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Home , Charles Kickham, County Tipperary, River Ara, South Tipperary, Tipperary (town)

TOWN AND VILLAGE RENEWAL SCHEME 2018 DETAILED PROJECT PROPOSAL RE: TIPPEARY TOWN

Component 1: Market Yard Enhancement in Town Introduction & Overview/Description of Town The area of this proposed project is within the Town Centre of Tipperary Town which has a population 4,979 according to Census 2016. Tipperary or Tiobraid Árann in Irish means “The Well of Ara”, a reference to the which flows through the town. It is a market town, traditionally having depended on the agricultural hinterland to support commerce and retail activity. Today, due to a lack of industry and commerce, the town is still largely dependent on the farming community for its economic survival. This project has long been an objective of the former Tipperary Town Council with plans initially drawn up in 2005 under the “Tipperary Town Building Façade Improvement Scheme & Approach Road Improvement Scheme”. A key strand of this plan was the development of a spine in the Town Centre from Approach Sign to Tipperary the Tipperary Excel building on Mitchell Street to the River Ara through the Main Street of the town. This project forms a phased part of this plan, work has already been completed on Kickham Street which included the creation of a high quality civic plaza area at the monument and introduced a one way traffic system on Kickham Street. This was followed by the widening and paving of the pedestrian footpath from this plaza to the link road and adjoining River Ara along with the relocation of the pedestrian crossing on Main Street to facilitate pedestrian safety and accessibility. This phase of the project will upgrade the Market Yard as a pedestrian Well on Aherlow Road into Town priority area.

Tipperary Town lies in the west Christ the King Statue of just 4 miles from the beautifully secluded Glen of Aherlow between the Galtee Mountains and the Slievenamuck Hills with magnificent panoramic views. Sited on the beautiful River Ara, Tipperary was a dairy farming centre that began as an Anglo- Norman settlement at the end of the 12th Century. John O’Leary the leader was born here, as was Charles Kickham, the novelist, another fenian who has a bronze statue erected to him in the town.

Charles Kickham Monument

The town lies on the N24 to National Primary route which runs through Main Street, Tipperary and the N74 Cashel Tipperary Road which runs eastwards towards Cashel. This results in huge volumes of traffic, including heavy goods vehicles, travelling through the centre of town every day; this has, and continues to, significantly hinder Tipperary’s potential growth. This is in addition to significant job losses and lack of investment for decades. The town is a RAPID designated urban centre. Efforts have been made to improve the attractiveness and vibrancy of the town centre; Tipperary through the Cashel Tipperary Municipal District Office has run its Streetscape Enhancement Scheme since 2015 offering grants to businesses in the Primary Retail Area to encourage them to improve the appearance of their properties. There has been a significant

uptake of this scheme.

Some Examples of Before and After Photos under the Streetscape Enhancement Scheme in Tipperary Town Centre

Scope of Project & Linkages to previous Town & Village/REDZ funded projects This project will be managed by Cashel Tipperary Municipal District of . The project is supported by Tipperary Town Centre Forum which comprises representatives from Tipperary Chamber of Commerce (TIRD), Tipperary Tidy Towns Committee, Tipperary Heritage Company (Excel), Town Appearance & Engagement Committee, Town Marketing Committee, Tourism Culture & Heritage Committee and Jobs for Tipperary Group. The Market Yard Enhancement is part of the phased Town Centre Improvement View of the Market Yard from Excel Scheme (detailed in Tipperary Town & Environs Development Plan 2013 – 2019) for Tipperary Town which will provide linkage from the Tipperary Excel Heritage Centre to the River Ara. This phase of the project which will upgrade the Market Yard as a pedestrian priority area will comprise: works to include new paved area; repaving of the existing area; and the installation of a new pedestrian crossing linking The Excel Heritage Centre (which now incorporates new Tipperary Town Library facility) with the Market Yard and the Town Centre; introduction of street furniture & planting/environmental enhancement.

View of Market Yard from between the Banks The project is part of a phased plan for the town centre, work has been completed on Kickham Street, that phase of the overall plan included the creation of a high quality civic plaza area at the Charles Kickham monument and introduced a one way traffic system on Kickham Street.

Kickham Plaza

This was followed by the widening and paving of the pedestrian footpath from this plaza to

the link road and adjoining River Ara

View of the now one-way Kickham Street from Link Road

The works also included the relocation of the pedestrian crossing on Main Street to facilitate pedestrian safety and accessibility.

New Pedestrian Crossing on Main Street

With the assistance of REDZ funding in 2015, Tipperary County Council commissioned a sculpture responding to the theme of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”, the famous song that has made the name Tipperary known worldwide and also to serve as a focal point for visitors to Tipperary Town. The sculpture was installed at the entrance to the Market Yard, a Rose Compass, designed by Ms. Lynn Kirkham, mounted on a steel shaft and set in limestone; it

"Long Way to Tipperary" Sculpture is a visual marker that indicates a point in the world, where visitors and locals alike may take a photo as a reminder of a place and time. This is located at the entrance to the Market Yard from Main Street and is adjacent to these proposed works

Project Programme/Delivery Timeframe The proposed project is subject to the planning process pursuant to Part 8 of the Planning & Development Regulations 2001 as amended. It is anticipated that this process will be completed in Quarter 4, 2018 with works to commence in late Quarter 4, 2018/early Quarter 1, 2019 and will be completed by Quarter 2, 2019.

Component 2: The development of a Community/ Digital Innovation Hub in Tipperary Town

Introduction A group of interested parties have come together as “Jobs 4 Tipp” to try and create an improved future for Tipperary Town. One of the projects being pursued and led by Jobs 4 Tipp is the provision of a Digital Hub in the town. The town has a very wide hinterland of villages and rural areas that are poorly served with broadband facilities. The proposed Community Digital Innovation Hub will provide opportunities for connectivity, education and commerce in Tipperary that are not currently available.

The intention is that the activity in this Hub would generate a sense of creativity and innovation which will facilitate the creation of jobs in the town.

One aspect of this hub would be ‘hot-desking’ which we believe is a badly needed facility in the current digital age of working from remote locations. Providing this type of work environment with ultra-fast fibre broadband capability will bring people into the town as opposed to having a long daily commute to a workplace. Many companies and Government Agencies are encouraging remote working for their employees with some companies having even moved to 100% work-from-home operations such as Shopify which has a 300-plus workforce in . In order to cater for this market, access to fibre broadband will become a ‘must-have’. Provision of fibre broadband in the Hub is a key driver of the project.

A second aspect of the hub would be to facilitate community e-learning and e-commerce. This encompasses providing training for on-line literacy, providing access to high speed broadband not available in the rural community and providing access to HEAnet for student’s study and research facilities. A further step on this stream would be enabling local retail business to become active on-line traders, thereby broadening their customer base to the virtual shopping world. A recent survey (note 1) found that 20% of SMEs in Ireland have no online presence and off those that have an on-line presence, only 25% engage in e- commerce. Considering that the European on-line retail sector is growing at 15% per annum, businesses will be left behind if they don’t engage with the full potential of on-line selling. Through community e-learning and enabling e-commerce, the Hub will help businesses to be ‘future-ready’.

The third aspect is to provide start-up opportunities through building an innovative networking environment. Having the appropriate office space and broadband connectivity together with supports will facilitate an entrepreneurial spirit within the Hub. Many of today’s start-up originate from Hubs where fast broadband access is often the key enabler on the road to future success. It is envisioned that by having like-minded individuals co- located in the Hub, this will generate interactions which will promote success. Provision of entrepreneurial support such as ‘start your own business’ courses and case-study presentations are areas we’d see being accommodated in the Centre.

Overview/Description of Town Tipperary Town is located in the western part of County Tipperary mid-way between Limerick City and , 25 miles from both. It is a market town situated in the heart of the in close proximity to the Glen of Aherlow. The town lies at the intersection of the National Primary and Secondary routes the N24 and N74. The town is 3 miles from Limerick Junction railway station with hourly trains to both and Cork. There is also a regular service to Limerick and a service to Waterford.

The town services a broad hinterland of West Tipperary with education, medical, retail, farming, administrative and recreational facilities. These facilities are at a very high standard and are a great asset to the town and the surrounding area. The population of the town itself is 4,979 but increases to approx. 18,000 when the dependent hinterland is taken into account.

Unfortunately, Tipperary Town tops the 2016 Deprivation index for South County Tipperary. The Pobal HP Deprivation index provides a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area using data compiled from various censuses. Tipperary town scores -19 compared to the National mean of -4.2. (A score is given to the area based on a national average of zero and ranging from approximately -40, being the most disadvantaged to +40, being the most affluent). The -19 the lowest score in and some of the constituents of this number include male unemployment at 33% (female 25%), 15% with higher education, local authority rented houses 23%. Tipperary town is the worst performer in South Tipperary on each of these measures. As well as the statistical evidence, the visual evidence of the economic state of the town is very evident with the number of vacant properties in the town centre and the loss of a number on indigenous businesses in the last few years. Outside of retail and services, the only substantial employer in the town is Tipperary Co-op. The town is RAPID designated which places the town in the 51 most disadvantaged communities in the country

Despite these challenges, the positives of the area include unrivalled rail and road connectivity, magnificent country-side, a vibrant farming environment, unique recreational educational and community facilities, as well as many voluntary groups working to make the area a better place.

Linkages/Leveraging by the project with other schemes/operated by Government Departments/Agencies The project brings together a number of different organisations and Agencies in order to achieve the anticipated end result. In order to get the Hub in place, the promotors are working closely with the Tipperary County Council Broadband Officer and the County Council Business Development Manager. There has been regular contact with the Local Development Company regarding the Rural Development Programme (LEADER) and the promotors of the Digital Skills for Citizens Scheme. Locally the initiative is being supported by collaboration between Jobs 4 Tipp, Tipperary Town Chamber of Commerce, Tipperary Heritage Group, Local Tourism groups and other local business interests.

With broadband accessibility being a key driver, one of the initial initiatives will be to host training under the Digital Skills for Citizens scheme. To this end, Jobs 4 Tipp has been in contact with Ballyhoura Development and Age Action Ireland regarding running such courses. Such training might be of particular interest to the local farming community with their ever-growing requirements for on-line paperwork.

This project fits well with creating awareness of the National Broadband Plan and promoting the significant benefits of high-speed broadband network services in order to ensure for a strong demand for these services when they are available in the area. Engagement with Tipperary County Council and the local communities will be important. This would be consistent with the Governmant’s Action Plan for Rural Development. The Hub could act as a catalyst to build familiarity and capability for internet/broadband usage. Tipperary is the 13th most rural county in Ireland with 58% of its population living in rural areas compared to the State average of 37%. As Tipperary is also sparsely populated with 37 people per km2 (8th most sparse in the country), there is a significant challenge for network providers to roll out broadband in the county. A Hub located in Tipperary Town has even additional value given these challenges to individual broadband access.

In promoting Tipperary Town as a home-working location the project will take the lead from the Tipperary County Council 'Tipperary, The Place, The Time' Marketing Campaign highlighting the county as an attractive place to live and work.

Another potential link of the Hub to Government initiatives is through the eGovernment Strategy 2017-2020. Many people in the Tipperary area are not in a position to use digital public services through lack of broadband capability or lack of internet knowledge. The Hub will be ideally positioned to help close that gap.

It is envisaged that having the Hub up and running will make use of vacant space in the Technology Centre and bring a new income and energy to the centre. Also, it is noted that ETBI (Eductaion and Training Boards Ireland) have offices within the Technology Centre. There could be excellent opportunities to make use of their expertise within the Hub in supporting some of their initiatives such as Youthreach, Community Education and Adult Literacy programmes

Description of the Project and the Works/Activity to be carried out The project is the creation of a Community Digital Hub in Tipperary Town.

The development group have researched the feasibility of such a centre and the indications are that a broad-based facility covering hot desking, community IT, training and entrepreneur incubation would have a user base consistent with a successful model followed in other communities.

After looking at various premises around the town, the implementation group decided that the most efficient approach to get the project completed in a timely and cost efficient manner would be to locate at the Tipperary Technology Centre at Rossana Road, Tipperary Town. Part of this building is vacant which is approx. 3,500 sq feet of serviced office space and is available for rent. The premise already has a number of offices in use and is located in an area which is vibrant with business and educational activity. It has canteen facilities and extensive off-street car parking in place. The plan would be to take a section of the building which is self-contained and ideally set-up for the expected activities.

In order to turn the space into the planned Digital Hub, we will need to: a) provide a connection in this space to High Speed Broadband. This will require cabling to be run from a cabinet on the road into the building. Discussion with the Tipperary Broadband officer and the National Broadband provider, ENet, indicate that this can be provided at a minimum cost; b) fit-out of the office space. The office space would need desks, partitions and cable connections to be put in place. The space is well equipped with power connections and did serve as a call centre previously so the work involved to get up to ‘Hub’ standard is very achievable; c) put in place a comprehensive marketing and promotional strategy in order to attract the business and activity envisaged.

Project Programme/Delivery Timeframe As outlined above, using vacant space in the Tipperary Technology Centre allows a fast turnaround in terms of getting the Hub up and running. Initial financing for rent/service charges, broadband connectivity and office space fit-out will be the primary objective in terms of getting up and running. Once finance is in place, an outlined project plan would be:

Month 2 - Agreement with the landlord of the Technology Centre on a rental contract - Agreement with landlord on works to be completed Month 5 - Broadband connection Month 7 - Space fit-out complete

On-going: promote usage of facility.  Digital skills for Citizens;  Media/Digital media awareness of facility;  Linkage to bodies experienced in running Hubs.