Report Paul Murphy
The public realm and regeneration plan for old Johnstown village in Navan is well on track and is expected to soon go on public display, councillors of Navan Municipal District were told last weeks Navan MD meeting. Under the plan the village will be “reimagined” as a vibrant place to live and recreate, focusing on public realm interventions, village housing and the revitalisation of Mrs Butterly’s historic house in the centre of the village into a space for community activities.
And the village’s use by motorists as a “rat run” will come to an end as the county council creates a safer place for pedestrians and cyclists. The plan was greeted with enthusiasm by councillors when some of its features were outlined to the meeting by senior executive engineer David O’Reilly. He presented the Part 8 process which allows the council to evaluate and approve its own development projects.
It’s an area of the town that has developed rapidly with a huge build-up in population. The public realm was first outlined to councillors in 2025 and some projects emerged from that including a redesign of the streets, the revamping of Mrs Buttlerly’s old house which was acquired by the council for development into a community space.
Mr O’Reilly said that there was very much a sense that the village was a “rat run” and the aim was to create an age-friendly space, improve pedestrian connectivity and include permeability between “the old and the new”. Walking and cycling routes will be created under the new plan. The plan is broken down into a number of different components – sections of the council dealing with this will be transportation, housing section, and then a separate entity will deal with Mrs Butterly’s house as a community building and the “plaza” around it.
He dealt with the section from Metges Road into old Johnstown and the proposal is to create a raised junction here making it safer for pedestrians with installation of zebra crossings on each of the arms. A significant number of pedestrians use this junction to go down to old Kilcarn Bridge. This will not have traffic signals. Leading up to Johnstown village there will be a three-metre-wide “shared” space for pedestrians and cyclists. Some “very small” land acquisitions will be needed for this and talks are going on with landowners.
There will be a raised surface in the village main street with colourisation to show a sense of “community and village”. There will be no loss of parking spaces, however some “regularisation” of parking will take place. A “public plaza” will be installed around Mrs Butterly’s building. There will also be some housing, 21 units in total, with a mixture in the size of units. There will also be room for a coffee shop. The engineer said the plan for Johnstown was well advanced and officials hoped to lodge it in late June and this will be followed by a display of the plan for public inspection.
Aontú Cllr Emer Toibin said the plan was ”very impressive”. She was told by an official that there will be 21 housing units of a mixture of age-friendly and for persons with disability and some for families too. The councillor said she thought the plan would transform the area. Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy had questions about bus stops and housing. Fine Gael Cllr Yemi Adenuga said she welcomed the overall plan for Johnstown. She wanted to know what measures were in place for traffic management and who would manage the new community building.
Fine Gael Cllr John Duffy said that traffic management was always a problem in Johnstown. The presentation on the plan by the officials was excellent, he said. Independent Cllr Francis Deane said he very welcomed the age-friendly aspects of the plan. “We’re lacking something in old Johnstown village at the moment – it’s like a race track, they’re just driving through. We are going to have a proper traffic management plan now”.
He had concerns about the management of the community building. Was it going to be controlled by the local authority. Coming off the Kilcarn Road onto Walterstown Road or Oldtown Road, he referred to the Kilcarn Road emerging onto the Metges Road and asked if there would be a “filter light” on the left hand side going on to the N3. There would be a wider junction there with a free flow of traffic and an extra lane on Metges Road. “It’s great to see Meath County Council coming forward with a plan like this”. He also wanted to know about the phasing of the plan – would the age-friendly housing come first, then cycle lanes, and community building?
In their replies the officials said that “expressions of interest” would be sought among community groups in relation to the running of the community building. There would be an invitation to see what they would like to see in relation to it.
