Published: Wednesday, 31st March, 2010 5:00pm

Real sense of purpose as Julianstown envisages a vibrant future

The Julianstown Community Garden which has received a cash boost from An Taisce.
Pic by==: 97

Julianstown can grow into to an attractive, safe and sustainable village, which will be home to a vibrant, artistic and enterprising community, welcoming to all including families and young people, a public meeting in the village heard last week.

The well-attended Julianstown Village Design public consultation took place last Thursday night when locals saw a presentation on the 'work in progress' on the future design of the village of Julianstown, a programmed funded by the National Heritage Council.

Urban landscaper James Hennessy of the Paul Hogarth Company described the many unique opportunities available to the village. On the positive side, he explained how its heritage and setting could play a major role in developing its sustainable future. He said Julianstown needed a centre, or a 'heart of the village', and confronting the issues of derelict sites and traffic congestion were harsh realities that had to be faced.

He also mentioned that they should move away from the idea of Julianstown as merely a roadway and it should be referred to as a street. He also highlighted the progress to date and, while there was a major body of work now in place, it was by no means 'set in stone'.

Mr Hennessy said that last week's meeting was to give people the opportunity to hear what had been done to date, but to also allow them put forward ideas of their own for the future of the village.

Pupils from Whitecross National School outlined their own visions for Julianstown in 2020. While a lot of them outlined their hopes of 'walkways on the river Nanny, coffee shops and playgrounds', another spoke of a five-star restaurant at Ballygarth Castle and the fact that 'Julianstown Golf Club' could play host to the 2020 Irish Open.

When the opportunity came for the wider public to voice their own ideas, there was little doubt that the future of the village lay in its potential as a tourism and community hub. Some of the recommendations outlined were: better footpaths and lighting, untolled exits from the M1, feature lighting on the bridge, the developing river walks and heritage trails, using the Old Mill site for cafés and shops, a new school extension with sports facilities and playground, a long-term bypass and developing the Nanny for watersports.

"With 23,000 cars going through the village on a daily basis, there is a major commercial opportunity not being utilised," said Alma Delany, Julianstown Residents' PRO. "Now is the time for Juilianstown's potential to be realised and we are remaining focused in producing a document that can be successfully fed into the local area plan".

Senior planner with Meath County Council, Wendy Bagnall, spoke of how delighted the council was to be supporting the project and reinforced the potential behind it. Julianstown resident, Cllr Sirena Campbell, spoke of the great sense of unity the process had created in the village and how she would love the process to be rolled out to more villages in the area.

The next stage of the process will see a presentation of the draft on 13th May, which will take place again at The Gallops in Julianstown. The final document will then be officially launched in August 2010 to coincide with National Heritage Week.

Meanwhile, a bid by Julianstown Residents' Association (JDRA) to improve the local environment has been given a boost thanks to a cash injection by An Taisce.

The funding will enable the group to create a wild flower meadow in the community garden and also develop a fruit and vegetable area for the use of the whole community.

Through the Green Communities Project, An Taisce is able to offer financial assistance to community groups which have demonstrated a commitment to restoring their communities to their former glory by providing funds to volunteer groups to help cover the costs of insurance, tools, equipment, publicity and training.

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