Great progress being made on enhancement project at Tipperary Hills

As most people will know, work is underway at the Tipperary Hills in Tipperary Town. Tipperary County Council was awarded €500,000 under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme towards the enhancement of the much-loved public park in early 2022.

The €0.5M investment from the Department of Rural and Community Development will be matched by a further contribution of €125,000 from Tipperary County Council giving a total project value of €625,000. General development throughout the site includes the upgrading of all existing tarmac pathways to a minimum width of 2 metres, upgrading existing gravel paths to bound gravel paths, development of new seating areas, development of a Peace Path, upgrade of all existing seating, installation of information and wayfinding signage,  construction of a dog exercise area, introduction of native woodland planting and specimen trees along with native wildflower meadows in selected locations throughout the amenity area and reorganisation of the existing car park area at the Hills.

On a beautiful sunny day last week I took a walk through the Hills and must admit to being very pleasantly surprised by the work completed to date. The widening and refurbishment of the tarmac pathway between St Patrick's Avenue entrance, and the entrance to St John's Famine Graveyard to facilitate hearse access, will certainly be welcomed by everyone along with the upgrading of existing pathway to bound gravel pathway, along the east and north boundary of Clanwilliam Rugby Club.

The levelling and reseeding of the playing pitch and the introduction of a natural seating area with bound gravel surface is a very welcome development. It is no secret that the most 'controversial' aspect of the development has been the introduction of timber steps with handrails to provide safe access to the top of 'Cup and Saucer'. I have to say however that I do welcome this aspect of the development even though I can see why some people might be opposed to it.

For me it is in keeping with the rest of the works at the Hills, such as the fenced dog exercise area and the natural seating and I feel that given time the steps will blend in with the natural landscape of the area. There is also the aspect of providing safe access to the top of the 'Cup and Saucer' which is a positive factor and the introduction of a bound gravel path on the circumference of top of 'Cup and Saucer' and the installation of 2 log seats are also very welcome developments.

The view at the top of the 'Cup and Saucer' is really something and can't really be appreciated unless you are at the top! During my time at the Hills I encountered many people who all had positive things to say about the development and there was a steady stream of people using the steps to gain access to the top.

As I said earlier, given time I feel that the steps will blend in well with the landscape. Undoubtedly there will be people who will disagree with me but then that's the nature of public opinion. There is still much further work to be done including development of the Peace Path and the introduction of localised network of bound gravel paths and seating along with the introduction of areas of native woodland planting. I look forward to seeing the project develop further.