Newtown Getting That New Town Smell

Newtown yesterday, just after lunch…

atest press release from Newtown Mount Kennedy Tidy Towns, issued on Wednesday, March 6th 2024…

There was a boost for Newtown this week as it received €30,000 from the Town Centre First Government scheme to develop a plan to revitalise the town centre.

The Town Centre First initiative will see millions of euro spent on tackling dereliction and creating new community spaces, with twenty-six rural towns having been approved in the first round of funding, including Blessington in Wicklow.

This week an additional 26 successful towns, one for each county, were allocated €30,000 each to complete their redevelopment plan, including Newtown. The scheme in Wicklow is being led by the Town Regeneration Officer for Wicklow County Council Deirdre Whitfield, with input from the Newtown Town Team and Community Forum.

Welcoming the news, Social Democrats local election candidate and Newtown resident Danny Alvey said: “Newtownmountkennedy is one of the fastest growing small towns in Wicklow, if not all of Ireland. Between the Census in 2016 and 2022, the town grew by 25% from 2,835 to 3,539. It’s now the 7th most populous town in all of county Wicklow but falls far short of the other towns when it comes to services or amenities and the range of outlets along the main street.

“The result is most residents leave the town to do their shopping, eat out or use services like banks and libraries and this takes from the sense of community and town spirit. This funding for developing the town centre is very welcome.

“I look forward to working with the Council and all of the local groups involved in the funding to give residents and everyone in the community an opportunity to input to these future plans.”