing. If state grants open for applications then we will be in a position to apply," he said.

Sinn Féin Cllr Aidan Mullins welcomed the plans.

"I welcome the sizeable investment for the business park, I'm delighted to see it. It's good to see the €15m for the flood scheme, we should have got through the design, planning and I hope by 2026 it is completed. I welcome the funding for Market Square where work is in progress," he said.

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The figures were revealed by Laois County Council in it's Indicative Capital Programme 2024 - 2026, with a total expected to be spent on capital projects of €315.5million.

Most of the money is expected to come from Government funding and grants, at €278.9m.  Another €3 will be raised from development levies. The council will directly pay for €17.4 million of the works, with €7.1m to come from other sources.