Excellence of Tipperary submission won the day for Liberty Square funding says Manager

The Manager of the Templemore Thurles Municipal District Council, Mr Matt Shortt has told members of the local authority that it was the excellence of the presentation and proposal submitted, which ensured that the Liberty Square redevelopment project received €1.35 million from the Project Ireland 2040 scheme.
The announcement was made amid much fanfare recently with the fund for Liberty Square proving a major boost as the local authority goes about redeveloping the entire centre of Thurles town. This will include a major new car park linking Liberty Square with Slievenamon Road and a complete overhaul of the Square itself which will be transformed into a modern plaza-type centre.
“The money we received from the urban regeneration scheme was absolutely terrific because Thurles was up against the big towns and cities of this country. We managed to get this funding and it is all down to the magnificence of the proposal put forward and the presentation given by our own staff here. They worked long and hard on this and I have to say, I am looking at proposals like these for many years, and I have never seen a better presented one. That is why we have been awarded this €1.35 million, and the fact that we had matching funding in place from Tipperary County Council was also a big factor. These funds came from the former Thurles Town Council, created by the rate payers and most importantly, it was supported by the elected representatives as well. All in all, this was an excellent presentation - a one off chance of winning it, but we did win it and great credit is due to everyone involved,” Mr Shortt said.

Templemore Thurles Municipal District Manager Matt Shortt

The council now has about €6 million to play with and with the design side almost complete , the next stage will be the seeking of tenders for the job. It is hoped to go to tender early in the new year with construction to commence in mid 2019. The car park project will be fully completed before any refurbishment work is undertaken on Liberty Square, Mr Shortt said