Ideas for revamping Drogheda town...

Kaylee

On foot of the plans to make St. Laurences Gate Plaza, I had this vision the other day....

... wouldn't it be lovely if the car park at the top of Peter's Street could be turned into a small park or seating area with landscaping.

Bear with me here... it's a lovely natural square with Clarke's pub and the gates to St. Peter's Church of Ireland and a nice little terrace of houses. It is at the top of a hill and you can look down to the Tholsel and over that to Millmount.

I think it is a great idea! a fountain would be nice there too, if funds would allow :P

What do you think? There other areas of Drogheda town that could be reworked so that it is a more attractive place for people and tourists.

sarahbro

There would be a road running through this park though. People park in the church yard, attend services, the vicar lives in there and the church hall is used by plenty of people all week for various things.
Lovely sentiment but totally impractical.
Just saying

Wolfe Tone

The best thing would be to evacuate the center of the town and blow everything up except the churches and the old BOI and start again.

positron

Pedestrianise parts of town properly and let small restaurants and small shops work around the pedestrianised areas (not Tesco, not McD). Set up a proper one-way system thru town. And if someone has the powers to, pull down some dirty not-so-old buildings and make the place a bit more and spacious - open up everything towards Boyne so that there's a nice feel to the town over all.

sarahbro

DoNald is nowhere near any area that would be considered for pedestrianising for a start and the most logical place to do this is West St so Tesco couldn't be exempt from using this space. it's one of the hand full of shops on west st that still brings people on the town

Kaylee

Thanks for the reply Sarahbro - that's ok, I can still make it work with a road beside it

Ok guys thanks for replying with suggestions:

Here's another one...

We need to reclaim the river sides. Close down/move Drogheda Port, (how many ships use it anyway) knock down those ugly, ugly warehouses beside the river, build a boardwalk right down to Doner's Green have coffee shacks and playground for kids. Maybe a skate park on the March Road side beside were the new cinema is supposed to go.

Think about it - it would be fab

It's ok, I know all this is completely pie in the sky stuff - but I'm putting it out there anyway because if we want Drogheda to be a pleasant place to live and of interest to tourists something radical has to happen.

O yeah, also the Cord Cemetry has to be rescued from neglect. Those ghost tours of Drogheda are a brilliant idea, and that graveyard could be an added attraction.

CMpunked

Revamp west street as a real cultural and restraunt/coffee shop area.
Forget about reclaiming it as the shopping district it once was.

Put the shops in there that attract tourists to the town. Leave all the surrounding areas (Peter street, laurances, the quays and scotch hall) for shopping in the town.

Kaylee

CMpunked wrote: »

Revamp west street as a real cultural and restraunt/coffee shop area.
Forget about reclaiming it as the shopping district it once was.

Put the shops in there that attract tourists to the town. Leave all the surrounding areas (Peter street, laurances, the quays and scotch hall) for shopping in the town.

Absolutely.

But - to attract tourists to West Street though I think we need a bit more in Drogheda itself - this is my point... maybe the planned Laurence's Gate Plaza (which sounds great) and an enhanced river area and more nice public spaces in the town. I read in the paper that someone had an idea of putting a metal line on the ground/paths following the route of the original walls of the town - lovely idea. We should do this. People like that sort of thing.

THEN enough people might be willing to come to the town to make the restaurants/cafes/tourist shops on West Street actually viable. What do you think?

Now... where do I apply for the job of county manager - I presume he is the one who decides all this stuff?

Lord TSC

I agree with Punked that West Street should be properly made up. There's no point reclaiming places and trying to open new units when the ones we've already got there are lying empty and dormant. Trying to focus on getting WS back up and running, and trying to get Scotch Hall back to strenght, are what is needed.

I think things like the council tax, rent and all that needs to be changed and dropped drastically though before anything real can happen. Trying to encourage people to set up their own businesses by lowering the costs needed to set them up is the key to getting the town growing again.

CMpunked

Kaylee wrote: »

maybe the planned Laurence's Gate Plaza (which sounds great)

I havent heard of this, what is it?

Scotty #

Kaylee wrote: »

We need to reclaim the river sides. Close down/move Drogheda Port, (how many ships use it anyway) knock down those ugly, ugly warehouses beside the river, build a boardwalk right down to Doner's Green have coffee shacks and playground for kids.

Terrible idea in my opinion. The port should be seen as a feature of Drogheda - not an eyesore. Warehouses should be restored not knocked. Maybe used as small theatres (like the point depot has) or converted to museums, shopping 'emporiums' ( for local crafts, etc).

Drogheda is a very old town with a lot of history. That should be the main attraction for tourists. Keep the town as 'vintage' looking as possible and target the over 30's who are looking for a weekend away with plenty to fill the day on Saturday and then a good selection of bars and restaurants for night time.

With correct planning Drogheda could easily be in Ireland's top 5 weekend destinations, if not top 3.

Kaylee

Scotty # wrote: »

Terrible idea in my opinion. The port should be seen as a feature of Drogheda - not an eyesore. Warehouses should be restored not knocked. Maybe used as small theatres (like the point depot has) or converted to museums, shopping 'emporiums' ( for local crafts, etc).

I drove down the North Strand today and I noticed the Martin Butterly warehouse which is a rusty, corrugated iron eyesore, and parts of Drogheda Port building which seem to be constructed of large concrete slabs. I can't see any aesthetic value in these tbh? Maybe you mean the old stone buildings? Of course we should keep whatever we can that is of historic interest and using them as theatres, museums and shops is a great idea.

I absolutely agree with you though - the strong shipping legacy in Drogheda should be celebrated. My mother was brought up around the North Strand area and remembers sheds full of bananas, coconuts and coal, which came off the ships. She also remembers sailors wearing clogs which seemed really unusual to a child in the fifties. Love the amazing photos from the 1800's of the tall ships right up as far as St. Mary's Bridge (as it is now).

Equally, the strong manufacturing history of Drogheda, the linen factories further down the road. Those hard working people of Drogheda deserve a place in history!

No, not at all, I don't mean knock everything down... just open it all up so that people can enjoy it. I mean, just look at the state of Donor's Green.


@CMpunked - they are stopping cars going through the gate and pedestrianising (sp?) the area around it. They've already started work on the replacement road between Palace St. and Francis St.