THE end is finally in sight for a major revamp of Bandon’s South Main Street which is set to reopen ahead of schedule having been closed for most of the summer.
The works were undertaken as part of the multi-million-euro Bandon TPREP (Town Public Realm Enhancement Project) with the aim of revitalising the town centre by upgrading streetscapes, public spaces and infrastructure.
The overall project is expected to be completed by February of next year as the contractors now move to work on Market Street which they have said is ‘essential to tie the modern streetscape into the inner-centre Bandon TPREP design’.
The first phase of T-PREP began in 2022 with a street upgrade and enhancement works from St Peter’s Church at Ballymodan Place to the Market Street junction, with street furniture, tree planting and bicycle parking. This was followed by enhancement works at Bridge Lane and Bridge Street. Now the third phase is due to reopen on Friday August 29th.
Hilary Farrell of Farrell’s on South Main Street and a member of Bandon Business Association (BBA) said it’s fantastic they finished ahead of schedule adding that the quality of the finished work is outstanding.
‘Bandon will be the envy of a lot of towns,’ she predicted. ‘Now that it’s complete we hope that new people will come and open new businesses which will invigorate the town centre. We also hope that local customers come back and support the towns and shops.’
Hilary said the ‘hard part’ is now over and this investment in infrastructure can only improve the town.
‘This is the main artery in the town and we need to look forward and be positive about improving the town and making Bandon a thriving town centre,’ she said.
Sinéad Seaman of ‘Hair By Sinéad’ also welcomed the reopening and admitted it was a tough summer for all businesses.
‘The finish is lovely and the street will be looking great. The town will be back stronger again. It was a tough summer but thank God for my loyal customers kept coming in despite the street being closed to traffic,’ said Sinéad.
Those sentiments were echoed by Anthony O’Donovan of Denis O’Donovan’s Supermarket.
‘I’d say the whole town is relieved it’s opened. We lost our shirt there for two months with business down,’ he said. ‘You couldn’t blame people for not coming in as they had nowhere to park. But at least our customers said they will be back now that the street is more accessible to shoppers.’
The new-look South Main Street includes paved pedestrian crossings, a new road surface and planting. Tarmacadam was laid on Monday and the installation of landscaping and new signage was also carried out as well as ironworks, street cleaning and road line markings on Thursday.
Meanwhile, OD Civil Engineering, who oversaw the upgrade works thanked the residents, businesses and visitors for their continued patience and co-operation during the street closure.
