The most significant part of the built environment of Kilkenny is the quality of the city centre. This character comes from its unique setting and layout incorporating a number of distinctive elements. Firstly the dominant position of its great buildings – St. Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny Castle, and St. Mary’s Cathedral – which are linked by streets of different character and type, many of which are joined together by the narrow laneways (slips). Secondly there are buildings of different uses, architectural quality and historic backgrounds, including the historically important Shee Alms House, Rothe House, Bishops Palace, Black Abbey etc, but also many examples of traditional shopfronts and of domestic housing. The network of streets and laneways is complemented by the River Nore, which with its tree-lined banks and adjacent open spaces provides an important natural element in the overall townscape character of the city.

In principle, it will be the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council to retain and enhance the essential character of the historic city, but at the same time, formulate policies to assist in its continued but controlled development, enhancement and maintenance. The Borough Council considers that there need to be no conflict between appropriate development in the city and the protection of its distinctive character. It is the policy of the Borough Council to provide advice to persons wishing to develop or enhance property within the city centre.

The character of Kilkenny is the result of a combination of the natural features of river and topography, the street spaces, the fabric buildings and the numerous “special” buildings and artefacts of historical and archaeological value.

Land uses in the central area are distributed in the three distinctive bands extending north and south parallel to the river. The historic band of retail uses fronting Parliament Street and High Street is complimented by areas of mixed uses at the rear. This distinctly linear arrangement of the uses was clearly influenced by considerations of topography, the propensity of the Rivers Nore and Breagagh to flood and the historical developments, which led to the creation of an “Irishtown” and an “Englishtown”.

The Castle and St. Canice’s Cathedral are the opposing poles of the central area. The enclaves of these two buildings and the spaces, which link them – Irishtown, Parliament Street and High Street form the spine of the central area. This spine is paralleled by secondary routes – fragmented route along Thomas Street/Blackmill Street/ Parnell Street/Lower New Street to the west and the pedestrian way and John’s Quay on the east bank of the Nore. These north/south linear elements tend to converge at the northern and diverge at the south end. They are crossed east/west by only one major route – Ormonde Road/Patrick Street /Rose Inn Street/John Street. The remaining cross routes are narrow and discontinuous – Abbey Street, James Street and Friary Street.

The main street sequences tend to run parallel to the contours while minor streets and lanes run across the contours, often forming “short cuts”. These narrow lanes or “slips” as they are locally known are a particular feature of Kilkenny’s townscape. Some are just pedestrian ways, which form short cuts across the width of particularly long city blocks and do not have frontage development. Others act as narrow streets with buildings fronting onto them.

Within the central area, the streets are typically narrow space channels enclosed on both sides by 18th and 19th century facades. Generally the facades are vertically proportioned, narrow fronted and divide into bays of alternate wall and window. The normal facades of the streets are occasionally interrupted by something more ornate or large scaled, often the façade of a bank or other public institutions. Buildings of great public importance such as the Castle, City Hall and Courthouse, not only differ in scale and material from the “fabric buildings” but are either set back or brought forward in respect of the general building line.

There have been many changes in recent years, in particular the development of the Dunnes Stores and Market Cross Shopping Complex, the hotel at John Street and more recently the multi-storey car park, hotel and apartments off Patrick Street. These developments were generally on large extensive vacant sites, which could accommodate to some degree large buildings and so the essential townscape character of the city centre as described above is still clearly evident.

However, the centre cannot continually accommodate large-scale development, particularly if the result is the erosion of historic building plots. The future policy of the Borough Council will be to protect the historic building plots and to encourage small-scale incremental type development as opposed to major projects.

The provision of additional off street parking has now provided an opportunity to significantly reduce traffic congestion in the main shopping streets and historic areas. It will be the policy of the Borough Council to progressively reduce on-street parking in these areas and give the pedestrian/shopper more priority.

The architectural character of a city is determined not only by the importance of individual buildings and groups of buildings but also by the quality of the spaces formed by the buildings – i.e. the footpaths, streets, squares, parks, views and vistas all of importance, which are an integral part of the urban structure.

The public spaces in Kilkenny are many and varied, from the potentially grand civic space in the Parade, many smaller and incidental spaces and the numerous streets and slipways of the medieval city. It will be the policy of Kilkenny Borough Council to protect, enhance, improve and extend where appropriate the public spaces throughout the city. The effects of proposed developments on the quality of the adjacent public spaces and the possibilities of creating new spaces will be an important factor in assessing planning applications. Pedestrians will be afforded priority in the use of the public realm throughout the historic city.

There are a number of sites, areas and vantage points within the City and in the Environs, from which fine views of the City can be had. There are also vantage points within the City from which particularly good views of the City’s most important public buildings and natural landscape features may be obtained. Of particular importance are views of and from the Castle, Cathedrals and the River Nore. In assessing development proposals the impact on existing views and prospects will be taken into account by the Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council.

The presentation and maintenance of the City’s buildings and public areas are an important aspect of the City’s tourism and social character.

It is the intention of Kilkenny Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to work closely with the “Keep Kilkenny Beautiful“ Committee and other organisations, community groups, business and private interests to maintain the traditional high standards in this regard.

Kilkenny City’s archaeological heritage is a valuable cultural and tourism asset. Dúchas – the Heritage Services has carried out a survey of the City’s archaeological sites of interest. It is the policy of Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Councils to preserve and conserve the archaeological heritage and all archaeological monuments included in the Record of Monuments as established under section 12 of the National Monuments (amendment ) Act 1994.

The zones of Archaeological Importance are outlined on the accompanying map (MAP B). All development proposals within the zones of Archaeological Importance must be referred to Dúchas for their perusal and recommendation.

The archaeological heritage is defined as including all structures constructions, groups of buildings, developed sites, moveable objects, monuments of other kinds as well as their contexts, whether situated on land or under water.

Kilkenny City has been identified as an Historic Town and appears in the Record of Monuments and Places. Historic towns have been identified by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands for general protection. The guideline boundaries for historic towns are illustrated within the Record of Monuments and Places as zones of Archaeological potential and are areas where intense archaeology is present.

The Record of Monuments and Places
The record for the County was established under section 12.3 of the National Monuments (Amendment ) Act 1994. It identifies sites and monuments and areas within the county which were known when this section of the Act became statutory in December 1997. The record consists of two documents i) a set of constraint maps and ii) a list. Previously unidentified monuments , sites and areas will come to light from time to time and will be included in updates of the record.

Underwater Archaeology
Wrecks and underwater archaeological objects do not appear on the record. However much archaeology exists underwater and it does form part of the archaeological heritage.

The 1999 Local Government (Planning and Development) Act and now the Local Government Planning and Development Act 2000 have significantly strengthened the legal protection for historic buildings. All local authorities are obliged to include a record of protected structures in their development plans, Appendix 1 outlines the Record of Protected Structures in the city and the environs as defined by the Development Boundary. Structures out side this boundary are contained in Vol. 1 of the County Plan.

In addition to the Record of Protected Structures, the City and Environs also contain a number of areas of special interest whose overall character, form and layout it is desirable to preserve and/or enhance. The protection of historic areas by designation as architectural conservation areas was introduced in previous development plans. However, protection within Conservation Areas is now legally defined under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1999 and the Local Government Planning and Development Act 2000.

An “architectural conservation area” is defined in the Acts as a place, area, group of structures or townscape; taking accounts of building lines and heights which –

(a) is of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest, or
(b) contributes to the appreciation of protected structures.

Within an architectural conservation area, planning permission is required for all works affecting the exterior of a building. The preservation of architectural conservation areas is to be a mandatory function of local authorities.

Local authorities will be obliged to have regard to any guidelines issued by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in respect of development objectives for protected structures etc. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands shall, after consulting with the Minister, issue guidelines for preserving the character of architectural conservation areas.

Kilkenny’s urban environment is formed by a number of distinctive areas and building types which give the City its interest and character. It is an aim of this Plan to seek the enhancement and preservation as appropriate of the distinctive characteristics of each of these areas.

It is the purpose of the Conservation Areas to protect the general character of the areas in regard of building scales, proportions, historical plot sizes, material, building lines and height as well as general use. Any works, which are undertaken to the exterior of buildings, should respect the historic character of the building in regards to the use of material and the design. If works are carried out to any building in a Conservation area, the opportunity should be used to enhance the overall presentation of the building by the use of appropriate materials and designs.

In general all historical buildings should be retained and preserved. Any replacement of buildings should be of the same scale and respecting the historical plot. New infill buildings should preferably be modern expressions and interpretation of the historic rather than cautious pastiche.

In considering proposals for development/improvement in Conservation Areas it is the policy of the Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council to have regard to:

1. compatibility of design layout and intensity of site use;
2. the impact of development/improvement on the existing amenities and character of the area, particularly with regard to the scale of building, form, materials, street furniture, telecommunication, etc.

Any person wishing to carry out structural alterations or works of whole or partial demolition within a conservation area will be required to consult with the planning authority with regard to their proposals at design stage, in advance of lodging an application.

Alterations and extensions within the Conservation Areas should be in scale with the building and its particular setting. Original features, which are important to the character of buildings such as front entrances, chimney stacks, doors and windows shall be retained. Generally, the Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council will encourage the repair rather than replacement of these elements. Windows constructed in aluminium, PVC or other similar modern materials will not be acceptable as replacements for original timber windows. Where replacements are necessary, these should be designed and finished to match the original pattern or design.

The areas designated as Conservation Areas are based on the criteria laid down in the 1999 Act. Following the completion of the “Kilkenny Architectural Heritage Inventory” (Ref.: Kilkenny Architectural Heritage Inventory Study 1997, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Dúchas – The Heritage Service, 1997) the boundaries of the existing Conservation Areas were extended to include additional areas and groups of houses of interest.

1. City Centre
2. Kilkenny Castle
3. St. Canice’s
4. John Street
5. Patrick Street
6. Michael Street
7. St. Mary’s
8. Lacken
9. Talbotsinch

1. City Centre (Map 1)

The City Centre Conservation Area is formed by the medieval core of Kilkenny with its dense complex of streets and lanes dating mainly from the 16th, 17th and 18th century. This district includes the triangle of High Street/Parliament Street, Kieran Street and Rose Inn Street – the main business streets of the city. A linear space sequence is formed from Irishtown to High Street and connects the Castle and Cathedral districts. The linear sequence is varied by the gentle curvature of the streets, the changing scale of the buildings and the gently sloping topography. The area is characterised by the almost continuous enclosure of the streets with mainly three storey 18th and 19th century buildings – built on medieval plots and foundations. This enclosure is only broken at the junctions of a small number of narrow streets and where the laneways meet the main streets they are generally arched over. The stepped lanes running from High Street to Kieran Street and from St. Mary’s Lane to Rose Inn Street are locally known as “The Slips” and are one of the notable features of Kilkenny.

More than any other, this district derives its character from the bustle of trading and shopping. If shopping is to thrive, the environment of the streets must be attractive to shoppers. However, at present the quality of the environment of the streets is greatly reduced by the impact of heavy volumes of traffic, particularly along High Street and Rose Inn Street.

The area at the rear of Parliament Street/High Street is of mixed uses. The building types include a mixture of residential, industrial, including old warehouses, churches and schools. There are a number of structures of historical interest, including the old City Wall. It now includes the large Market Cross Shopping Centre and multi-storey car park, which has disrupted the scale of the adjacent areas, but has stimulated more commercial activity in this part of the City.

Smithwick’s Brewery is a long-standing industrial use and likely to remain so. The Market Yard car park, and adjacent Dunnes Stores Shopping Complex, attract a considerable volume of traffic. The possibility of further developments along the riverside should create an opportunity to integrate the extensive uses better into the grain of the City, and generally enhance the riverside.

Kieran Street/Rose Inn Street remain interesting mixed use streets. Future developments here should continue the small scale building patterns, and respect the form and general design characteristics.

2. Kilkenny Castle (Map 2)

The primary characteristic of the area is the dominance of Kilkenny Castle. This comes from the size and scale of the building, its location on a height and its relation to the Parade - potentially the most important space in the City but at present mainly used for parking. The Castle itself is located in the spacious setting of the Castle Gardens and parklands, which cover an area of over 50 acres. This represents a very valuable amenity resource for the City. The recent restoration and improvements to the Castle have added significantly to the range of cultural facilities now available within Kilkenny.

The buildings on the west side of the Parade, including the Design Workshops, Bank of Ireland, the 18th century townhouses, successfully enclose the Parade and are an important element in its townscape. It is the intention of the Borough Council to improve the Parade, calm the traffic and eliminate car parking and create a more appropriate setting for Kilkenny Castle.

Castle Road runs south from the Castle Gates to the Bennettsbridge Road. It is mostly residential in character and likely to remain so. Switzer’s Almshouses consist of a terrace of five two-storey houses, each of three bay, with a clock pediment over the central house and facing an enclosed lawn. The group is of significant architectural importance .

3. St. Canice’s (Map 3)

The district is dominated by the 13th century cathedral, which overlooks the northern end of the city. Surrounding it are the remnants of its close, including the Bishop’s Palace, Deanery, St. Canice’s Library and other buildings. St. Canice’s Church is another landmark building in the area.

The Cathedral district is bounded by the narrow streets, which run around the base of the mound on which the Cathedral is built – Dean Street, St. Canice’s Place, Vicar Street and Troys Lane. The district is also traversed by a number of small laneways, which are enclosed by high stone walls. The building types in the area have traditionally been institutional, housing and small scale shopping and these have given the district its special quiet character. In recent years Dean Street has been redeveloped with a mixture of residential and commercial uses.

Green Street is an area of mixed uses bounded between Vicar Street and the River Nore. Part of the Brewery extends into the southern section of the district, including the remnants of St. Canice’s Church.

4. John Street (Map 4)

John Street serves mainly as an extension of the retail shopping area over the Bridge towards the Railway Street. The scale decreases as one moves northwards, from three storey buildings along John Street Lower to two storey on John Street Upper. The street suffers from an excessive volume of traffic and this is reducing its environmental qualities. The former Kilkenny College and grounds along the River Nore have been redeveloped as the County Hall. A new hotel has been constructed in the grounds of Bridge House and Bridge House itself is to be restored as part of this development.

St. John’s Church and the adjacent Evans Homes are important historical/architectural structures in the area.

Maudlin Street is predominantly residential with houses of different types, which add to its overall character.

5. Patrick Street (Map 5)

Patrick Street is a mixed residential/commercial street with many good quality classical buildings. It leads from the Parade junction to the Waterford Road, through the former St. Patrick’s Gate. Major development, consisting of apartments, hotel, and multi-storey car park has recently been completed between Patrick Street and New Road. The car park has provided much needed off street parking which will allow for the removal of parking on the Parade to be implemented when the Parade is being improved. It is intended that in the future the main vehicular access to this development will be from New Street, further reducing traffic congestion in the City Centre.

The area around St. Patrick’s Church is mixed residential with an attractive character with mature trees, stone walls, large houses, etc. It is mixed both in terms of private and public housing and in terms of the age of the housing stock. There are also a number of large institutional landowners within the district, most notable St. Kieran’s College and John of God Convent at College Road.

Ormonde Road - a fine, wide tree-lined entrance to the city, with its continuation, College Road, was constructed in 1817 to open up the south-western approach to the city. It leads from Patrick Street, cutting through the old town wall to join the Callan Road at Rose Hill.

6. Michael Street (Map 6)

This district is largely residential in character. The houses which front along Michael Street date from the late 1880’s and have large gardens extending to the rear. The Wolfe Tone Street houses also have large back gardens and this has resulted in a large area of land enclosed between the two lines of terraced houses. The area west of Michael Street is largely composed of amenity and institutional uses.

7. St. Mary’s (Map 7)

The western part of the city is largely composed of institutional uses and early local authority housing estates. Most notably the 19th century’s St. Mary’s Cathedral – one of the landmarks of the city and the Black Abbey, founded in 1225. The area of St. Kenny’s Well is supposed to be the location of the earliest settlement of the town.

The terraces of local authority houses along Dominick Street have retained much of their original features and form a special heritage in their own right.

8. Lacken (Map 8)

This is a mainly residential area and commands one of the important entrances to the historic City. It is mainly residential in character with substantial houses in their own grounds. The old Lacken Corn Mills located on the river are an important group of old industrial structures. They are now, however, in an increasingly derelict condition. The views over the Nore River are an important element in the character of this area.

9. Talbotsinch (Map 9)

This is an unique example of residential planning. The model village was built in 1904 for Lady Desart, by Professor William A. Scot. It consists of distinctively styled houses built around an open space. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, it has generally retained its special qualities of design and craftsmanship and it is predominantly in residential use.

The environs of the City are largely residential in character with industrial, commercial, institutional and other uses. The structure is more open rather than the close grain form the Historic City. Landscapes, private gardens, open views and vistas, are an integral part of its visual character. The buildings predominantly date from the 1940s onwards; are generally in reasonable condition, but many require modernisation and additions. Like other urban areas, Kilkenny expanded along the main routes into the city, initially in ribbon form. For years, extensive areas of land between the approach roads, remained undeveloped for many reasons – lack of services; reluctance of owners to develop; large fixed institutional uses.

Thus the traditional approach roads still remain the major components in the environs, the Nore and, to a lesser extent the Breagagh rivers, are also important elements.

Generally, the great wealth of Kilkenny’s architectural and historic character lies within the inner city. However, there are a number of protected structures, which are noted in Appendix 1.

The environs are likely to experience significant development pressure during the period of the Plan. There will be opportunities to improve and enhance the existing environment, particularly the main and traditional approaches to the City, and to enhance the landscape setting of the surrounding area.

1. Aughmalogue Road
Traditionally it is one of the main entrances to Kilkenny from Dublin. The main land use is housing, in the form of detached and semi-detached housing, with individual commercial uses. There is a strong visual break between the city and the surrounding countryside. This should be retained in the context of future development, by limiting further roadside development and retaining existing natural boundaries.

2. Carlow Road
This now is the main entrance to Kilkenny from Dublin. The railway bridge at Aughmalogue Road establishes a strong physical introduction to the City. There is a mixture of land uses – industry, commercial, residential. The stretch between the railway bridge and the outer ring road is mostly commercial and its general visual appearance could be improved.

3. Bennettsbridge Road
A less busy, but important, entrance to the City approaching from the Castle gardens and Parade. There are important views of the adjacent landscapes.

4. Waterford Road
Developments here are mostly in the form of housing.

5. Callan Road
Land uses are mostly housing of various types – large individual houses on their own grounds and smaller ones in the form of estates. Landscaping, hedges/trees, along the road are a significant aspect of its heritage value. There are fine views of the City’s historic skyline from this entrance.

6. Kilmanagh Road
Mainly rural in character with high hedges, mature trees, winding nature. Use mostly residential – individual houses and small groups.

7. Freshford Road
Mainly residential in character with a significant amount of new modern housing and a mixture of institutional uses.

8. Ring Road
The Ring Road forms a clear barrier between the City and surrounding countryside. Inside, buildings of various types, mostly residential, dominate. Outside, the open landscape is visually dominant. There are opportunities for more extensive and structured landscape along the road. It should be viewed as a potential landscaped boulevard.

It will be the policy of the City and County to improve and enhance the specific characteristics of each entrance. It will be a policy to prepare and implement a long term structural planting plan. Along each road different tree species may be introduced – limed, planes, oak, beech, birch, etc. All future developments where they impinge on the traditional routes will be obliged to contribute to the improvement of the main routes.

This designation has now been largely replaced by the proposed Natural Heritage Areas, the Special Areas of Conservation or Special Protection Areas.

The Areas of scientific interest are now referred to as NHA’s (National Heritage Areas), SPA (Special Protection Areas) and SAC’s (Special Areas of Conservation) and have been designated due to their high visual importance and sensitivity to damage through inappropriate development within Kilkenny City and Environs.

The Borough Council and Kilkenny County Council recognise the educational, scientific recreational and tourism value of these areas. It is the policy of both Councils to:

a) Ensure the protection and/or conservation as appropriate of these areas and to strictly control any development which would be inimical to the preservation or conservation of their essential characteristics.
b) Ensure that development proposals within or in close proximity to designated sites are referred to Duchas, the Heritage Service of the Department of the Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and The Heritage Council for observations and recommendations and to have regard to such observations and recommendations in the assessment of development proposals.
c) Ensure the protection and/or conservation as appropriate of the non designated sites outlined as areas of scientific interest in the plan and to control development which would be inimical to the preservation or conservation of their essential character.

The NHA’s, SAC’s and the Areas of Scientific Interest are listed in Appendix 2.

The protection, conservation and, where necessary restoration or enhancement of the quality and distinctiveness of Kilkenny’s architectural heritage, monuments and archaeological sites and objects. The protection, management and improvement of access to and understanding of the architectural heritage, monuments and archaeological sites and objects. The protection and enhancement of the distinctive character of the desinated Conservation Areas, as described above.

These policies both apply to protected structures (included in the Record of Protected Structures) and for all structures within designated Conservation Areas (as described above).

• To retain and enhance as appropriate the historic overall character of the townscape.
• To retain and enhance the historic street pattern, in particular the medieval structure within the city centre.
• To preserve and enhance all historic buildings.
• To retain and protect the narrow historic building plots.
• To retain and protect the historic town silhouette.
• To prepare a „high building policy“ for the historic centre and the environs.
• To retain the specific building lines and heights in the different areas.
• To retain traditional land uses of the different areas.
• To encourage small-scale developments in city centre opposed to large-scale projects.
• To protect areas of specific character and importance by designating them as Conservation Areas.
• To protect and where necessary enhance the general character of the Conservation Areas in regard to building scales, proportions, historical plot sizes, material, building lines and height as well as general land use.

• To protect and enhance the monuments and protected structures – not only as individual buildings – but also in their context and setting within the city.
• To protect and preserve archaeological objects and their setting as part of the historic heritage of the city.
• To retain all original features, which are important to the character of buildings such as entrances, chimney stacks, doors and windows.
• To retain and repair as appropriate historic buildings or parts of historic buildings.

• To adhere generally to the guidelines issued by Dúchas – the Heritage Service with regard to protected structures.
• To carry out alterations and extensions in scale with the building and its particular setting.
• To repair rather than replace historic building details such as windows, doors etc.
• To encourage the use of traditional building materials and techniques when improvements are undertaken.
• To respect the historic character of the building in regards to the use of material and the design, when undertaking works at the exterior.
• To use the opportunity to enhance the overall presentation of the building by the use of appropriate materials and designs, if works are carried out.
• To avoid inappropriate materials such as windows constructed in aluminium, PVC.
• To facilitate guidelines for owners or occupiers who are undertaking structural changes to their houses within the historic centre.

• To welcome modern buildings where appropriate rather than pastiche building types. Avoid cautious pastiche.
• To introduce modern expressions of high quality architecture in new buildings.
• To retain the historic scale and plot, when buildings are replaced.
• To minimise the impact of a new development on existing amenities, including residential and land uses.

• To protect, enhance, improve and extend where appropriate the public spaces throughout the city.
• To maintain important historic details within the civic spaces such as historic paving, cobblestones, post boxes, spur stones etc.
• To reduce on-street parking in the historic areas and to give the pedestrian shoppers more priority.
• To reduce the impact of traffic congestion in the historic centre by traffic calming measures and pedestrianisation.
• To reduce traffic congestion by more efficient signage.

• To protect views and prospects by requiring new development or extensions to existing development to be designed and located so as to minimise the interruption of these views.
• To encourage in newly developed areas, street layouts, which create new vistas to existing and new landmarks.

• To preserve and protect the archaeological sites and monuments listed in the Development Plan and to protect the settings of landmark monuments.
• To seek the preservation of items listed in the Record of Monuments and Places along with items of archaeology, which become known during the plan period.
• Where development is permitted on or in the vicinity of a listed archaeological site, or within an area of known archaeological interest, it shall be normal to require the developer to -

a) adjust building lines and construction methods to avoid damage to remains so far as practicable and
b) employ a licensed archaeologist at his own expense to carry out archaeological testing and assessments, and possibly a building survey in advance of development or in advance of a planning decision.
• To liaise and consult with Dúchas on all matters affecting the sites and monuments in its charge.

• To support the work of the “Keep Kilkenny Beautiful“ Committee.
• To stimulate community involvement in the enhancement of the City.
• To increase the public’s awareness of the architectural and historical heritage.
• To mark important buildings and give information about their significance and history.

• To retain the medieval street pattern.
• To retain the existing scales of building heights of three and four-storey buildings.
• To avoid further pastiche shopfronts and pubfronts.
• To retain and enhance the facades.
• To reduce advertisement on facades.
• To encourage well presented groundfloor spaces.
• To reduce the impact of traffic in the city centre by closing High Street for through traffic.
• To limit further large scale developments within the historic centre, which may necessitate the assimilation of smaller historic building plots.
• To improve the visual appearance of the car parking at Market Yard by further landscaping and appropriate development beside the River Nore.
• To improve the access to the amenity of the river shore by developing pedestrian routes along it.
• To provide a new pedestrian bridge between the Market Yard and John’s Quay.

• To protect the historic and architectural character of the Castle and its unique setting.
• To enhance the character of The Parade as an important historic civic space by implementing appropriate design, new uses, including the removal of car parking.
• To provide appropriate facilities for coaches and public toilets.
• To protect the natural amenity of the Castle Park as an important recreational area and wildlife habitat.
• To protect the structures of Ormonde Mill and its setting on the bank of the River Nore.

• To protect the historic and architectural character of the St. Canice’s Cathedral and its unique setting.
• To retain the grouping of the Cathedral, Library, Deanery and other adjacent buildings.
• To enhance the character of Vicar Street and Troy’s Lane.

• To protect the remnants of St. John’s Church and its setting.
• To protect the residential uses along Maudlin Street.
• To retain the character of enclosure along the streets.
• To retain the historic narrow building plots.
• To avoid further pastiche shopfronts.
• To retain and enhance facades.
• To reduce advertisement on facades.
• To encourage well presented groundfloor spaces.
• To improve access to the amenity of the river side.

• To enhance the character of Ormonde Road and College Road as an approach to the City Centre.
• To protect important listed buildings such as St. Patrick’s Church, St Kieran’s College, the former Presbyterian Church, the City Vocational school and Talbot’s Castle in accordance with the relevant heritage and planning legislation.
• To protect the existing residential areas around St Patrick’s Church.

• To protect and enhance the existing residential uses.
• To protect the amenity along the River Nore as an environmental, recreational and residential area.

• To protect and preserve St. Mary’s Cathedral.
• To protect the residential character of Parnell Street, James’ Green, Kickham Street and Dominick Street.
• To protect Kenny’s Well and its setting and adjacent open space along the Breagagh River.
• To retain and enhance the distinctive residential character of the early public housing along Kenny’s Well Road, Circular Road and Dominick Street.
• To improve the visual appearance of the civic space along Parnell Street opposite St. Mary’s Cathedral.

• To protect the character of the area, in particular the setting of substantial houses in their own grounds which contain mature trees.
• To protect the items of industrial archaeology of the Lacken Corn Mill and its setting on the banks of the River Nore.

• To protect the character of Talbotsinch Village as a model village.
• To protect and enhance the architectural features of the buildings.
• To protect and enhance the grouping of buildings and their setting.

• To improve and enhance the specific characteristics of each entrance road.
• To implement long term structural planting. Along each road different tree species may be introduced – limes, planes, oak, beech, birch, etc.
• To oblige all future developments – where they impinge on the traditional routes – to contribute to the improvement of the main routes.