Part 8 - Living in Carlingford Visiting Carlingford Regeneration Scheme, Carlingford, Co. Louth

Closed18 Apr, 2023, 9:00am - 30 May, 2023, 5:00pm

Louth County Council
Comhairle Contae Lú

Part XI of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended)

Part 8, Article 81 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended)

Living in Carlingford Visiting Carlingford Regeneration Scheme, Carlingford, Co. Louth

Louth County Council hereby gives notice of its intention to carry out public realm enhancements to Carlingford Town centre, The Ghan Road, the R173 and the Liberties areas within the greater Carlingford area as consisting of:

Upgrade of footpath materials and widths to give greater comfort to pedestrian traffic;
Traders Facilities;
Upgrade of traffic and pedestrian management within the town to give greater emphasis to pedestrians and create a clear hierarchy that puts pedestrians before vehicular traffic within the town centre This will be achieved by reducing road carriageway widths, widening footways, creating shared surfaces and inclusion of tactile paving at crossing points;
Traffic calming ramps and pedestrian crossings;
Demolition of existing toilet block and construction of a new one;
Resurfacing of existing road pavements;
New railings, bollards to discourage illegal parking;
Bicycle parking;
Street furniture including bins and seats;
New trees and vegetation;
New signage;
New/replacement of functional street lighting. New feature lighting in the form of strip lighting to be introduced to some pedestrian areas and tall feature lights will be used in a functional manner at the civic and park areas;
Public lighting;
Removal of some existing car parking and provision of 63 car parking spaces, of which a minimum of 5% will be accessible parking bays i.e. a reduction (by 57 no. spaces) in car parking within the town centre area;
Removal of existing public tennis courts and associated walls;
New utility services/upgrading of existing services (if required), including watermains, foul, storm and water drainage, ESB services, WiFi, Broadband and ducting also the undergrounding of existing overhead cables where possible.

The public realm improvements within the town centre area of Carlingford as set out above will result in a reduction of car parking spaces and the change of use of an existing tarmac public tennis court area to become a new public realm focal point. To mitigate the potential negative impacts of these changes, Louth County Council are proposing to construct a new car park facility. The proposed car park and associated works are within the Liberties area of Carlingford, within approximately 550m of Carlingford Town centre and will effect the Ghan Road and the R176 within its vicinity and will include:

148 no. car parking spaces including accessible parking bays, potential electric car charging parking bays, parent and child parking bays. Parking bays to be constructed of permeable paving block setts;
2 no. new porous asphalt public tennis courts, complete with lighting and fencing (approx. 5m high). Tennis court drainage to consist of filter drain system connecting to closed pipe network;
New gully and pipe drainage network tying into the existing network on Ghan Road;
New ESB substation, comprising of an above ground steel cabinet of dimensions approx. 2.6m x 2.2m x 2.0m;
Public lighting, ducting for communications and electrical services requirements;
Pedestrian network including concrete footpaths connecting to the existing footpath network on the Ghan Road. A linkage to the existing footpath network along the R176 will be provided and a proposed new pedestrian crossing point to provide a continuous linkage for pedestrians into Carlingford town centre from the proposed car park along this route;
Internal asphalt road network with road markings;
Bus set down bays and campervan parking;
Landscaping.

In accordance with Article 81 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 as amended, Louth County Council has concluded from a preliminary examination pursuant to the provisions of article 120(1)(b)(i) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 as amended that there is no real likelihood of significant effects on the environment arising from the proposed development and that an Environmental Impact Assessment is not required.

Where any person considers that the proposed development would be likely to have significant effects on the environment, he or she may, at any time before the expiration of 4 weeks beginning on the date of publication of this notice, apply in accordance with the provisions of article 120 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 as amended to An Bord Pleanála for a screening determination as to whether the development would be likely to have such effects.

In accordance with the provisions of article 250 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 as amended, Louth County Council has carried out a screening of the proposed development to assess, in view of best scientific knowledge, if the development, individually or in combination with other plans or projects, would be likely to have a significant effect on a European site. Accordingly, Louth County Council has determined that the proposed development would not be likely to have a significant effect on a European site.

Plans and particulars of the proposed development may be inspected or purchased, at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, from Tuesday, 18^th April 2023 until Tuesday, 16^th May 2023 (inclusive) at the offices of Louth County Council at:

Louth County Council, County Hall, Millennium Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth.
(Inspection and purchase - during public opening hours between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday)
Carlingford Library, Newry Street, Carlingford, A91 N226
(Inspection only - during public opening hours, Monday – Closed, Tuesday 10am-1pm; 2pm-5pm; 6pm-8pm, Wednesday 10am-1pm; 2pm-5pm, Thursday closed, Friday 10am-1pm; 2pm-5pm, Saturday 10am-1pm)

Plans and particulars are also available to view online at www.louthcoco.ie

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposed development, dealing with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area in which the development would be situated, clearly marked “Living in Carlingford Visiting Carlingford Regeneration Scheme” may be made in writing to the undersigned at Louth County Council, County Hall, Millennium Centre, Dundalk, before 5.00 pm on Tuesday, 30^th May 2023.

Dated this 18^th April 2023

Olivia McCormack, Senior Executive Officer
Placemaking and Physical Development
Louth County Council