Laois village gets €500,000 for playground and multi use games area

Three rural Laois communities are getting almost €1 million to revitalise their town and village centres, including half a million to build the first playground in Ballyroan, on the grounds of a vacated and vandalised school.

Ballyroan village near Portlaoise is to get a playground, a multi-use games area, carparking and a landscaped communal area, all paid with a grant from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

Mountrath is getting €250,000 to regenerate the town centre facility which hosts the monthly farmers market, as well as public realm works in the town square and landscape improvements.

Rathdowney is getting the precise sum of €218,119 to install streetscape enhancement works in the town centre, and upgrade public lighting.

The €968,119 was announced on Monday, April 29 by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.

Deputy Charlie Flanagan welcomed the money for Laois.

“This funding is extremely welcome news for Laois, especially residents of Ballyroan, Mountrath and Rathdowney.  These excellent initiatives will ensure our smaller towns and villages are more attractive and sustainable places in which to live and work.

“The benefit of previous funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme is now being felt countrywide and I am delighted today that even more areas in Laois will benefit from the funding.

 “I want to thank the Local Authorities for engaging with local communities in these instances to help them to identify good projects which have merited support," Dep Flanagan said.

Ballyroan's playground grant does not include renovating the boarded up school building for public use, planned also by the committee. 

Fine Gael Cllr Barry Walsh is a member of the Ballyroan Community Development Association who are driving the project.

"This is a transformative project for the village of Ballyroan. It will provide an inclusive space in the village for everyone to enjoy. It is less than two years since a public meeting was held to discuss the future of the old school site which had fallen into considerable disrepair and had become an eyesore.

"In that time we secured the purchase of the site by Laois County Council for the community. We have been awarded €50,000 in feasibility funding to consult the residents and develop the plans. We secured Part 8 planning permission, and submitted a successful application for funding. I want to pay tribute to everyone who has worked so hard to make this project a reality," said Cllr Walsh.

Scoil Faoláin Naofa was sold by the Catholic Church to Laois County Council earlier this year for €175,000. The building fell into dereliction after it was vacated in 2016 when the new mixed school opened, Scoil Eoin Phoil II Naofa.  Residents had contacted the Leinster Express / Laois Live in concern at its derelict vandalised condition.