Tipperary County Council commissioned LUC to produce the Thurles Town Centre Renewal Strategy and Masterplan Concept - an informed, evidence-based 10-year vision.

The work centres on key characteristics and issues within the Town Centre, with local authority and community collaboration at its core. Building on existing initiatives and regeneration work, we developed a plan to create a thriving and vibrant town centre. This plan will support the future growth of the town and the needs of its residents.

Community consultation was fundamental to our evidence-based approach. Effective, creative, and dynamic consultation is critical to obtaining detailed information and opinion, bolstering engagement, and achieving buy-in to proposals. We saw a high turn-out rate with over 680 responses to our online questionnaires and over 100 attendees at a series of face-to-face workshops, from a town with just under 8,000 residents.

Engagement began pre-Covid and LUC facilitated a series of stakeholder and community workshops. Post-Covid, we developed an online consultation hub, and offered virtual consultation appointments, to continue the process.

The final Strategy comprises 25 Thurles-specific renewal projects, each grouped under one of the following vision objectives:

• The Creation of a Compact, Low-Carbon Climate-Resilient Town
• The Creation of a Vibrant and Living Town Centre
• The Delivery of a Connected Town & Enhanced Public Realm
• The Creation of a Destination Town
• The Exposure and Showcasing of Thurles’ Historic & Natural Heritage