Abbeyleix Sustainable Communities Plan
The Sustainable Community Plan for Abbeyleix was a pilot project supported with national government funding. The plan is a model for enhanced public participation in plan making at the local scale; the community were involved from the earliest inception of the plan making process and rep resentatives from the community were appointed to the project steering group.
The Sustainable Community Plan was not limited to the traditional remit of a land -use plan. Strategies and proposals cove red a range of scales; from town wide tourism and marketing campaigns to specific projects for public realm and green infrastructure.
A central theme of the plan is for Abbeyleix to set itself apart as a model heritage town reflecting its planned origins and heritage assets. The plan emphasises the need to breathe new life into the fabric of old buildings on the town’s Market Square and Main St. as a sustainable catalyst for economic regeneration.
A number of strategic enhancements to the network of pedestrian and cycle routes were proposed to complete a town wide green loop. The green loop can operate as a; heritage trail for visitors, an exercise trail and safer route to school for children.
The plan views the town and its hinterland landscapes as a single planned unit and sets out measures to sustain and improve this r elationship of town and country.
