Ambitious new masterplan is designed to see Moate thrive

Despite the fact that 57% of people in Moate live “within a walkable distance of the town centre” a majority of them (62%) drive into the town centre to go shopping and avail of local services.

That was one of the findings from the extensive consultation process engaged in with the local community over the past six months as part of the Moate Town Centre First Plan, the final report of which was delivered to members at the June meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District last week.

Moate was one of 26 towns around the country to be selected for funding under the new government scheme, which aims to tackle rural dereliction and revitalise town centres around the country.The national launch of the scheme took place in Moate in February of last year by Minister Heather Humphreys and funding of €100,000 was awarded to the town to support the development of a unique masterplan.

A representative of the consultants appointed to the project, Allis and Morrison, who are based in London, was due to give a Powerpoint presentation of the Masterplan for Moate to the municipal district members last week, but a technical glitch resulted in the town regeneration officer, Jason McCormack, presenting the final draft of the plan instead.

The masterplan revealed that the lack of parking in Moate and the high rate of derelict and vacant buildings are the top two concerns for local people, followed closely by concerns over the lack of variety in shops and services available.

Among the many comments made by local people during the two periods of public consultation – in January and March of this year – was that one of the key additions for the town would be a new supermarket. Locals also flagged their concerns that any additions to the town, such as new trees, planting or the creation of green spaces would not be maintained in the long term and stated that the responsibility for maintenance “currently falls on a very small number of local people”.

Feedback from the public consultation also revealed that 67% of people living in the vicinity of Moate visit the town daily to go to local shops or to avail of services with a further 21% visiting the town between two to five times a week.

The town’s Main Street was the focus for many of the issues and ideas raised throughout the consultation process, including the lack of parking, the need to tackle the disrepair and dereliction of many buildings, and making the street safer for walking and cycling.

In an effort to address these issues, among the ideas proposed are new places to pause with seating and greenery; potential for tree planting; more town centre parking; shopfront enhancements to tackle dereliction and improve appearance and refurbishment of building to restore town centre living.

Three key projects have been identified in the masterplan, namely the station buildings, the old bank and the old post office. The old Bank of Ireland building is described as being “centrally located” with a number of public amenities close by, and would make an ideal location for a co-working space, according to the final masterplan. The potential for a café and a front terrace on the ground floor is also mentioned.

The station buildings present Moate with “an opportunity to develop and enhance the tourism offering” in the town, according to the masterplan, while at the same time restoring the architectural heritage of the former railway buildings.

The masterplan notes that, as the reputation for the greenway grows and the route is expanded to connect from Galway to Dublin, Moate could establish itself as “a significant tourist stop, supporting other aspects of the local visitor economy, including accommodation, shopping, food and drink.”

The old post office has the potential for a number of different uses, including community, co-working space or a café/restaurant and gallery, whilst at the same time retaining the historic identity of the building, which has “an attractive late 19th century character and form,” according to the masterplan. The report notes that the high placement of the windows in the building would not lend itself to retail options.

Director of Services, Barry Kehoe, extended the thanks of the council to the Town Centre First Team for Moate for all their hard work on the Masterplan. He also thanked the many volunteers who had given of their time to engage in the public consultation process, and said Cllrs Tom Farrell and Vinny McCormack had also worked hard on the project.

“Our next job is to secure funding and to use our powers to bring as many buildings as possible back into use in Moate,” said Mr Kehoe who described the town as “a great town with no shortage of volunteers”.

When Minister Heather Humphreys travelled to Moate in February of last year for the national launch of the Town Centre First initiative, she said the plan would bring together "key stakeholders" from business, community and local government, and would "arm them with the tools and resources they need to make their towns thrive".

Only time will tell if the hugely ambitious Town Centre First Masterplan for Moate will result in the town thriving into the future.